Matt Moore has written five cookbooks, traveled to tell the stories of butchers and pitmasters and built a cooking TV show around the possibilities of a backyard grill. But when it comes to hamburgers, the Nashville author generally prefers to keep things simple: good beef, salt, pepper and a hot pan.
Ernest Hemingway's recipe was considerably less restrained.
The novelist's favorite hamburger calls for garlic, green onions, capers, relish, sage, two seasoning blends, an egg and a generous splash of wine. It's a lot to ask of a pound of ground beef, especially for someone who usually prefers to leave it alone.
When Moore recreated the recipe for an article in The Art of Manliness, however, the result changed his mind. He wrote that it was one of the best
burgers he'd ever eaten.
Now the savory, deeply flavorful burger appears in the first episode of "Serial Griller," Moore's cooking show filmed at the Nashville home he shares with his wife and two daughters and aired on streaming services. Based on the premise behind his cookbook of the same name, the series explores how to grill nearly any meal.
What's in Hemingway's hamburger?
Hemingway's burger makes a persuasive starting point for Moore's show. Preserved among documents from the novelist's years in Cuba, the recipe specifies both the seasonings and the desired texture: thick, loosely formed patties with a crisp brown crust and a pink, juicy center.
For anyone accustomed to a thin, salty smash burger, the ingredient list may seem unfamiliar. But the finished burger has a deeply nostalgic flavor, somewhere between a backyard hamburger and a well-seasoned meatloaf.
When Moore cooked his version on an outdoor griddle at his home, he left the patties undisturbed until they developed a brown crust. Their loose texture required a careful flip.
"You only flip it once, too," he said. "That's the key."
Moore also sees a resemblance to the seasoned viande hachée, or ground meat, he encountered on a recent trip to France.
"I think that's probably where the inspiration comes from," Moore said.
But recreating an old recipe with a modern pantry requires a few adjustments.
The original calls for Spice Islands' discontinued Mei Yen powder. In his published adaptation, Moore replaced it with soy sauce, kosher salt and sugar. He now also uses a little MSG, though he said soy sauce alone can supply the savory boost he's after.
India relish is another sticking point. Moore found it too sweet for his taste. His published version substitutes dill relish, but during our visit he used finely minced cornichons.
The sage and Beau Monde seasoning remain part of the mix, however.
That blend, somewhat like a celery salt, isn't a typical pantry staple, but Moore said it's worth a purchase.
"You can season with it generally, like you would any salt and pepper, or like all-purpose seasoning," he said.
The remaining ingredients include capers, garlic, green onions and wine, which cooks down on the grill and gives the burger a soulful, nostalgic flavor.
Beyond burgers on Serial Griller
Moore's show takes that same willingness to experiment beyond the familiar backyard rotation of burgers, hot dogs and steaks. He makes chili, cooks pasta and demonstrates how a grill can roast, bake, broil and sear.
Each episode features a different grill, with Moore explaining how to build a fire, manage the heat and time the dishes.
"It's a live fire grilling show," he said. "Everything's cooked live. There's no second takes."
No food stylists are waiting to produce a finished dish, either.
"Everything that you see, I've bought it, I've prepped it, I've cooked it, and made it, and we eat it," he said.
Nashville viewers will recognize some of the people and places on screen, including musician Thad Cockrell and East Nashville's Tomato Art Fest. But Moore hopes even those who rarely light a grill will find something they can try.
That means showing the work even when it's not particularly pretty, including sweating beside a hot grill during filming in August. Moore wants viewers to come away with practical skills and the confidence to cook more than the usual burgers and steaks.
"I can actually talk about how to build a fire properly, how to quell fires, how to start with certain ingredients," he said. "How to time dishes is also really key."
For Moore, the appeal is that there's always something new to cook.
"There's always a different dish, always a different idea," he said. "You never run out of material."
"Serial Griller" is available on Prime Video, Tubi and the Hungry channel.
The Hemingway Burger
Makes: 4 burgers
This version uses Moore's published substitutions for India relish and the discontinued Mei Yen powder. During our visit, he used finely minced cornichons in place of the relish.
Ingredients
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 small green onions, finely chopped
- 1 heaping teaspoon dried sage
- 1/2 teaspoon Spice Islands Beau Monde seasoning
- 1 teaspoon soy sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon sugar
- 1 heaping teaspoon dill relish
- 2 tablespoons capers
- 1 egg, beaten
- About 1/3 cup dry red or white wine
- 1 tablespoon cooking oil
- 4 hamburger buns, for serving
Instructions
Break up the beef in a bowl with a fork. Scatter the garlic, green onions, sage and Beau Monde seasoning over it, then gently work them into the meat with a fork or your fingers. Let stand for 10 to 15 minutes.
Combine the soy sauce, salt and sugar. Add to the beef with the relish, capers, beaten egg and wine. Mix gently, then let stand for another 10 minutes if time allows.
Shape the mixture into four patties about 1 inch thick. The patties should be soft and loose, but not runny.
Heat the oil in a large skillet until hot but not smoking. Add the patties, reduce the heat and cook for about 4 minutes.
Move the skillet off the burner and turn the heat high again. Flip the burgers, return the skillet to the burner and cook for 1 minute. Reduce the heat again and cook for another 3 minutes. Both sides should be crispy brown and the middle pink and juicy.
Serve on hamburger buns.
Adapted with permission from the archival Hemingway recipe and Matt Moore's published substitutions.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: 'Serial Griller' TV show showcases Nashville and the Hemingway Burger
