What Was in Ernest Hemingway’s 10-Ingredient Burger Recipe?

Ernest Hemingway wrote properly — and sometimes — about food and drinks in his fiction and memoirs.

Many have added to the creator’s culinary lore within the years since his demise, penning cookbooks and cocktail books impressed by his tastes. However an honest-to-goodness recipe by Hemingway is more durable to seek out. Even his well-known Daiquiri is steeped in mythology.

Because it seems, Hemingway produced a burger recipe that has stood the check of time — in case you can monitor down the substances.

In 2013, after Hemingway’s private papers and results have been made public by the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library, creator Cheryl Lu-Lien Tan started poring over them and found “a treasure trove of lists, recipes, and writings that intimately illustrate his appetites.” Among the many papers have been quite a lot of handwritten recipes, together with a 10-ingredient stovetop burger. She wrote about her findings for The Paris Overview, the place she included the recipe in full.

Although my very own burger tastes are inclined to skew rather more minimalist, I knew I had to do this unconventional recipe — precisely as Papa supposed. 

What was in Hemingway’s burger recipe? 

Along with one pound of lean floor beef and one tablespoon of cooking oil for pan-frying, Papa’s recipe requires a potpourri of substances that vary from anticipated to shocking. These embrace:

• A overwhelmed egg
• Dry pink or white wine
• Minced garlic
• Inexperienced onions
• Capers
• Dried sage
• India relish
• Beau Monde Seasoning
• Mei Yen Powder

Regardless of the lengthy ingredient listing, there’s no point out of salt and pepper, or any dialogue of toppings within the recipe.

Directions for making the pan-fried burger are unsurprisingly precise. Hemingway dictates how lengthy the meat ought to sit “outdoors the ice field,” the right way to combine the substances into the meat, how lengthy the combination ought to marinate, and precisely how lengthy the burgers ought to cook dinner. 

He additionally specifies eradicating the pan from the burner and adjusting the warmth at numerous instances. The ensuing burger “must be crispy brown [on the outside] and the center, pink and juicy.” 

Monitoring down the substances

Whereas Hemingway’s writing is thought for its sparseness, his burger is an advanced affair. My first issue was in monitoring down a few of the extra arcane substances. 

Going into this venture, I knew that Tan was unable to supply Mei Yen Powder, an umami-rich seasoning from Spice Islands that was discontinued round 2008–2010. Fortunately Tan’s essay included a recipe, authorized by the corporate, that mixes sugar, salt, MSG, and soy sauce — all substances I had readily available. 

Subsequent up was Beau Monde, a “candy tackle celery salt” that features salt, dextrose (sugar), dried onion, and celery seed. Though this cult Southern ingredient remains to be out there from Spice Islands (apparently Papa’s favourite spice firm), I couldn’t discover Beau Monde at any of my native grocery shops, so I ordered it on-line. 

The toughest ingredient for me to supply, it turned out, was India relish. Recipes fluctuate from model to model, however this zesty condiment is normally a candy relish with the addition of spices like curry powder. Whereas Papa doesn’t specify a model, I discovered three corporations that make India relish: B&G, Mt. Olive, and Heinz. 

Unable to seek out it at my native retailer or at most on-line retailers, I ultimately bought a case of 12 jars of B&G India Relish from Inventory Up Specific — for about $45 after transport. 

Making Papa’s burgers

As soon as I had all of the substances readily available, I set about making the burger. 

On my first try, I used very lean hamburger meat — a couple of 90/10 lean-to-fat ratio — per Hemingway’s directions to make use of “floor lean beef.” Because the recipe places it, “The patties must be … comfortable in texture however not runny.” My efforts resulted in a really moist combination, with the relish, the wine, the egg, and juice from the capers all contributing liquid. I attempted to squeeze a little bit of the liquid out with out compacting the meat an excessive amount of, however the burgers ended up falling aside within the pan. 

For my second try, I used freshly floor chuck at about 80/20 lean-to-fat ratio. That is what I sometimes use when making burgers, and I believed the additional fats would assist them maintain collectively. I additionally backed off a little bit on the wine, and I squeezed out as a lot liquid from the capers as I might.

This time the burgers held collectively higher. The abundance of substances nonetheless resulted in very free burgers, and the cooking instances listed (about 4 minutes per facet) resulted in extraordinarily uncommon burgers — although they have been very crispy on the surface. 

After each makes an attempt I served the ensuing burgers to my household and mates alongside loads of wine — and a facet salad, as Hemingway recommends.

What I considered Hemingway’s burger

My first response after tasting Hemingway’s burger: There are a lot of substances in it. 

Tan notes that this recipe is from the Nineteen Fifties, when Hemingway was dwelling in Cuba, on the home he referred to as Finca Vigía (Lookout Farm). This burger could be very a lot a product of that point, when marvels of shelf-stable substances, spice mixes, and industrial substances like dextrose and corn syrup have been ascendant, and earlier than American meals tradition shifted towards less complicated recipes with few, high-quality substances.

Although his writing outlined a technology, Hemingway was additionally a product of his time, and I’m not terribly stunned that each one this stuff made their manner into his burger.

My second response: This burger is way sweeter than any burger I’ve ever had. This is smart: The Mei Yen and Beau Monde spice mixes include a considerable quantity of sugar, and the India relish can also be fairly candy.

My third response: This burger is scrumptious. Not solely was the sweetness surprisingly welcome, however the addition of sage gave it a particular herby taste that was sudden and very tasty.

Will I make this my go-to burger recipe? In all probability not. However I definitely gained’t make my very own burgers the identical manner once more. I’m holding on to the Beau Monde, and can use it so as to add a contact of celery sweetness to future burgers and grilled meats. I’m going so as to add sage to my patties. I could attempt different add-ins, and see what I get.

Hemingway’s life and writing have been punctuated by a style for large experiences. That’s evident in his tales, his memoir, and on this hand-scribbled hamburger recipe, tucked away in his private papers and by no means supposed for publication.

It’s an angle I might use much more of in my very own life, and particularly in my cooking.