Meat Liquor...so juicy right now....

Everyone has an opinion on who makes the best burger...in my time of eating burgers they really have come full circle.  Burgers started getting too posh for my liking..with aged wagu, patties with three types of mince, brioche buns and the list goes on.... But now we are seeing burger joints going back to basics..thank goodness...although I was quite partial to the gourmet mini wagu burger often found on a canapé tray.

When I was recently in London I went to Meat Liquor a trendy burger joint that is all about meat and liquor... old fashioned diner style burgers....they claim to be definitely not gourmet!
We joined the queue which was about 30 deep when we got there. Surprisingly it was 27 deg in London town and we had a thirst up for a beer. We paper scissor rocked who was going for lager and settled in alongside other excited dinners queuing to get in. The kitchen came out with the house speciality the deep fried gherkins and onion rings...wow the tart, juicy gherkin oozed flavour through an extra crispy batter..a secret recipe no doubt.....it was become clear that it was going to be well worth the wait.
 

We were in....Matt Packed-ham could not get through the meat curtains fast enough to be seated at our table....

We get inside and it it is almost like a funked up abattoir with street art like pictures on the wall and a hum of excited diners eating burger under a red lit hue.

Meat Art......

Even the roof was cool....so much thought and personality had been put into the fit to make you really feel like a greasy burger... of the meat variety.

Meat Family on the roof over looking diners.... one times smug looking pig.

  
There was a selection of craft beers, four different burgers...the classic, the cheese, the jalapeño, chips and cheese (which I couldn't fathom..although my British counterparts were salivating at the thought), onion rings, deep fried gherkins, sides of house slaw.....ketchup and mayo. Oh and a lonely vegetarian haloumi burger (pretty sure if I was a vego I wouldn't be eating at a place called meat liquor).

The menu was basic but in a good way...the more and more I eat out the more I like limited choice!

We ordered an Old Sckat Amber Ale from Portland Oregon....which was perfect accompaniment to our burger to follow. There was also house cocktails which looked amazing...given the hot night we all just glossed over these on the menu.

This picture does not do the burger justice... lets just say its juicy, messy and super tasty....

Our dinner arrived and we were all pretty silent, greedily eating our burgers...

Here goes.. Matt and Toby in the ultimate tasting....

The burger patties were so juicy they made you salivate for more! 

I think this picture requires no caption....

I agree with Toby that it was quite possibly the best burger I have ever eaten and let's face it I have eaten a lot of burgers in my time.  The buns were not too sweet and the salad to meat ratio just right. I had the jalepeno relish which had just enough kick to it without overpowering the burger.

Rumour on the street had it that they have mastered a special technique in the kitchen where on the grill they have pot like lid that they put over the patty to lock the flavour and juices in (yes I have already tried this at home...). We couldn't get enough of the deep fried gherkins.... and as for the shoe string fries, they were perfectly crunchy and the tart mayo worked so well with the fries and the burger cutting through the grease of the meal, almosts refreshed the pallet.

These guys also could not get these burgers down their gobs quick enough....

This place is a lot of fun and well worth the queueing....I loved the whole get up....the meat curtains...strips, the red hue and the ambiance was bang on.
I can see why they chose the name Meat Liquor as the burgers were so damn juicy....just like meat liquor...best you not picture that in your head until you have tried it for yourselves...

Love the graffiti....you just keep on pushin' my lover over the burger line......

And for those of you still reading this far... call me immature but I got the giggles when I saw the sign to the boys toilets!

The girls ones... said CHICKS in case you were wondering.

Pulled Pork....So Hot Right Now!

About a year ago I had the most spectacular pickled pulled pork sandwich at the duchess of spotswood.

I have been thinking about it ever since then.  On a recent visit to Sydney I went to the Stuffed Beaver in Bondi, and had the Happy Pig Dam Burger....a pulled pork sandwich, served with slaw and bbq sauce, on a brioche bun, it was delicious.

Not so easy to photograph, but the Happy Pig oozes goodness.

The next two days in Sydney I saw pulled pork sandwiches on the menu all over the place...that was it I was set to recreate the pulled pork at home.

So a bit of research later I came up with a few recipes to try with the goal of creating my very own pulled pork slider. Slider meaning mini burger.

Most of the recipes marinated and then cooked the boneless pork shoulder in a slow cooker.  I don't have a slow cooker so I cooked it in my favourite le creuset pot.  Not quite good friday fare but a good opportunity to try the sliders out on some willing taste testers and critics.

The Home Made Mini Pulled Pork Slider

I decided on using a pork shoulder with the bone in, rather than a deboned shoulder. Ask you butcher to prepare it for you by scoring the fat and also cutting through the bottom of the shoulder that will help to loosen the meat.  Depending on what size shoulder you use or if you use a slow cooker you may need to adjust the liquid to suit.

This is enough to feed all your mates on a Saturday night (10-12 peeps).

Ingredients

1 pork shoulder, about 3 kg, bone in
4 small-medium red onions, quartered
4 tsp of Chipotle Chillies
2 tbsp smoked paprika
4 tsp cumin seeds
6 tsp freshly ground pepper
2 tbsp salt
100 ml apple cider vinegar
100 ml tomato sauce
4 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
2 tbsp Brown Sugar
4 250 ml Bottles of Bundaburg Ginger Beer (Full Sugar Only)

From here it's easy....

1. Mix all the spices together and rub along the surface of the pork.

2. Place the onions, cider vinegar, tomato sauce, Worcestershire sauce and brown sugar in the bottom of the pot. Add the pork. At this stage you can marinate the pork overnight, if you haven't got time, just cook it from here.

3. Cover the pork with 3 bottles of the ginger beer (or until it almost covers the pork).

4. Cook on 150 Deg C for 7 hours, or until the fat of the pork has rendered down and the meat is falling off the bone. You may need to flip the pork half way to make sure it cooks evenly. It may also need to be topped up the pot with liquid, more ginger beer or if you run our water is fine. If you prefer to use the slow cooker you can cook in the slow cooker for 8 hours on medium or 10 hours on low. The pork is ready when you can pull the pork off the bone with two forks. I found with cooking it in the oven the top of the pork caramelised beautifully, not sure this would work as well in the slow cooker.

5. Remove the pork form the juices and rest it for 30 mins, reserve the sauce.

6. Take the sauce and heat on high to reduce it. This should take 30-40 minutes. Be patient as it will caramelise and thicken. Taste the sauce as you go you may need to add some more brown sugar, cider vinegar or Worcestershire sauce. I added all of these, so that the sauce becomes bbq like in flavour and syrupy in texture.

7. Remove all the pork form the bone with the two forks so it is shredded, add back into the sauce so you get a sticker pork mixture, season to taste.


To make the Pulled Pork Slider.....

1. Mini buns or brioches (personally I find them a bit sweet with the pork which is very sweet). If you are nice to your local baker like the Brumbies baker in Albert park, he might bake you some mini white rolls (thanks ems). These just need to be warmed in the oven.

Mini buns...we even got to pick the sesame seeds on top!

2. Make a simple coleslaw out of red and white cabbage, thinly sliced apple and coriander. Add some chipotle and lime to a best foods mayo (or make your own) the dressing needs to be quite acidic to cut through the fatty pork).

Make sure you coleslaw is simple, tangy and adds some bite to the slider

3. Assemble the sliders with some pork, Tabasco sauce and coleslaw

Sweet and Juicy Pulled Pork

I guarantee your guests will be back for seconds....or in same cases fourths!

Rated 9.2 out of 10 by a anonymous critic.