Regarding Connecticut style steamed burgers - is the container necessary?
To my knowledge, Connecticut style steamed burgers are only found commercially in Connecticut, but thanks to the Internet, they have become a kind of thing elsewhere.
If you don't know what they are, here's a video that shows one of the burger joints making the burgers:
Basically they stuff the ground beef into miniature loaf pans which then go into the steamer. They do the cheese the same way, separately.
America's Test Kitchen (sorry, paywalled) has published a recipe that just puts the burgers straight on the steamer:
I plan to use washed out tuna cans for the cheese because the pouring of the cheese is pretty cool. But is there any good reason to open two more cans of tuna for the burgers themselves? I kind of don't see the point, but I don't want to miss any of this bizarre experience.
Best Answer
The cheese needs a container such as the tuna can so it doesn't just ooze everywhere, but the burger does not. You could steam the burger by just placing it in your steam tray. Since it's solid, it won't go anywhere!
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How do you cook steamed burgers?
heat water on high heat until water begins to steam, reduce heat to medium. place burgers on rack and cover. steam for about 10 minutes. top with cheese, cover and steam an additional 30 seconds to 1 minute or until cheese is melted.What is a steam box burger?
Instead of being fried in a pan or grilled on a grill, it is steamed in a stainless-steel cabinet containing trays that hold either a hamburger patty or a chunk of cheese. This method of cooking makes the fats in the meat melt away and they are then drained from the tray once the patty is fully cooked.Why do you steam burgers?
Because it's so different, the steamed burger piques people's curiosities. All in all, it's a healthy burger. The cheeseburger is about 580 calories and the plain burger is just over 400\u2014and the bun takes up about 150 of those calories.The Ultimate Regional Burger Road Trip with a Burger Scholar | The Burger Show
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