Your stove is stupid

Outdoor Plancha for Home

When I started reading the Comme Ça burger recipe I quickly identified it as one of those techniques that works well in a restaurant, but doesn’t translate perfectly at home because residential ovens don’t pack the same heat.  It’s the same reason roast chicken skin at your favorite bistro is just a little bit crisper, or the crust on a steak has a little more umph.    Even Viking, Thermador and Wolf “prosumer” ranges come up short for reasons of safety.  To install something truly professional and not burn down your house, you’d also need a ventilation and sprinkler system to match.

The Comme Ça burger tries to replicate the power of a plancha by heating a cast iron skillet over high for 3-4 minutes but that still won’t yeild restaurant heat.  Since I didn’t want to invite the fire inspector for a cookout I decided to take my house out of the equation. Outdoor patio stoves typically enlisted for turkey frying can turn out 50,000 BTUs.  More than some restaurant ranges, and hopefully enough to duplicate the plancha when topped with a heavy cast iron skillet.

This past week I spent my vacation making several of these super burgers and I think I’m on to something.  Smoke surges upward from the cast iron during the intense searing session leaving a charred flavor reminiscent of a grill on steroids.  The oven finish still takes the guess work out of doneness.  375 for four minutes for medium rare, and six for medium.  Is it worth the fuss?  I’ll still use my grill when making burgers for a crowd, but for four or less the plancha burger is outstanding.