Last September, after almost 6 years of checking and testing burgers in Malta and all over Europe, we found one that scored 90+ points in our books. What were the odds of finding a second one, anytime soon? Well, rejoice burger lovers, as today we have found a Surf & Turf burger with a Gold Star merit, in the most unexpected of places!
Never like in 2018, there has been such a peak in superior burgers and a spike in chef creativeness. Coming up with a Gold Standard burger is no easy feat. The Gold is reserved for those burgers that are extraordinary beyond belief. Those meat & bread creations that are handcrafted from scratch and display gastronomic techniques that are not usually associated with burger grilling. And so, can you imagine our bewilderment, when we came across one such burger, in a Sliema Take-Away?!
The typical Maltese Take-Away is generally not considered material for Gold Stars. Most are greasy corner shops, with no particular health standards, and are renown for frozen & reheated food. Everyone knows that, which is a very unfortunate matter. Chef Darren Zammit wanted to change that misconception. Having spent 12 years working in and out of kitchens in the UK, Darren moved to Malta with the intent of setting up a Take-Away concept with high-level Gourmet standards. He did that at Le Poisson in Bormla, elevating anything fish to new standards. You could have fresh pasta with fish and classic fish & chips cooked right there and then whilst you waited. Some 3 months ago Darren moved over to a new Take-Away, tucked away in Rudolph Street, Sliema, aptly named Sea Salt. And this is where we caught up with him, and his new burger-making venture. Darren immediately strikes you as a jolly and very hard working individual, with a penchant for quality gourmet food. Every dish, whether it’s a burger or a sea bass, is prepared on the spot, so it does take some time, as it’s cooked to the individual’s liking. Whilst you wait for your food, you get a free show of Darren literally juggling pots and pans, building all the components of your burger from scratch. This is a crazy concept, unlike anything we’ve ever seen… we wish all Take-Aways were like this!
The Gold Star surf & turf burger in question is made from a 180gr beef patty and is topped with deep fried floured calamari and a whole Sicilian red prawn. All is covered in bisque sauce, and sandwiched between a brioche bun drizzled in lemon vinaigrette and layered with rucola. The heart of every burger is the meat patty itself, but most would agree that surf & turf burgers are an exception as there are multiple key ingredients that make such a burger tick and work. Indeed, when you think of Surf & Turf, you probably think of a steak and lobster. Surf and turf’s origin story is shrouded in mystery, with different restaurants all across North America arguing for the onliest title of who did it first! It’s a curious combination that sprung from America’s fascination with the continental cuisine of the 60s. Together on a plate, surf & turf became a plush status symbol for the upwardly and fashionable class.
Enough gastronomic history. Let’s talk about the meat element. The patty is made from a combination of chuck & brisket, imported from Ireland. The patty is pan seared in olive oil so all juices are contained within and then left to rest. Chuck is a very popular beef cut to use in burgers, but adding brisket changes the flavour formula to something more unique and individual. Old school butchers made burgers mostly out of chuck, or more specifically, chuck roll. It’s as classic as you can get, yielding a high-fat burger made from the shoulder area of the animal that comes across as juicy rather than greasy. Hands down, it’s our favourite cut to grind. On the other hand, brisket is more of a blue-collar cut, as it has a distinct super beefy flavour profile that will yield a rich burger with an elevated attitude. Together they make a bomb of a patty that is buttery, has a robust flavour, but a soft airy texture filled with meaty juices. Only an ambitious cook will go the extra mile and make something as complex as a granulated burger, combining 2 diverse cuts of ground beef to create a loosely grained patty. This also illustrates a larger point about effort and technique, and why only a handful of burgers deserve the Gold standard in our books. No one can argue that the result is, well, a meaty delicacy. This isn’t just any burger, it’s an exquisitely complex burger with a patty that is carefully hand-ground, gently shaped and expertly sizzled. If the patty wasn’t impeccable, your burger would never live up to its juicy, beefy and satisfying potential. And this one was juicy, toothsome and as epically enjoyable as it can get.
As soon as you step into an express food shop called Sea Salt, the first thing you expect is fish & crustaceans. And this one does not disappoint. The next burger element worth of note is the calamari. Here they come as deep fried, flour-coated squid. Squid meat is firm and white with a mild, slightly sweet, almost nutty flavour. And most importantly it’s low in saturated fats. Frying calamari in deep-oil is one of the best squid-cooking methods. These crusty little morsels are the crispiest squid we’ve tasted so far this year. Just imagine the lightest, crispiest, melt-in-your-mouth-iest coating over the most tender squid, and this would be it! By comparison, they are a lot lighter than their Italian cousins, which are usually heavily coated with cornmeal. These fried calamari do hit the spot where it counts most. Squid tends to have a somewhat mild flavour, so one has to be attentive what sauce to use, as this would mask its delicate taste. We like it with salt alone, maybe a little lemon, but if you crave a sauce, there’s the prawn bisque.
The bisque sauce is a perfect addition here, as it brings forth an explosion of oceanic flavour, without afflicting the rest of the burger elements. This bisque is mainly made with a mix of browned veggies, flaming brandy and prawns. Bisque is a smooth and creamy French soup, usually interfused with crustaceans, and here it’s presented in sauce form. It adds a level of deeply rich creaminess and a velvety-smooth flavour of prawns and sea. The more you taste it, the more you wish there was. Which would bring in an engineering problem. Too much and the burger becomes too messy, whilst too little will result in you feeling robbed and cheated! This creamy, dreamy and tangy bisque dripping down the side of your burger is well justified. Listen, if we are going to go surf and turf with a burger, let’s not cut any corners! However, our burgers were very manageable to eat barehandedly, with no messy fingers aftermaths.
The last burger element packing a hefty sapid punch is the bright and fiery red prawn, filled with white and compact pulp. The melt-in-your-mouth texture and rich creamy flavour is what distinguishes this variety of Sicilian prawn from other oceanic counterparts. This makes it a bit more costly than other small seafood, but the tasting experience is worth every cent. Darren is not cutting any corners here and wanted to jam-pack his burger creation with seafood. All the beef and seafood are sandwiched in a pillowy yet sturdy toasted bun. This brioche bun is much wider than the standard variety we all know of. It’s also drizzled with a lemon vinaigrette made from lemons, olive oil, mustard and garlic, and it tastes amazing. Indeed, the first bite was sublime, the crunchy calamari and the juicy beef patty pairing exceptionally together, with a stupendous boost from the phenomenal bisque. Obviously, the red prawn has to be tasted separately, and its raison d’etre is to provide a gratifying bite intermission. This is for sure a decadent burger that will undoubtedly satisfy all seafood lovers. Such a burger will be very hard to beat. It’s surf and turf at its finest.
There’s one more thing. The fries! These are freshly cut potatoes that go through a 1½ day process of preparation. They are boiled in water & doused in vinegar and left to rest before they are blanched in an ice bath. They are ultimately deep fried until they end up in your mouth. We’re sure that Darren was inspired from his many years in the UK as this is a common pub snack all over the British Isles. These chunky and scrumptious potatoes have a very addictive salty-sourness, which we adore, and are definitely Top 5 Fries hitlist material. That salty, acidic crunch is totally addictive and unforgettable. Crave on, these tangy and crispy chips can be enjoyed for dinner time, lunch, and why not, even breakfast! We’re heading back to Sliema for some more…
