Saveur: The New Comfort Food (21 page)

American Ham

Smithfield, Virginia, has been the epicenter of America’s ham business for four centuries. Jamestown, the site of the earliest English colony in North America, is just a few miles upriver; the settlers who brought pigs to the New World started confining hogs on a nearby island to raise them for ham, and in 1779 a sea captain named Mallory Todd started to ship hams from Smithfield to the British West Indies.

The Virginia trade eventually spread to England, where Queen Victoria placed a standing order for six Smithfield hams a week. By the 1900s there were dozens of local producers, but over time most were consolidated into a single company, called Smithfield Foods, which today is the largest pork processor in the world. But there are still many small producers in the area; our favorite is Sam Edwards (pictured), a fourth-generation producer who cures his smoky hams just a few miles outside the Smithfield city limits.

Sweet and Sour Pork Chops

Maiale in Agrodolce

These grilled pork chops with a glaze of honey and balsamic vinegar are typical of the sturdy, lusty food found in Roman neighborhood restaurants (such as the 51-year-old Sora Lella, pictured) and home kitchens alike. They pair well with stewed sweet peppers, roasted potatoes, or sautéed greens.

4 10-oz. bone-in pork chops, frenched
3 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
¹/
₃cup balsamic vinegar
2 tbsp. honey
4 tbsp. unsalted butter
1 sprig fresh rosemary, torn into 1-inch pieces

Serves 4

1. Put pork chops on a plate and drizzle with oil. Season the chops generously with salt and pepper and let sit for 30 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, build a mediumhot fire in a charcoal grill or heat a gas grill to medium-high heat. Combine vinegar and honey in a 1-qt. saucepan and cook over medium heat until reduced to ¼ cup. Add butter and rosemary, stir until butter is melted, and set aside.

3. Put pork chops on grill and cook, occasionally turning and basting with balsamic mixture, until browned and just cooked through, 12-14 minutes. Transfer to a platter and let sit for 5 minutes before serving.

Sid’s Fried Onion Burgers

Onions are a classic burger topping, but at Sid’s Diner in El Reno, Oklahoma, they are an integral element of the patty itself. Squashing the ground beef and onions together into the hot skillet results in a well-seared exterior, crisp edges, and a delectable caramelized-onion flavor.

1 lb. ground beef
2 medium Vidalia or yellow onions
4 tbsp. canola oil Kosher salt, to taste
6 slices American cheese (optional)
6 hamburger buns, toasted Dill pickle slices

Makes 6 burgers

1. Divide the ground beef into 6 equal balls, making sure to handle the meat gently. Very thinly slice the onions on a mandoline, or slice them using a sharp knife; divide the onions into 6 equal portions.

2. Working in two batches, heat 2 tbsp. of the oil in a 12-inch cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. Add 3 of the beef balls and, using the back of a spatula, press down on them until they are thin. Cook for 1 minute. Top each patty with a portion of the onions, then season with salt. Press the onions into the meat and cook for about 1 minute more.

3. Flip the onion-topped patties and flatten them with the spatula. Place a cheese slice, if using, on each patty and let the cheese melt while the onions and meat brown. Top the bottom half of each bun with the onions and cheese-topped patties, add the top bun, and serve with dill pickle slices, if you like.

Local Specialty

One reason to visit Sid’s Diner (pictured) in El Reno, Oklahoma, is the hospitality. A small town 35 miles west of Oklahoma City, El Reno is the kind of place where nice-guy burger joint operators like Marty Hall are local celebrities. The other reason to visit Sid’s, of course, is to eat the onion burger, the best of a local breed that was invented in El Reno during the Great Depression. The burger’s distinguishing feature—lots and lots of onions cooked right into the patty—began as a way of stretching ground beef. Marty, who started making the specialty as a grill cook 41 years ago, places a small ball of beef on a hot flattop griddle, showers the meat with a heap of thinly sliced Vidalia onions, and then presses the patty down until the onions and beef become one. When the burger is crunchy and browned on the bottom, it’s flipped so that the same thing can happen to the other side. The last time I was at Sid’s, I asked Marty whether his burgers had changed over the years. “Cooking burgers is like laying brick,” he told me. “Your best comes with years of experience. It becomes like an art.

”—George Motz

Building the Perfect Burger

It just might be the ultimate comfort food: a juicy hamburger customized to appeal to our particular tastes and cravings. There’s almost no limit to what works well when crafting a delicious burger; countless toppings and types of buns provide a pleasing contrast in taste, texture, and temperature. Maybe you’re in the mood for a classic cheeseburger with some crisp, cool lettuce and raw red onion. Or something more decadent: blue cheese, sweet caramelized onion, and smoky bacon. Here are some of our favorite burger building blocks.