New York à la Keiko: nykeiko eats: Brooklyn Meat Hook! They got you hooked! [BBQ Burger recipe]

Seen at the cashier counter at The Meat Hook "Stay Hungry Bitches "

It seems that most Brooklynites (or Manhattanites who visit Smorgasburg) know about The Meat Hook and we're no exception. We have no excuse not to especially when it's about 7 blocks away from our place. The Meat Hook consist of a butcher shop, a kitchen supply store filled with a wide range of culinary goodies and a kitchen where cooking classes take place! For those who are interested in home brewery, they got you covered! We sometimes love to just drop by mostly to wander around the shop with no plans to buy anything but usually end up getting something anyway.

They are also affiliated with 'The Brooklyn Kitchen' where cooking classes are offered weekly and appeal to different kinds of taste! You can learn to make everything from sushi,bread, pies, pasta, ice cream to mozzarella, even learn some knife handling skills and lots more! From time to time, they have special treats like learning how to make homemade pizza a la oh-so-very very popular and delicious Roberta's with two chefs from Roberta's?? How cool is that?

Since we have a newly acquired mini grill and were planning a mini BBQ party at our place, we knew the place to get our beef and sausages would be from 'The Meat Hook' no doubt!

'The Meat Hook' takes pride in their products and pay special attention to the local farm suppliers and the quality of meat they supply to their customers. This is why the ground beef were $6.99/lb as oppose to the $1-2/lb you get at regular grocery stores. Absolutely no fillers! All their cuts come from local farms in New York State however on their website, they mention if you want special cuts from Japan or Argentina, they can accomodate! Interesting no?
They serve mainly beef, porc and lamb.Learn more here!

Here's bone marrow we picked up for dinner a couple of months ago. Delicious and easy to prepare.

Bone marrow

We first thought of making kim chi burger or add onions, herbs and cheese but when you have good freshly ground beef, it is unnecessary to overcompensate with the extras. Just appreciate the pure taste of freshly ground beef. We followed simple burger making guidelines inspired by an article found in Bon Apetit's mag but I found the recipe online here.

Remember, a tasty patty needs to be fatty or else it will be all dry and full of blahness. Pick 80% lean meat/20% oh must-have delicious fat and we sprinkled with kosher salt and freshly ground peppercorn. We used Martin's potato buns and garnished with fresh vine red tomatoes, red onions, all-American cheese, crispy lettuce such as iceberg is preferred though we just used red leaf here. Of course your Ketchup, mayo and mustard. If you want, you can make a special sauce too. I mixed Hellmann's mayo and Heinz ketchup and added some chopped up Kosher pickles. You can also add spicy sauce at any ratios to your liking :).

Good old American cheese on your patties make everything allll good

Don't hold back on the fat!

We picked up the following sausages (+comments taken from Meat Hook's sassy staff):

French onion: "A pork, beef and Swiss cheese concoction that came about when we had too much time on our hands. Fresh thyme and marjoram add the flavor and yes, there are caramelized onions too"
Chicken and garlic sausage:"For those chicken sausage fans out there we have this easy adaptable sausage. We roast the garlic and make a paste of it mixed with herbs before introducing it to the chicken. It’s very early Boulud or Puck. In a good way."
House Italian Braising Sausage:"A slightly spicy link that we dry for several weeks to intensify the flavor of paprika, garlic and fennel inside. Add it to a red sauce or white bean stew to give it a porky intensity!"

Don't they all sound so tasty?? Indeed they were! Cook to 160-165 deg F to make sure it is good to eat. Don't overcook!
They've got meats and sausages to offer on a weekly basis. You just have to check their website or call them to find out what is in stock as they make these in-house!