Sam Zien - Sam the Cooking Guy: Between the Buns: Burgers, Sandwiches, Tacos, Burritos, Hot Dogs & More

SAM THE COOKING GUY: BETWEEN THE BUNS Burgers, Sandwiches, Tacos, Burritos, Hot Dogs, and More SAM ZIEN Dedicated to you guysthis book is for all of you. The subscribers, the followers, the watchers, the buy-our-merchandisers, the come-into-the-restauranters, the Hi-Sam-as-youre-walking-down-the-streeters, the I-couldnt-cook-but-now-I-canersall of you. You made this possible, so in a sense this is also your book. But dont get any ideas about me sharing any of my earnings with you. I appreciate you, but Im not crazy. Debfor keeping this book organized. Lucasgreat working with you againyour pictures and work style are the best. Michaelthanks for believing again. AnnI couldnt have asked for anyone better to have grabbed the baton. Jessica, Rhina, Allisonyou guys make this really easy. Leighthank you for everything. Leighthank you for everything.

By the way, more Bubble Wrap is coming, and you cant stop it. My familyIm so lucky. Oh... and hi, little Rio :) The Shuneemsyou two are always the best. No help, but the best. Kellyjust know that none of this would be any fun or have been worth it at all without you.

Love you so so much. CONTENTS If you are going to follow links, please bookmark your page before linking. WHAT MAKES IT a burger? The bun. What makes it a sandwich? The bread. What makes it a taco... okay, I think you get where this is going.

And it really makes no difference what goes between the buns, the slices of bread, or even between the tortillasits still a hamburger, a sandwich, a burrito, or a taco. This book is about all of those and their beautiful, crispy, cheesy, melty, toasty, warm deliciousness. On some levelmake that many levelsthis is a book about comfort food, just not the macaroni and cheese kind. Well, actually, there is some of that. In any case, the stuff in this book is comforting to eat, but I think wouldnt generally be labeled as comfort. But that said, if you cant find something in this book to love, the book is not the problem.

Because somewhere in this collection of recipes for burgers, sandwiches, tacos, burritos, and hot dogs, even the most finicky eater has to find something to love. Its like the food equivalent of showing someone a room full of puppiesbecause even the biggest asshole is gonna smile, bend down, and wanna pick one up. And before theres any carb shaming, look what Harvard Medical School wrote: Carbohydrates are foods that get converted into glucose, which is a main source of fuel for our body. It is especially important for the brain. Or US News & World Report: Eating carbohydrates boosts the brain chemical serotonin. So, theyre basically saying if you want to be a dumb-dumb, dont eat carbs or anything in this book. But put differently, one could say this book might just make you smarter, and happier. And Im okay with that.

Some Simple Ground Rules Before I Can Say Go: Read all the way through a recipe before attempting. Theres nothing crazy in any of them, but like the Boy Scouts, you should be prepared. Whenever I say oil, I mean a plain neutral oilnothing flavored. Avocado oil, with its clean taste and high smoke point, is ideal. If I mean flavored oil, Ill say it. Salt means kosher salt because its way better than table salt and less expensive for everyday use than sea salt.

By the way, some d-bag once made a comment that kosher salt was only for Jews, which might be true... assuming Jews were the only people who cared about great-tasting food. Use more heat than you normally would, and I think youll like the outcome. There are only a few things that dont benefit from more heatand right now I can only think of scrambled eggs. You can upgrade everything in this book with a fried egg, caramelized onions, or crispy onions. Think of it: a sandwich, burger, burritothey just all get better! Try something you normally wouldnt try once a month.

Seriously, Im not asking a lot. And my pushing you to try something new is not a bad thing either. The worst thing that happens is you end up learning and maybe liking more recipes, and thats good. Shortly after we opened Not Not Tacos (NNT), we got a Yelp review from a woman who said, and I quote, Youre making a mockery of the Mexican people by not serving Mexican tacos. Ya gotta love people. San Diego has amazing Mexican food, plus the best Mexican food in the world is only 20 minutes from downtown San Diegoin real Mexico! And the last thing needed was more Mexican-inspired tacos, especially from a Jewish Canadian guy.

So, I made tacos with unusual fillings, unusual at least for tacos. And thats what ultimately inspired the name. Because as we described our taco fillings as Korean Short Rib, Pulled Pork with Mac and Cheese, Pastrami, Meatloaf, etc., people would ask, Well, are they tacos or arent they? And Katie, a genius part of our group, said, Well, theyre not not tacosand it stuck. The point is that anything in a tortilla can be a taco. And while Not Not doesnt have any Mexican-influenced tacos, this book does: youre gonna love my versions of Carne Asada and the Beef Birria (). Ohand if the cranky Yelp lady hated non-Mexican tacos, shes gonna really be pissed at my Orange Chicken Burrito (), which we think of as our extremely delicious and positive version of cultural appropriation.

This is a debate that could literally fill this entire book. At NNT, we use only flour tortillas. And thats because I feel the aroma of a corn tortilla is so strong that when you lift a filled corn tortillawrapped taco up to your mouth, most of the time you smell only the corn tortilla. At Not Not, I want you to smell whats inside: the Korean short rib, the pastrami. or the Chinese cashew chicken. But its really up to you and you should use whatever you want.

And in the spirit of fairness, here are recipes for both flour and corn. And buying them already made is totally respectable, so dont let the tortilla police tell you it isnt. Last thingif youre going to buy flour tortillas, look for the uncooked ones; theyre really so much better. NOTE: All tacos are assumed to be made on a 6-inch tortillacorn or flour is up to you. FLOUR TORTILLAS MAKES ABOUT 18 TORTILLAS 4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting 1 teaspoons salt 1 to 2 cups warm water cup vegetable oil Put the flour and salt in a large bowl and whisk to combine well. Add the water and oil.

Using a wooden spoon, mix until dough starts to come together. Now use your hands to turn it into a ball. The dough should be sort of like Play-Doh (if you remember Play-Doh), so if its too sticky, add a little flour about a tablespoon at a time. If its too dry, add warm water a tablespoon at a time. Dust your work surface with a little flour, take the dough out of the bowl, and knead for a couple of minutes until smooth. Divide into 16 equal pieces, roll each into a ball, flour each one lightly, then set aside, cover with a kitchen towel, and let rest for 15 to 30 minutes.