Cheeseburger Made In A Rice Cooker

In a few simple steps, make a cheeseburger in a rice cooker.

Step 1: What You'll Need

INGREDIENTS
1 hamburger bun
1/3 lb. ground beef
1 pinch of fried onion
1 pinch of fried garlic
muenster cheese (or cheese of your choice)
1 leaf of lettuce
1 slice of tomato

UTENSILS
plastic bag for marinating patty
rice cooker scoop
knife for slicing tomato
cutting board or cutting surface
paper towels or napkins for messes

Comments

[reverendbubba1]

Just had to ask...does this seal the flavor in,as opposed to just frying it???

[tayerst]

No, it does not "seal" anything in because that never happens. What is it that you think happens during *any* cooking process? Are you hoping to create an impervious layer like plastic? Maybe we could increase the intensity of the gravity-well at the center of the burger such that juices leak IN instead of OUT? ;-> If you seared your hand would your bodily fluids be more or less visible? No, the whole notion of "sealing the juices in" is nonsense. Searing (done properly) causes browning reactions which yield yummy compunds. Frying something dipped in batter could conceivably slow the loss of (some of) its contents. But if you want to "seal" your food you'll need to use foil or plastic wrap.

[timoftheshire]

sear a steak, then finish under a broiler. then just throw a steak under a broiler. which is juicier? the one that was seared first.

does searing "seal in" anything? no. does it slow/reduce moisture loss? most definitely.

[X800xt]

Also, lots of the gastropub type burgers are cooked entirely under something like a salamander.

[X800xt]

Searing doesn't reduce moisture loss, in fact it increases moisture loss. When high heat is applied on meat, the protein strands in meat coils and tightens up. What happens then is water is squeezed out, like wringing wet clothing. When searing, so much heat is applied that the outside develops a dry exterior while cooking the insides. As a cook finishes with lower heat, the same amount of moisture escapes, so losses at searing are greater. However, The loss of moisture is barely higher than meats cooked without searing to warrant no textural difference. Why do we sear? Simply because that brown, dry, crusty outer layer is flavor.

[godofal]

it doesnt really matter what really happens on the inside, what *does* matter is the taste
i've learned long ago that by searing chicken (and other meats) asap you get a much juicier piece of meat

whatever actually happens, who cares; the meat tastes better for doing it

[ams0027]

I tried it but it was a little too chewy

[christophungus]

nice!

[krowii]

This is hilarious! I can't believe you can actually cook a decent tasting hamburger in a rice cooker! GENIUS! I've cooked a loaf of bread in a rice cooker before, so I know they are good for more than just rice. Thanks for sharing!

[rharlow]

you should share your loaf-of-bread-in-a-rice-cooker recipe with us!  I've had my rice cooker for 31 years and have never cooked anything other than rice with it!  LOL.  

[timoftheshire]

Fun fact: Betty Crocker tried to market a line of bake-in-your-rice-cooker cakes in Japan back in the 60s.

They were puzzled by the dismal sales. The reason? In Shintō, rice is almost holy and represents purity. Cooking anything else in a rice cooker would be "impure".

Betty Crocker was completely unaware of this (evidently), so it did a survey as to why its product, which had seemed like such genius, was a flop.

One respondent, when asked why she wouldn't buy it, simply said: "Not in my rice cooker." (you'll have to imagine my East Asian Studies professor (i.e. a cute old Japanese man) doing the accent for yourself)

[menahunie]

Real good way to kill your rice cooker just to fry a hamburger. She's in a college dorm and depending on dorm policy allowing or not cooking in your room. I find it better to just take my frying pan to the common kitchen and fry up a bunch of patties, freeze them then nuke them in the micro when I want one.

[Fizzxwizz]

I just make two burgers using this method, they turned out great! I didn't have fried onions or garlic, I just used garlic powder. They were REALLY juicy!

[drimportracing]

When I was in the Army a long time ago while stationed in Europe we weren't allowed to have hot plates, but having an electric steam iron for well pressed uniforms was almost mandatory. 

I would drain the water out of the iron, turn it upside down and put a pair of dress shoes, one shoe on each side to hold the iron in place, turn it on high and you could boil water in a pot or fry food with a frying pan.   I never had a problem with it over turning but I was always attentive to the possibility.

One time we were searched for contraband but our "hot plate" was never found. 

Warning!  I'm not suggesting anyone should do this.  If the iron overturns it could cause a fire or burn someone.  Warning! 

[Trelligan]

   In Navy barracks we had the same problem. A friend made me a small bookshelf with high wood bookholders on each end. The size was perfect to hold the iron upright. I always had books to put in it, so nobody (important) tumbled on to this for over two years!
   I heated water for tea/coffee/soup in a metal mug, and a few canned foods in the can.
   My friend made quite a few of these bookshelves after a while . . .

[backyardmunitionist]

Perhaps one could devise some type of clamping apparatus to hold the iron in place more firmly.

[spraynard]

Wow...looks delicious.  The burger looks pretty tasty too.   ; )

[pacowarabi]

If you want a huge list of recipes, try The Ultimate Rice Cooker Cookbook.  Not only does it teach you how to make almost everything in the rice cooker, it explains everything you want to know about rice, common and uncommon grains, and different types of rice cookers.  So far, we've only used the book's recipes for quinoa and polenta, but they were the best quinoa and polenta we've ever tasted!

I don't remember a cheeseburger, though, so I'm glad you've added this one.

[gradys]

Cooking in a rice cooker, what will they think of next?

[littledippy]

I love my rice cooker, and I can't wait to try this burger! Looks like a quick and easy meal; especially along with 'Robuck's' suggestion! Thanks

[SeaLion]

I shall try it on mine at some point...:D

[susanrm]

 Not a fan of cooking in a plastic bag due to chemicals being released during heating. Have you considered using foil? To be very safe, I usually use parchment paper inside foil.

[mretuck]

It doesn't mention cooking in a plastic bag.

[montyman]

Did you watch the video?  You only marinade it in the plastic bag.  Take it out before it goes in the cooker obviously.

[DaveySprocket]

It's not actually being marinated, it's just having things mixed in to it, which you can easily do in a bowl using a spoon. So there's no need to use a plastic bag (which does leech into fatty foods, e.g. meat, whether it's heated or not.)

[susanrm]

 Oh, my bad. No, I just read the instructions - too quickly, obviously.

[marjorieallea]

 Cool!!!  This reminds me of college dorm days, when you could stay in the dorms during the summer and the cafeteria wasn't even open, and we fried potatoes, onions and chicken legs (yes chicken legs) in the base of an old fashioned popcorn maker!

[vanillasmoke]

That looks delicious! I wish I had been smart enough to get a rice cooker back when I lived in a dorm.  I use the one in my home for all sorts of things besides rice now!  I'd love to see more rice cooker recipes.

[Nyckname]

For about a year, the only cooking tool I had was a rice cooker. You can make all sorts of good things in it. Curry, hot & sour soup, onion soup, stew...

[eviloverlord]

Excellent idea - I'll have to have a go with a veggieburger. Now I just have to find a bap as big as the size of my rice cooker and I'll be very happy!

[l8nite]

are rice cookers and crock pots interchangable? Just asking because your ricecooker looks exactly like my crockpot....  I wouldn't have thought of it but now that you mention it the pot does get pretty hot. Thats a great multiuse and fantastic for limited space or no kitchen type residence, like a dorm room or a motel room

[dhawktx]

If you can find a small raised rack that will fit in the bottom of your crock pot (often sold for small table-top Convection ovens) you CAN 'dry cook' a small roast/large thick steak in a crockpot on high as opposed to a wet method where the roast sits in the juices.

Just grease the pot and rack for easy cleanup and add a small amount of water to make steam to help it cook. I've also done meatloaf this way. I don't see why you couldn't do a hamburger patty f you have it bound with egg or something or just mashed together real good so it doesn't fall apart.

http://www.cooks.com/rec/view/0,1712,145190-252207,00.html

I disagree with their 'no need to add water'...fat doesn't steam, that's just meat juice.

[Del]

No, most slow cookers won't get hot fast enough (and perhaps not even hot enough) on their "high" settings.  A rice cooker generally is an on/off deal (though some fancy microprocessor controlled ones can do more than just rice) and is designed to boil water.

There are some rice cooker cookbooks out there that show you how to do more than just rice.  The only downside I can think of here is the cleanup; rice is pretty "neat", but burger fat may make a mess inside your cooker that is harder to get rid of.

[fireguard]

Just a by-the-way: my wife got me a crock pot with a three position switch. Off, low and high. In the high position, it does boil liquids, which is why I add rice at the last hour of cooking a chicken/rice meal (usually with vegetables) Lots of crock pot recipes can be modded to add rice near the end. I can see I'm going to have to try to fry a hang-a-burger in it tomorrow... but it has been very helpful/useful and versatile so far. Good 'Ible!

[Robuck]

RE: Downside
You could save on washing by cooking rice in it immediately afterwards and get the bonus of a lovely beefy taste! :D

[Dandeman321]

Perfect! I just moved into a dorm room for the summer and I've been trying to figure out all of the meals I can make with a rice cooker and microwave! Thanks for the idea!

[grendel1097]

I love the cleverness of the idea, but wouldn't an electric skillet be even more versatile than a rice cooker?

Well done, though.. no pun intended. :)

[mztriz]

If you're in a dorm room or similar setting where having an electric skillet is not allowed, using a rice cooker is a great alternative.  :D 

[chemisti3]

omg... she is so amazing.. that burger looked great... i love you madeinaricecooker.. ^^

[scoochmaroo]

More more more!  Show us more rice cooker recipes!