Flank steak and bacon sliders

I had bought a pouch of transglutaminase not really having any plans for it. Several months later, The Lady™ and I were at the asian market, picking up things. We picked up a flank steak, and I remembered how lovely and tender they are when sliced against the grain, even when cooked to death. These sliders are constructed from a stack of flank steak and bacon, and sliced against the grain prior to cooking. The result: a super-beefy, eminently tender steak burger with an excelllent mouth feel from the bacon fat, and a deep smoky finish.

Warning: Transglutaminase is not for newbs. The word literally means “breaks apart glutamines (protein ends) and sticks them back together”. This includes your skin. Wear gloves, don’t aerosolize it, and wear a mask if you plan on making a lot of these. It’s not acid, but it will stick your fingers together and make any skin it’s allowed to react with hypersensitive.

Makes 8 burgers or 16 sliders.

Ingredients

• Meat glue
  • 1 tsp transglutaminase
  • 2 tsp corn starch
  • 1/4 tsp onion powder
  • 1/4 tsp garlic powder
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp sweet smoked paprika
• 1 flank steak
• 3 slices thick-cut bacon, cut in two

Instructions

1. Put on nitrile gloves.
2. Combine meat glue and set aside in a mesh strainer.
3. Cut steak into a prism shape along the grain; cut that in half against the grain. With the remaining strip, form a third piece around the size of the other two, being sure to keep the grain of the meat parallel.
4. Place one large piece on a plastic cutting board, and shake meat glue on until entire piece is white
5. Add three half-slices of bacon, to cover surface of meat; shake meat glue on as before
6. Add composite layer (the piece made from strips); shake meat glue on as before, including the breaks between the pieces of the layer
7. Add bacon and coat as before
8. Add the final large piece, again, making the meat grain parallel. Choose the direction of this piece to make the final construction as level as possible.
9. Place on a large dinner plate, and balance your remaining dinner plates on top. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, up to 8 hours.
10. Slice into 1/2 inch thick squareish (kind of A4 page shaped, really) burgers. Slice these in half to make sliders.
11. Olive oil and salt the burgers, and grill as you would a thin steak. If you trust your meat provider, keep a spotless clean kitchen, and wash your filthy hands, you may cook these rare. If not, keep medium your friend or risk becoming bosom buddies with your bathroom.