FROM: It Came from Disney! Published Tuesdays

Mickey Burger Press, Part 2

Last week, Jessica survived the burger-pocalypse: her burgers in the shape of Mickey heads, courtesy of the Mickey Burger Press, did not hold their shape, separating into rather gruesome (but tasty) Mickey parts. Undaunted, Jessica tries again...

- Jessica Clawson, May 31, 2011

Here is a recap from part one of the Burger Press episode:

• I had a Mickey Burger Press.
• It made Mickey Head Burgers.
• The Mickey heads turned into Mickey parts when the burgers did not stay together.
• I contacted the company for suggestions.
• They gave them to me.

And here we are at Part 2, where I actually try those suggestions to see if this cool-looking burger press can redeem itself.

Burger Redemption?

Here are the suggestions I tried:

• Adding egg to the meat to help it stick together.
• Putting wax paper in the bottom of the press to help ease the patties out.

I tried patties with the egg and without the egg to see whether it made a difference.

I first made the patties without egg. I followed the same procedure as last time, filling a cup 3/4 full with meat, then pulling it out and sticking it on the press, which had a piece of wax paper laid on it.

I first tried keeping the meat in a ball and pressing down, which the company told me to do, but the ears did not fill in completely, so it's still best to put the meat into the bottom part of the press and mold it so the ears will fill out. I did that and - to my surprise and happiness! - when I lifted the patty, it came out stuck to the top of the press! It did not get stuck in the bottom at all and was very easy to remove from the top and put onto the plate, completely intact!

Happy with these results, I made two patties in this fashion, both without a hitch, and then moved to my next experiment: the egg patties.

I combined the rest of the meat with one egg. In the bowl, the meat was sticking together well, so I had no doubt that they would make fine burgers. I put the meat in the mold, pressed down and, sure enough, out came great patties. I did find the egg patties to be softer and a little more flimsy than the regular patties.

After the patties were made, they went in the oven for the second redemption test: flipping.

The first time around, the patties were already falling apart, so flipping them in the oven caused them to come apart even more, thus the Mickey Parts burgers.

I am very happy to report that both the plain burger and the egg burger stayed together the entire time! They flipped with ease and did not fall apart.

Burger Beautiful!

The burgers cooked completely and evenly and, with the Mickey cut cheese and bun, made quite a good meal! (For those who may be wondering, the egg patties taste no different than do the regular burgers.)

Overall, this was a very successful redo and the burger press has, mostly, redeemed itself! I am still standing firm with the fact that directions and/or suggestions should have been included with the press.

Following the directions given by the company, though, I am happy to report that the burger press does make good Mickey shaped burgers for any Disney themed cook-out or party... or for just any old day that you feel like adding a little Disney to your meal!

More: IT CAME FROM DISNEY!