2 weeks Ago
The Voyageur smash burger with bacon, fries and house-made gravy for dipping at Backwoods Burger Shack in Gorham. Photo by Tim Cebula Backwoods Burger Shack in Gorham plays to my weaknesses. I’ve written before about my intense love of good burgers and also about my socially unacceptable gravy lust .
With the Voyageur – one of eight specialty smash burgers on the menu – Backwoods gives a cheeseburger the French dip treatment, serving it with a side of rich house-made gravy for dunking. It may be my new go-to for cold-weather comfort food. Chef-owner Rick Boyd’s delicious mashup begins with house-ground beef, a blend of chuck and brisket.
He seasons it with salt, pepper and granulated garlic during the grinding process so that it fully permeates the meat. Boyd likes to pair his burgers with Muenster, a mild, buttery cheese that melts as well as American with the advantage of being unprocessed. Condiments include a creamy garlic aioli made from garlic confit and scratch mayo using egg yolks and the confit oil.
The maple caramelized onions on the bottom bun are cooked down slowly in confit oil and a sweet, sticky touch of maple syrup. Backwoods uses 4.5-inch buns from Piantadosi Baking Co.
in Massachusetts, slightly larger than standard 4-inch buns, so the thin, wide patty doesn’t hang off the edge. I like when chefs really think through the components of a dish, and Boyd gives his creations plenty of thought. “We try to make every component of the burger play a crucial role in building an overall experience,” he explained.
“Nothing should dominate – there shouldn’t be a single thing that just overwhelms everything else. You have to create these things in a way that there’s harmony between every single component.” Then, of course, there’s the gravy.
Boyd makes beef stock and reduces it down to a demi-glace, a two-day process. He flavors the gravy with garlic, rosemary and thyme, then finishes it with a hit of fish sauce, a savvy way to lend depth and an umami boost. While the burger hums along on its own quite nicely, the gravy is what really makes it sing.
It even threatens to become a breakout star on its own. “The gravy’s been so popular that over Thanksgiving, people were ordering it by the gallon,” Boyd said. Fries are the ideal side for the Voyageur, since they’ll help you sop up every last savory drop of gravy.
Boyd sources Backwoods’ potatoes from Green Thumb Farms in Fryeburg, using the Chipperbec variety, a dense, low-moisture white potato perfect for frying. Backwoods hand-cuts them thinly, and they come out crisp, evenly cooked and amply salted. I recently ordered a Voyageur with bacon, simply because Boyd asked me if I wanted bacon on it when he took my order, and I honestly can’t remember the last time I said no to bacon.
It’s an additional $2, and worth it, though a bacon-free Voyageur ($10) is a tasty burger regardless. Next time, I’ll see if I can get a gallon of gravy to go. The Voyageur burger with bacon, $12, Backwoods Burger Shack, 680 Gray Road, Gorham.
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