Ernest Hemingway wrote well — and often — about food and drink in his fiction and memoirs.

Many have added to the author’s culinary lore in the years since his death, penning cookbooks and cocktail books inspired by his tastes. But an honest-to-goodness recipe by Hemingway is harder to find. Even his famous Daiquiri is steeped in mythology.

As it turns out, Hemingway produced a burger recipe that has stood the test of time — if you can track down the ingredients.

“Whereas Hemingway’s writing is known for its sparseness, his burger is a complicated affair.”

In 2013, after Hemingway’s personal papers and effects were made public by the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library, author Cheryl Lu-Lien Tan began poring over them and discovered “a treasure trove of lists, recipes, and writings that intimately illustrate his appetites.” Among the papers were a number of handwritten recipes, including a 10-ingredient stovetop burger. She wrote about her findings for The Paris Review, where she included the recipe in full.

Though my own burger tastes tend to skew much more minimalist, I knew I had to try this unconventional recipe — exactly as Papa intended. 

What was in Hemingway’s burger recipe? 

In addition to one pound of lean ground beef and one tablespoon of cooking oil for pan-frying, Papa’s recipe calls for a potpourri of ingredients that range from expected to surprising. These include:

A beaten eggDry red or white wineMinced garlicGreen onionsCapersDried sageIndia relishBeau Monde SeasoningMei Yen Powder

Despite the long ingredient list, there’s no mention of salt and pepper, or any discussion of toppings in the recipe.

Instructions for making the pan-fried burger are unsurprisingly exact. Hemingway dictates how long the meat should sit “outside the ice box,” how to mix the ingredients into the meat, how long the mixture should marinate, and exactly how long the burgers should cook. 

He also specifies removing the pan from the burner and adjusting the heat at various times. The resulting burger “should be crispy brown [on the outside] and the middle, pink and juicy.” 

Hemingway’s burger recipe calls for a whopping 10 ingredients, including India relish, Beau Monde Seasoning, and now-discontinued Mei Yen Powder.

Christopher Michel

Tracking down the ingredients

Whereas Hemingway’s writing is known for its sparseness, his burger is a complicated affair. My first difficulty was in tracking down some of the more arcane ingredients. 

Going into this project, I knew that Tan was unable to source Mei Yen Powder, an umami-rich seasoning from Spice Islands that was discontinued around 2008–2010. Thankfully Tan’s essay included a recipe, approved by the company, that combines sugar, salt, MSG, and soy sauce — all ingredients I had on hand. 

Next up was Beau Monde, a “sweet take on celery salt” that includes salt, dextrose (sugar), dried onion, and celery seed. Although this cult Southern ingredient is still available from Spice Islands (apparently Papa’s favorite spice company), I couldn’t find Beau Monde at any of my local grocery stores, so I ordered it online. 

The hardest ingredient for me to source, it turned out, was India relish. Recipes vary from brand to brand, but this zesty condiment is usually a sweet relish with the addition of spices like curry powder. While Papa doesn’t specify a brand, I found three companies that make India relish: B&G, Mt. Olive, and Heinz. 

Unable to find it at my local store or at most online retailers, I eventually purchased a case of 12 jars of B&G India Relish from Stock Up Express — for about $45 after shipping. 

Making Papa’s burgers

Once I had all the ingredients on hand, I set about making the burger. 

On my first attempt, I used very lean hamburger meat — about a 90/10 lean-to-fat ratio — per Hemingway’s instructions to use “ground lean beef.” As the recipe puts it, “The patties should be … soft in texture but not runny.” My efforts resulted in a very wet mixture, with the relish, the wine, the egg, and juice from the capers all contributing liquid. I tried to squeeze a little of the liquid out without compacting the meat too much, but the burgers ended up falling apart in the pan. 

For my second attempt, I used freshly ground chuck at about 80/20 lean-to-fat ratio. This is what I typically use when making burgers, and I thought the extra fat would help them hold together. I also backed off a little on the wine, and I squeezed out as much liquid from the capers as I could.

This time the burgers held together better. The abundance of ingredients still resulted in very loose burgers, and the cooking times listed (about four minutes per side) resulted in extremely rare burgers — though they were very crispy on the outside. 

After both attempts I served the resulting burgers to my family and friends alongside plenty of wine — and a side salad, as Hemingway recommends.

What I thought of Hemingway’s burger

My first reaction after tasting Hemingway’s burger: There are a lot of ingredients in it. 

Tan notes that this recipe is from the 1950s, when Hemingway was living in Cuba, at the house he called Finca Vigía (Lookout Farm). This burger is very much a product of that time, when marvels of shelf-stable ingredients, spice mixes, and industrial ingredients like dextrose and corn syrup were ascendant, and before American food culture shifted toward simpler recipes with few, high-quality ingredients.

Though his writing defined a generation, Hemingway was also a product of his time, and I’m not terribly surprised that all these things made their way into his burger.

My second reaction: This burger is much sweeter than any burger I’ve ever had. This makes sense: The Mei Yen and Beau Monde spice mixes contain a substantial amount of sugar, and the India relish is also quite sweet.

My third reaction: This burger is delicious. Not only was the sweetness surprisingly welcome, but the addition of sage gave it a distinctive herby flavor that was unexpected and extremely tasty.

Will I make this my go-to burger recipe? Probably not. But I certainly won’t make my own burgers the same way again. I’m holding on to the Beau Monde, and will use it to add a touch of celery sweetness to future burgers and grilled meats. I’m going to add sage to my patties. I may try other add-ins, and see what I get.

Hemingway’s life and writing were punctuated by a taste for big experiences. That’s evident in his stories, his memoir, and in this hand-scribbled hamburger recipe, tucked away in his personal papers and never intended for publication.

It’s an attitude I could use a lot more of in my own life, and especially in my cooking.

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