Cozy Royale

Video: How Brooklyn’s Cozy Royale Makes Their Iconic Dry-Aged Burger | Eater

"Meat is prepped by the restaurant’s neighboring sister butcher shop. For owner and founder Brent Young, there’s no question why burgers have maintained their status symbol as an American classic: "Burgers are iconic because they’re accessible," he says. "Everyone has their memory of burgers that they had growing up, they have memories of the most expensive burger they’ve had, the most indulgent burger that they’ve had." The standard tavern burger is blended the morning before service, an approximate 70:30 grind of lean meat to fat; it’s topped with American cheese, fancy sauce, pickles, and onion and served with a side of fries — a classic burger, through and through. The dry-aged burger is a more complex, richer offering, with deep, umami flavors coming from the aged meat and more elaborate toppings. "This burger is over a month in the process of making," explains Greg Bardwell, the head butcher. "That will give it its scarcity; it’s also just super special and rich." The dry-aged version begins with the trimmings of a dry-aged sirloin transformed into two two-and-a-half ounce patties that are smashed to let the excess fat render out and concentrate the beefy flavor; it’s finished with raclette, arugula, bacon jam, Calabrian chili aioli, and pickled red onions to cut through the richness, delivering pepperiness from the arugula, smoky-sweet notes from the bacon jam, and added funk from the raclette. "The [dry-aged] burger is like the complete opposite end of the spectrum from our tavern burger," Young says. "It is meant to just be a punch in the jaw of flavor." Only ten dry-aged burgers are served a day, and the overarching promise — as Young puts it — is simple: "People love burgers," Young says, "and if you do a great one, people are really going to come out." - Kat Thompson