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Damn fine burgers (now with chicken!)
Zifnab
Registered User
Registered User
A few friends and I have started a habit of getting together every couple of weeks to barbeque something at one of our places, hang out, that sort of thing. This coming weekend is my turn, and since I'm a fancy-pants like-making-food kinda guy, I want to actually produce a decent meal. Burgers are obviously going to be part of this, and the usual tendency of our group is to pick up some premade patties at Walmart or Giant Eagle and toss 'em on the grill. I'd like to go one step beyond that and actually produce my own from raw meat and spices.
What I'm looking for is tips on making damn fine burgers--meat choice, spices, production methods--the works. Any suggestions on what to make with it are also welcome. So far I'm thinking burgers, hot dogs, these incredible cheesy sausages we found at the store, deviled eggs, maybe some coleslaw. Potato/macaroni salad are out because it seems no one but me likes 'em.
So...have at it?
What I'm looking for is tips on making damn fine burgers--meat choice, spices, production methods--the works. Any suggestions on what to make with it are also welcome. So far I'm thinking burgers, hot dogs, these incredible cheesy sausages we found at the store, deviled eggs, maybe some coleslaw. Potato/macaroni salad are out because it seems no one but me likes 'em.
So...have at it?
Zifnab on
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I like to add finely chopped onion to this mix, as well as mixed herbs and often Chinese 5 spices. And I prefer to use a good-flavoured oil, such as olive oil. Just mix well and then pat into shape.
Home made burgers will shrink/get thicker when cooked, so pat them really flat and wide.
This will make the burgers incredibly rich and juicy. Ever since I tried it the first time, it's become the only way I cook burgers.
Lean meat is obviously better for you, but they just never seem to come out as juicy for me that way. For a juicier burger, I use ground beef that isn't so lean.
10 minutes on one side, 5 on the other
Yeah, a lot of the fat is going to drain off when you grill it, so you really don't need to go for the leanest meat available. I usually use 80% or 85% lean beef.
Before you grill the buns, brush the insides with olive oil and sprinkle on some herbs and/or garlic powder. They'll brown nicely, and it's like eating a cheeseburger on bruchetta.
Biggest hamburger tip though? DON'T PRESS DOWN ON THE MEAT. It may sound nice and satisfying and you may have seen it in the movies, but pressing down on a burger does nothing other then squeeze out the flavor and juice.
Also, if you have a food processor, feel free to grind your own meat. It'll let you mix different cuts of beef to get a balance of lean and fat that you and your friends like. Also, you have a lower chance of getting sick from tainted pre-ground meat, so you can cook your burgers to about medium without worrying about anything, instead of having to worry about cooking them well done and having a hockey puck on a bun.
Me? I like my meat well done. So I also like adding a good kick of flavor. The Worcesertshire sauce always does it for me, but I also like adding some finely-chopped onions, maybe some garlic powder, and a beef spice like Rosemary. Or, you could go with spicy and add Tabasco or just some cayenne. Or go with something fancy; once I made a burger using some sliced and halved mushrooms and a swiss/mozzarella blend, and it tasted DAMN good.
If you're a burger purist or just like the taste of just meat, stick with mystic_knight's suggestions. Nothing but salt, and minor toppings on the bun. Anyone who likes their burgers rare will probably like this.
He's quite right about the not pressing on the meat though. And about the grinding your own meat. Even easier though (if you don't own a food processor, or even if you do...) is simply choosing your meat at a decent butcher's counter and having them do it. You're guaranteed freshness, and the meat will be much better than buying ground beef from a styrofoam package.
My favorite meat to use? A 50/50 mixture of chuck and sirloin. Inexpensive (relatively), but it makes the best hamburger meat period. It's not super lean, but super lean just means "tastes like cardboard".
prepare two thin hamburger patties.
place a chunk of cheese on the first patty. American is traditional. Swiss, cheddar, pepper jack, or bleu are also popular.
place the second patty on top. seal in the cheesy goodness.
Cook until the cheese melts.
Eat. Watch out for the flaming hot cheese.
I second this post. DO NOT USE LEAN BEEF.
When making burgers you want the fat to make them juicy. It is imperative that you get 80% beef, which luckily is the cheapest available.
. 1 lb of ground beef
. a little less than 1 egg (crack it in a seperate bowl or something and put it in as needed)
. breadcrumbs (I don't know . . . about 1/4-1/2 a cup)
Now, the good part. One teaspoon each of:
. pepper
. oregano
. basil
. parsley
Just mash it all together and make patties out of it.
Lowry's Steak salt. Seriously, get it.
It will make your mediocre burgers, go to the moon. Try some, you will most likely love it.
Personally, I soak it all in a modest amount of worcestershire sauce (be careful, as too much can have a very dramatic effect on the burgers taste), then I mix a little salt, pepper, a pinch of garlic peper, and season all.
Typically, I tend to cook the burgers on my grill by convection (a.k.a, smoking). I find that placing them directly over the coals makes the meat lose some of it's juiciness, and makes for an overall poor burger texture/flavor.
As someone said, do not press or stick forks into the beef when you put it on the bbq. You only let the juices out.
I also dont like making mine McDonald pattie sized. Most people I know like to have some meat on the bun as opposed to the silver dollar thick patties.
Toasted buns are a must in my opinion and ask your friends what toppings they like before hand, like if you should fry up some onions or peppers before hand or if they are just mustard and ketchup people or if you need a lot of cheese slices, etc. Quality toppings can make the burger that much better if they are into more then just basic condaments.
But yeah, I opt on the side of simple for ground beef. Lowry's on both sides.
Also, if you make them thin, they tend to "meatball" less once grilled. It'll also make it easier to fit toppings etc. on the meat when you're done, and you won't feel tempted to "squish" them. Even better, you'll have a better idea when they're done. Many people like their burgers cooked thoroughly, not to shoe-leather consistently but w/ only a little pink in the middle. Unlike a cut of beef, ground beef isn't necessarily better when rare. It's also less safe to eat, due to the fact that bacteria can grown on the surface of meat -- which there's a lot of w/ ground beef.
If you're making patties by hand, it's very easy to get the basics set up.. and then simply ask people how they want their burgers done. Unlike frozen patties, which always come out the same way (same thickness, same juiciness, same done-ness), you can pretty easily cook a burger according to taste. Cooking food from scratch is definitely satisfying and usually tastes better, but nothing's worse than giving someone something you cooked and having them not like it because you followed a recipe too strictly and ended up with a specific burger that they're not used to. For instance, my girlfriend will not eat a burger w/ any pink inside. She'll eat around the outside and leave the middle. So for her, it's gotta be thin and cooked all the way through. My dad's fine w/ the inside dark red, though, and doesn't really like a burger that's light gray where it "should be pink."
Also, add in a few cloves of garlic. Delicious.
Add some matzah meal to the meat. Makes crunchy burgers (and stretches out the meat).
Make sure none of your friends are allergic to any of the extra ingredients you might be throwing in with the meat.
Get some ground turkey. Get some feta cheese. Get some red peppers.
Saute the peppers in balsamic vinagrette, dice them up. Crumble the feta into fine pieces, mix 'em together with the ground turkey, drizzle with balsamic vinagrette, and make your patties out of that. I'd recommend a nice, big, whole-oat bun. These things will be juicy as hell and very flavorful; you won't even need toppings (although lettuce and tomato still work). Just a good bun.
I made pork burgers on accident once. Not sure how I missed the meat color/smell when I was cooking it. It was basically a 2 pound slab of ground pork (identical to ground beef). I didn't actually realize what it was until I took the first bite. It ended up being pretty good.
All that being said, I may try the turkey burger idea. I saw a 3 pound slab of ground turkey for 6 or 7 bucks the other day.
Salt, garlic powder. If you want to experiment, chili powder and/or cinnamon.
Also, Worcestershire sauce ftw.
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I've had good experience mixing cheese in with burgers, but these were quite large ones intended to be eaten without a bun, I guess almost like a big flatter meatball.
But yes, I made two thinner patties and then grated some cheese (the exact type of which escapes me now, but chedder would work) and whacked it in the middle, making sure to seal the edges well. If I recall correctly there was also a small amount of grated cheese mixed in with the beef along with some chili sauce, which should be used very subtly. The problem with this burger was the cheese becoming incredibly hot and spurting, so it should be given a good bit of sitting time before it is eaten.
I'm off to rummage for something to chew on that can simulate a nice burger.
edit: How could I forget... that cheese was STILTON. Bear in mind this is a very strong cheese with a distinct flavour, so don't overdo it.
SoogaGames Blog
garlic
onion
blue cheese salad dressing mix
bacon
salt
mix and grill
carcoal or gas?
Personally, I'd prefer charcoal because you can do things with the smoke (adding chips, garlic, etc), but really, you can make a fine burger still on a gas grill.
Molasses
Clarified Butter
Brown Sugar
Just mix it all together in a sauce pan over medium-low heat to taste. The consistancy should be a little runnier than plain old molasses, but not much.
Also, for a standard burger you just can't go wrong with:
Marinate ground beef (get sirloin; it's better for you than chuck and round, and with a marinade, just as juicy as the latter two) in worcestershire. Grill. Top with sauted mushrooms and gorganzola.
[spoiler:a10465906e]I put sauted mushrooms and gorganzola on everything[/spoiler:a10465906e]
While we're at it, another topping for burgers:
Take large mushrooms; I recommend portabella, but shitake works, too.
Throw them on a saute pan, and gradually heat them up to medium. Mushrooms are funny. When they get to the right point, they release all the water they're holding, and cook down very quickly. Shortly after you see them do that (literally, the pan will go from dry to suddenly wet), add some red wine (liberally) and dijon mustard, then mix it up, and let them simmer until the mushrooms soak up all the red wine, plus a minute or two longer. If done right, you'll get a slightly sweet, tangy glaze on the mushrooms. Throw 'em on top of a burger, ideally with a thick slice of swiss cheese.
...and for cryin' out loud, use good buns!
Drunks Against Mad Mothers
On the 4th my friends used ground chuck steak for burgers. They also put cheese (Gruyere? Not quite sure) and bread crumbs inside the patties and swiss cheese on top. Complete with bacon and grilled red onions and you have one of the best fucking burgers I've ever had.
Usually I add about one egg per pound of ground chuck (can use less or even skip the eggs entirely), worstershire sauce. chopped onion, and if I'm only cooking for myself some crushed red peppers and/or hot sauce. The peppers do a good job of giving the burgers some kick without noticeably altering the flavor.
Then, experiment
Bread crumbs? That's almost bordering on meat-loaf territory.
It is pretty amazing that this thread has almost turned into more of a "the wonders of ground beef" thread, though.
A lot of gas grills (like mine) encourage putting charcoal-esque briquettes around the flames, which yields about the same effect. They're designed to last for more than one grill, though, so adding crazy stuff to them doesn't work as well, unless you want to change them out after every use.
I second the "Juicy Lucy" bit. And here I thought my cheese-stuffed burger idea was so very clever. And those people who are saying you need to add stuff to the meat to keep it from falling apart are insane; a properly made patty holds together just fine. Just make sure you wad the meat into a tightly compressed ball, then squash it flat on a plat. I get the best results from 1/3 pound patties. Smaller is too pathetic, larger doesn't cook as well. I don't get too crazy with my burgers, but I typically add a little salt, pepper, and maybe a tablespoon of BBQ sauce per pound of meat. Alternately, some garlic powder.
And if we are doing chicken, I recommend the following:
Take a 1/2 pound chicken breast. Brush it with a little olive oil, and grill it for a couple minutes on each side. Then wrap it with a strip of smoked bacon - maybe two if it's small bacon or a large breast - and cook for a few more minutes per side. You don't need much in the way of seasonings, because you'll get plenty of flavor from the bacon. The only tricky part is flipping the chicken without the bacon falling off, because it'll be floppy when it's only half cooked.
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