How to cook hamburgers

[maxman]

I'm just about to pop on some hamburgers for dinner (home made of course).
For fun, I hopped on the 'net to see what tips I could find.

This article is a good one IMO.

How to Cook Hamburgers (Grillingcompanion.com)

Enjoy!

 

[mretzloff]

My two rules:

1. 80/20. Never use 90/10 or 95/5.

2. Meat and spices. Adding eggs, breadcrumbs, or other things makes it a meatloaf patty, not a burger.

 

[ShaveYourSoul]

My two rules:

1. 80/20. Never use 90/10 or 95/5.

2. Meat and spices. Adding eggs, breadcrumbs, or other things makes it a meatloaf patty, not a burger.

Who does this? Granted, I like a good meatloaf sandwich. But, not when I'm looking for a burger

 

[Rushman2112]

I should say I haven't made burgers in a long long while, but doesn't the egg help to bind it together a bit, and without it you risk the thing falling apart on the grill?

 

[Austin]

My two rules:

1. 80/20. Never use 90/10 or 95/5.

2. Meat and spices. Adding eggs, breadcrumbs, or other things makes it a meatloaf patty, not a burger.

Agreed. I like fatty burgers.

 

[nole1]

I should say I haven't made burgers in a long long while, but doesn't the egg help to bind it together a bit, and without it you risk the thing falling apart on the grill?

It won't fall apart if you only flip it once.

 

[Arcadies]

Who does this? Granted, I like a good meatloaf sandwich. But, not when I'm looking for a burger

My mother used to do this, meatloaf burgers basically. She would put the beef in a bowl and toss in some ketchup, diced onions, salt/pepper and various other spices and some cracker crumbs and fry em up in a giant 100 year old steel/wooden handle skillet passed down from my great grandma. I choked down countless numbers of those hideous things, but now that she is gone I sort of miss them. lol

 

[tattewell]

I dont know man, My wife makes a wikid burger that has sun dried tomatoes and onion in the patty, with a patty of feta cheese in the middle of the patty.

Perhaps not a classic burger in the true sense of the word, but damn delicious with chopped green olives as a topping.

 

[Slash McCoy]

I should say I haven't made burgers in a long long while, but doesn't the egg help to bind it together a bit, and without it you risk the thing falling apart on the grill?

You might get this problem if your ground beef is too lean. I prefer at least 10% fat. As it cooks, it helps to bind the burger. It contributes a lot to the taste. And unless you like it rare or medium rare, a significant portion of the fat cooks out. Last but not least, the fat dripping onto the coals or hot deflector plate makes smoke that further flavors the burger without all the spices and sauces and foofoo frippery. (it will flare up, though, if you aren't careful and don't limit the air flow) And as Nole1 said, you should only flip once. It gives you better grill marks for more visual appeal, and a less dried out burger if you go for a medium well or well done.

Nothing wrong with mixing stuff into the meat, like oats, egg, minced onion, etc, if done tastefully. I like to add a small amount of Jimmy Dean sausage. Of course you got to cook it all the way through if you do that... the pork issue. But the best burger is always going to be a classic 100% ground beef burger, artfully cooked with attention to the details, like heat, cooking time, cover, flame or lack of, patty thickness, fat percentage, handling, etc. This is where the artistry of the grillmeister can develop and be appreciated. If you can make the perfect 100% ground beef burger, THEN you can also make delicious "frankenburgers" that aren't simply showcases for ingredients. Too many aspiring grillmasters rely on the added ingredients to make up for their lack of skill.

Easy on the spices. Let the meat and the cooking flavors and aroma flavor the burger. You have ruined a burger when you sprinkle garlic salt on it and you bite into it and the garlic flavor is immediately apparent. A suble approach is needed for the burger that everybody keeps coming back for in spite of an already full belly. Salt is a killer. Simply cooking the burger concentrates salt in it. Please do not add more than the faintest trace of salt. Americans eat way too much of it.

Use good quality condiments. No generic ketchup with hamburgers that you cooked with pride and attention. DILL pickles with hamburgers! Try the Vlasic planks. Thick, carefully handled slices of nice mild white onions. Creole tomatoes if you live in Louisiana. Locally grown, elsewhere... avoid the cheap ones that have traveled halfway across the country and ripened on the truck or in the warehouse. Good traveling/shipping tomatoes usuaaly have half the flavor and texture that a typical farmer's market or homegrown tomato has. Buns should be FRESH. A quick grilling after buttering lightly gives a great flavor and texture. Avoid the cheap generic cheese that is more "stuff" than cheese. I am partial to Velveeta but it sure melts into a mess. Nothing like a slice of smoked Edam on a hamburger. Kraft slices are about as low as you want to go. I prefer deli sliced American, so I don't have to mess with all those plastic wrappers. I definitely find leaf lettuce to work better than head lettuce. It is usually more flavorfull and less messy than chopped or sliced head lettuce. YMMV.

 

[mretzloff]

Who does this? Granted, I like a good meatloaf sandwich. But, not when I'm looking for a burger

Many people I know do this. Not I, though

 

[rockviper]

The purist in me says that making and cooking burgers/burgerloaf the way SMWBO likes (burgerloaf) is the purest way to staying happy.

 

[ShaveYourSoul]

I dont know man, My wife makes a wikid burger that has sun dried tomatoes and onion in the patty, with a patty of feta cheese in the middle of the patty.

Perhaps not a classic burger in the true sense of the word, but damn delicious with chopped green olives as a topping.

I'm all for stuffed burgers. IMO when bread crumbs or oats make it in the mix it turns to meatloaf. Damn it! I'm hungry!

 

[Mark1966]

Hungry now reading this....

 

[jpakstis]

I just mix in some kosher or sea salt and that's it. Make them about 5 oz and put a little indent in the middle to avoid that burger bulge. Get the grill (we have a Weber gas one) screaming hot, then put it to medium-high, and cook on each side for four minutes each, keeping the grill closed and not fiddling. What I've actually found to be a good way to ensure a slightly more rare than medium (my favorite) is to freeze the patties at least a couple of hours in advance. Put them all on a sheet pan with aluminum foil and put directly in the freezer. It sounds like its a lot of trouble, but if you make the burgers as soon as you bring the ground beef home and freeze them on a sheet pan, you can keep them in a ziplock bag without any freezer burn as long as you like. In fact during the summer we usually have at least 3-4 patties sitting in there for a quick mid-week cookout.

 

[stobes21]

Best tip (besides only flip once) I can give is to not try to make the burger too thick. When it's the shape and size of a hockey puck it just takes too long to cook the inside properly that the outside gets all dried out. I like quarter pound (ish) burgers made 1/4" to 1/3" thick out of 80/20 beef sprinkled with some kosher salt and a bit of fresh ground pepper. They start pretty big around but they shrink to a perfect bun size without bloating up in the middle. 3-4 minutes per side on a 500-600 degree grill and they come out perfect. I throw cheese on during the last minute of cooking to get it nice and melty.

As for mixing in onions and other stuff -- I used to do this. But I found it makes it harder to keep the burger together and keep it juicy. So now I just grill up my onions on the side. I don't go overboard on toppings though. A slice of cheddar cheese, a hearty slice of home grown tomato, and some nicely grilled or caramelized onions is all I need. Sometimes I'll throw ketchup, mayo, and/or bbq sauce on there too. But when done right the burger is so juicy and flavorful you really don't need it.

 

[COHunter]

Lately I've found myself adding crumbled bacon (pre-cooked and chilled) to my burgers. Face it bacon makes everything better!!! Also while there are many times the patty ends up on the 'ol Weber kettle, I've found lately I like to pan fry them in my cast iron skillet to get that nice even crust on the outside of the patty.

Ok, been known to toss some blue cheese in there too... admitting it is the first step...

 

[wolfrb]

A good site in general for the occasional burger porn but an alternate flipping opinion.
http://aht.seriouseats.com/archives...s-should-you-flip-a-burger-while-cooking.html

 

[Jut]

i add sharp chedder cheese (shredded) and the crumbled bacon and then a generous dusting of Cavender's Greek Seasoning on each side...absolutely pucker mate!

 

[smalltank]

NEVER press your burgers on the surface ..dem juices be gone!

 

[The Count of Merkur Cristo]

Marc:
Great burger link...and the key to great burgers is to get the lean-to-fat ratio (I like to use 75% to 25%), just right. Also, the Mrs. and I add ½ pk of powdered french onion soup dip, ⅛ cup water & 3 tbsp Worcestershire sauce and spices (Adobo and truffle salt), per 1b of ground beef.

Plus, we love putting ingredients (blue [mixed w/ cream cheese], gouda or swiss cheese cubes, sautéed wild mushrooms, caramelize onions, chopped cooked bacon for example), in the middle of burgers because they can definitely help retain moistness of a burger.

"I'll gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today". Wimpy