Hamburger recipe and technique?

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farklf

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Please Help! I'm pretty good in my queing. But I really don't like my hamburgers. They seem bland. They get too plump when I cook them. I cook em with indirect heat. I don't flaten them out while they cook. bout 325 is a good temp for them. What's your best approach and recipe? I usually just add some dry lipton onion soup mix.
 
I add some Worchester sauce, sometimes diced onions and salt/pepper.

I put an impression with my index finger in the center on both sides to keep the patty from getting plumper. Learned that on Food TV.

Don't be afraid to try new spices on your burgers, good luck.
 
Add your favorite rub to that mix also. You may want to try a little burger in a frying pan and cook it to get the seasoning right.

When you pat out your burger, make a depression in the middle with your thumb. That will help you with the plumping problem. Saw that on a Bobby Flay show one day.
 
I like to use a fresh ground meat, either chuck or a mix of chuck and sirloin, with some bacon added to get it 80/20 lean to fat. I don't add any flavoring to the meat and I handle it minimally, I do not believe in compressing the patty at all. I think ground meat gets a tough texture when handled much after grinding.

I form into patties with as little handling as possible, they dont have to be perfect. I put on a hot grill, salt only on the top side. Cook for a couple of minutes, flip and salt and pepper the cooked side, then go another couple of minutes or more, depending, a instant read thermometer works great for checking desired done level. It ends up tasting like beef, it works great for me. If I want to smoke them, I do the same thing, except dust them with rub, then onto smoker at 250F until done, usually 30 minutes or so, i think. I tend to eat medium rare burgers.
 
You are right in that you don't want to press on them while they are cooking.
And like others have said, make a depression into the patty before you cook it.

Make it about the diameter of a Silver Dollar, and about a Half Inch deep, or a
bit more...then when it cooks, it will plump up to normal thickness. After you
cook a couple of them, you will learn how deep and wide a depression to make
in the patty; that will give you the results you like best.
 
If you want to keep your burgers from becoming balls of meat, do what bbqbull does, and make the centers thinner than the edges. Just put a nice dent in the middle of the burgers.

For flavor, experiment with herbs, spices and other stuff. I like to mix chopped onions and garlic into my beef. I also like ketchup, brown sugar and chopped onions as a meat enhancer.

CD
 
Don't overmix or pack the patty too much. Minimal handling. I find when I overmix or pat the patty, it turned out dry. I used to overcook mine too. Honestly, I've been grilling burgers for almost 30 years and only in the last couple of years have my burgers been good to great.
 
Good quality meat, salt, pepper and a dent in the middle to keep from mushrooming and your golden.
 
Pyle's BBQ said:
Add your favorite rub to that mix also. You may want to try a little burger in a frying pan and cook it to get the seasoning right.

When you pat out your burger, make a depression in the middle with your thumb. That will help you with the plumping problem. Saw that on a Bobby Flay show one day.
Click to expand...

This def works for keeping a uniform patty. I just use my thumb and viola! No fatty burger!
 
Here's a recipe you might try.

FiestaBurger_1_1_640.jpg


This Week in Grilling: Mexican Fiesta Burgers - YouTube

John
 
Get a little direct heat on them, that helps add flavor. You can also try salting the meat and letting it rest before cooking to let the salt absorb into the meat.
 
I agree with minimal handling and just some salt and pepper with 80/20 ground meat. Cheese slightly melted at the last seconds.

And the buns must be slightly toasted on the grill!
 
I will surely have to work on not pressing my meat too tight based on these tips. However, a couple of tight patties with some cheese between them is total bliss. For convenience, a couple of preformed 1/4 pounders with blue cheese is awesome. Keep in mind that you might lose some cheese when things get hot, but you will keep your meat hot and moist in the center. I will have to try that trick with the thumb and dimple in the middle to keep it from swelling too much in the middle.
 
We grill all different kinds of burgers. Everything from quick and dirty frozen patties, to "gourmet" pre-made fresh patties from the local market, to patties we make at home. All depends on time and budget.

My favorite is to form a thick patty of leaner ground beef around a disk of compound herb butter, and then wrap around the edges with a slice of bacon like you would do a filet, and grill over direct heat. Then a nice slice of Tilamook cheddar on top and served on a warm onion roll. Man that's good eats!

My kids favorite is just regular cheap ground beef with 1 pack of Hidden Valley Ranch dip power mixed in (no liquid). The fat\grease mixes with the power when cooking. Ranch Burgers are served!
 
I'm a firm believer in the landarc school of minimalist hamburger grilling. In my younger days I used to think that the more ingredients the better, but as I've grown older I've backed off the ingredients on a lot of recipes.
For burgers I just use ground chuck, salt and pepper - that's it. As others have stated make an indentation on one side of the burger that will keep it puffing up into a ball.
The additional flavors should come from condiments to the burger, let the meat shine on it's own. My alltime favorite burger is a green chili cheeseburger using a roasted green chili puree.
 
Here is the method that works best for me.

1. Salt and Pepper is all you need in the meat, the rest is topping:) I also like a fair bit of salt and pepper. Also salt the burgers and let them rest for 15 mins or so. This will give you a great crust on the outside of the burger.
2. Fresh Ground meat is king. I can't tell you how much ths matters. When I made the switch to fresh ground beef it took the burger to another level. I use 3 parts chuck to one part sirloin and have a butcher grind it or use my own meat grinder. Btw these don't have to be exact. I've done all chuck before and had people tell me they are the best burgers they've had.

3. Patty size must be even. I use 6oz. for my patties. Yes I use a scale, call me anal but I know the cook time then. I also use the dimple method. Also don't pack them tight.

4. Fire, use the hottest fire you can get going. I cook on a Weber Kettle with lump charcoal. I get a chimney full and let it rip. Sear the burgers 2mins a side and then move to the cool side of the grill and top with cheese if you like.

5 have a beer and enjoy a great burger.

My fav is to top with a thick slice of extra sharp cheddar, BBQ sauce, and pulled pork in a pretzel bun. Yummmmmmm
 
Good quality nice 85 beef.

Charcol.

Smoke.

A little seasoning.

Nuff said.
 
Minimalist burger cooking advocate here as well.
The only thing I can add to the discussion is a old Indian secret
(okay he was't that old, and am not sure how much Indian he had in him), but I digress.

Make patties fresh and mix in crushed ice.

The ice maintain voids in the burger while making the patties which collapse as the ice melts on the grill giving the burger room to expand inwards and keeping the burger juicy.
 
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