Anyone have a good burger recipe?

[SuperBowlNachos]

I thought this thread already existed, but I couldn't find it. I usually just buy the pre-shaped patties and throw seasoning on them. Last night I used Season All and Cayenne Pepper. They were alright, spicy, but not very flavorful if that makes any sense.

This summer I am gonna expand my cooking skills. I definitely want them to taste better, so I will start getting ground beef and mix in the seasoning with it so the flavor doesn't just drip off on the grill.

[WyxHarmon]

Re: Anyone have a good burger recipe?

One thing a good chef will always tell you is, the biggest flavor lies in the topping, not the meat.


Do too much to it and it ends up tasting like Taco Bell.

[PVarck31]

Re: Anyone have a good burger recipe?

Get some 80/20 ground chuck. Throw some A-1 in the meat before you form them. Don't press them flat. Make them round-ish on the top. Some salt and pepper, slap them on the grill and cook medium-well.

[Sublime12089]

Re: Anyone have a good burger recipe?

I am a big fan of whorsteshire(sp) sauce. I also use a mix of garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and pepper. Then, depending how I am feeling, I may add some blackening seasoning, or whatever else I have that is lying around. I really like this seasoning called "O'Brady seasoning" that I use when I am cooking at work, but that is just at work.

Also, on occasssion, I will dice onions and mix the onions and some bbq sauce into the patties before cooking. Just dont use too much sauce as the burgers wont solidify if you do.

Honestly, I think it is best to just experiment until you find something you like, but myself and others are happy to give you some ideas to mess around with. Hopefully it helps and something catches :-)

[areobee401]

Re: Anyone have a good burger recipe?

Like 31 said 80/20 is where you want to start. I like to add garlic , paprika , and parsley to the meat. Add salt and pepper with a slice of provolone and enjoy.

Edit - worcestershire sauce is great for burgers like Bigfoot mentioned. You can even add teriyaki sauce if you want. It's all about experimenting and it's fun in the process.

[Maxattax3]

Re: Anyone have a good burger recipe?

80/20 is good. form them first, not crazy big, then pat some montreal steak seasoning on them and grill them up.

be simple with the meat and add the sauces after. Ive never liked cooking bbq sauce. I have always put it on after the meat has been cooked.
Dry rub is the way to go for all grilling imo

[Burns11]

Re: Anyone have a good burger recipe?

Best burger, IMO, good ground chuck (80/20), Lowry's season salt and pepper, hot charcoal fire, grill lid on to capture the smoke from the rendered fat, flip, top with cheese (I like muenster), toast bun on grill, little onion, pickle, ketchup, mayo, mustard, lettuce (I like to shred it and add a little with every layer, it adds friction to end patty slippage) and the key to my perfect burger: a thick slice of a REALLY good tomato. Like my burgers medium, BTW.

I really got into mixing things into the meat when I got my grinder, and I tried a ton of different toppings and such, but nothing has ever beaten the straightforward, simple gold standard.

[Gotmadskillzson]

Re: Anyone have a good burger recipe?

If you can find it in your area, get some moose or deer meat, those make the best burgers. But if you only got ground beef, 80/20

Mix some dice onions, lemon pepper in it and just put it on the grill.

[bgeno]

Re: Anyone have a good burger recipe?

I am a big fan of whorsteshire(sp) sauce. I also use a mix of garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and pepper. Then, depending how I am feeling, I may add some blackening seasoning, or whatever else I have that is lying around. I really like this seasoning called "O'Brady seasoning" that I use when I am cooking at work, but that is just at work.

Also, on occasssion, I will dice onions and mix the onions and some bbq sauce into the patties before cooking. Just dont use too much sauce as the burgers wont solidify if you do.

Honestly, I think it is best to just experiment until you find something you like, but myself and others are happy to give you some ideas to mess around with. Hopefully it helps and something catches :-)

This is almost exactly what I do. I'll use whoresteshire, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, pepper, and sometimes just some random spice that sounds like it'll taste good... lol... I experiment. I have been telling myself for a while that I'm going to dice up some onions the next time I make burgers and mix those in to. My girlfriend isn't big on burgers, though, so I haven't gotten around to grilling some beef in a while.

[acts238shaun]

Re: Anyone have a good burger recipe?

80/20 is good. form them first, not crazy big, then pat some montreal steak seasoning on them and grill them up.

be simple with the meat and add the sauces after. Ive never liked cooking bbq sauce. I have always put it on after the meat has been cooked.
Dry rub is the way to go for all grilling imo

Montreal is great, mixing it in the meat when forming the patties. Also, try the hamburger and mesquite seasoning from McCormick. All three are very good.

Never, I repeat never, mix the sauce in before you cook it when you grill it. Unless you are a freaking expert it falls apart on the grill. Not so much in a frying pan/skillet, still not great. You almost have to sear the outside well and turn the heat down to pull it off.

Mixing in onion power, minced onions, roasted garlic, etc., works as well.

[jeremym480]

Re: Anyone have a good burger recipe?

I am a big fan of whorsteshire(sp) sauce. I also use a mix of garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and pepper. Then, depending how I am feeling, I may add some blackening seasoning, or whatever else I have that is lying around. I really like this seasoning called "O'Brady seasoning" that I use when I am cooking at work, but that is just at work.

Also, on occasssion, I will dice onions and mix the onions and some bbq sauce into the patties before cooking. Just dont use too much sauce as the burgers wont solidify if you do.

Honestly, I think it is best to just experiment until you find something you like, but myself and others are happy to give you some ideas to mess around with. Hopefully it helps and something catches :-)

This is pretty close to my recipe too. Mine is worcestershire, onion pepper and
tony chacheres. Then, I throw on some sweet baby rays BBQ sauce a few mins before taking off the grill. Occasionally, I'll mix some onions & bell peppers into the meat to make a hamburger steak burger.

[OSUFan_88]

Re: Anyone have a good burger recipe?

Gotta have Guacamole and bacon on it with some cheddar.

/brownbagburgerorder.

[Chrisksaint]

Re: Anyone have a good burger recipe?

Tony's enough said

[Trevytrev11]

Re: Anyone have a good burger recipe?

80/20 for sure. Season Salt/Garlic Salt and Black Pepper. Choice of Cheese. I throw a little olive oil on the bottom side of the buns and then sprinkle some salt and pepper and toast them on the grill.

Also, if you have problems with your burgers swelling up and turning from hockey pucks into baseballs, use your thumb to put a nice thumb print/divot in the middle of the burger before grilling it up.

[Stumbleweed]

Re: Anyone have a good burger recipe?

Putting pieces of onions directly into burgers makes me sad... they never cook right, the burgers lose their structural integrity, and they would've been much better-used just being a topping.

Anyway, that pet peeve aside, here is what you want to make a perfect burger (toppings are personal, but I'll give suggestions):

80/20 ground chuck (easiest, but preferably, you'd use a mix of 50% chuck, 25% sirloin, and 25% short rib/oxtail)
Soft white bun (Martin's potato rolls rule)
Kosher salt
Freshly-ground black pepper

That's it... ya hearrrrd me!

1. Form a loose patty (this is KEY) after letting the meat come to nearly room temperature prior to cooking -- do this by just gathering the meat together into a ~6 oz. pile, pressing down and around the edges gently to compact it, leaving some air space.
   
2. Before forming patties, you may want to throw a bit of Kosher salt into the mix depending on your preference. Otherwise, just salt it well and add some black pepper to both sides.
   
3. Get a regular pan (not non-stick, unless you have one of those nice Calphalons that actually sears food) and a bit of oil hot to the point where it's rippling in the pan and on the border of smoking (med-high normally).
   
4. Place the patty down into the oil, but don't touch it for a good 3 minutes... no poking, no pressing, just leave it the hell alone.
   
5. Flip the patty, then do the same thing for the other side (will need slightly less time), letting both get a healthy sear and crispy edge.
   
6. Pull it just slightly before you'd want it perfect, as it continues cooking once pulled off the heat... I do it by feel, but you may want to get a kitchen timer happening if you're iffy on meat temps.
   
7. LET IT REST for ~5 minutes on a plate tented with aluminum foil... cannot stress this enough... you want a juicy burger?? This is the answer, not adding a bunch of sauces and flavorings to the patties.
   
8. Toast the bun, I like to throw it back into the burger pan with a bit of the leftover burger fat to toast it... this keeps your bun from falling apart after haivng an uber-juicy and delicious burger sitting on it. Assemble.

For toppings, I normally keep it simple, but there are a lot of ways to jazz up a well-made burger without completely losing the "awesome burgerosity" of the whole experience. The key with toppings (like pizza), is not to overload a burger with them. a well-made burger stands on its own and needs nothing, but certain things can elevate them. Here are some combos that I do regularly:

Sauteed onions hit with sherry vinegar
wilted greens (can use spinach)
Crumbly goat cheese
Slice of crispy bacon

Smear of avocado
Tomato
Piece of green chile
Slice of sauteed onion
Chipotle mayo

Building a burger is almost as important as what goes into it for me... like a normal sandwich, having it be ridiculously sloppy and falling all over the place is a major no-no, for me anyway. Putting lettuce or greens on top of a tomato will cause leakage. Put the tomato on the bottom of the bun, with a layer of fat (mayo,etc.) between it and the bun... that'll keep the bun crispy and you won't have tomato juice dripping everywhere. I find myself only putting sauce onto the top layer of the bun most of the time, to 'dress' the greens I'm using... a tomato, some avocado, or simply delicious burger juices are enough to flavor the bottom bun.

There's my burger tirade. One of my favorite foods...