Share your grilled hamburger secrets...

[vash]

dont neglect the bun. great burgers have great buns.......

[ben parrish]

Jim,
Bubba Burgers are fantastic. It is hard to make a better burger. Sams Club or WalMart.
By the way, I used to own a burger joint in Savannah; Ben's Neighborhood Grill. Two locations and I went through about 1000 groung chuck patties in a week. Picked up the patties from a local butcher; 1/4 pound and 1/2 pounders. Voted many times as the best burger in Savannah. We diced the onions and pressed them into the patties before cooking. The onion side cooked first; one flip; no press.
Toasted bun on inside only. If you like lettuce, shredd it. It helps the flavors stay consistent from start to end.
Still miss the restaurants and Ialways go by and get one when I am in Savannah. Sold it to a nice family to go sailing ten years ago.
Ben

[austin552]

[tabs]

Try adding a little Parsley to the mix, and a dash of Thyme to the Grilled onions...Agree with meat with a high fat content.

You can also mix some Ground Pork in as well.

[Overpaid Slacker]

OK, haven't read them all, so apologies for any duplication.

First, with beef, fat = flavor. So use 80% but no leaner.

My recipe is minced onions, several squirts of Frank's Red Hot, a bunch of grated asiago (someone earlier said "more than you think you should" which is exactly how I measure it ) pinch of coarse Kosher salt, garlic to taste (I think the powder works better b/c I don't like a "wet" burger and you're adding a lot of moisture to already wet, fatty beef) and a coupla shots of soy sauce. If you've got a bit of Guinness Stout, that can go in as well or in place of the soy.

Large patties, flatter than you'd think they should be, and torus-shaped. I cook on a thrice-flip, adding American Heart Association-condemned amounts of golden cheddar for the last few minutes.

Never poke the burger -- always use a spatula, especially the schmancy grip n flip, if available.

In one of the earlier replies, I'd read to seal the burgers in tin foil and let them cool -- I could not agree more! This is one of the most important element of a good, juicy burger. Even MW-W burgers can be plenty juicy if you do this -- remember, the moisture remaining in the burger is under pressure. You "open" the burger while it's still piping hot and it all pushes out.

Letting a steak stand before cutting (remember, you've never used a fork to poke the steak) is even more imperative, IMHO.

Plus, while the burgers are standing, you can fry up the over-easy eggs you'll be garnishing them with!

Never Worcestershire; I can't stand the stuff and it makes everything taste like it came from Sysco. Just MHO. Devotees to that sludge can add it later if they want, as I don't think cooking improves it.

Personally, no breadcrumbs. It's not meatloaf FFS! The Asiago (or fresh grated parmesan if you incline that way) should act as a sufficient binder and bring a lot of flava to the partay.

JP

Edit -- I don't eat a whole lotta bread, but if I'm having a bun, it'd be a giant Thomas' English Muffin or some Texas-toast sized buttered/grilled Sourdough. YMMV

[RallyJon]

The chopped onion pressed into the bottom sounds great, but if your fire isn't incredibly hot, won't it just steam the meat from the water in the onions?

[Overpaid Slacker]

Originally posted by RallyJon
The chopped onion pressed into the bottom sounds great, but if your fire isn't incredibly hot, won't it just steam the meat from the water in the onions?

a la White Castle?

mmmmmmm White Castle .... aaaahhhhghhaaaaah (drool)

Best. Burgers. Ever. (the double cheeseburgers, that is).

JP

[gaijindabe]

White Castle. Even a 19 year old gut is too old to process those.

Your first glimpse of your own mortality...

[snowman]

Onions and garlic are the curse of burgers, then again I am allergic to both, so I might be biased.

But being more than a curse (being allergic to onions and garlic) it is a blessing in some small way. It allows one to appreciate the basic burger, by its naked self. Nothing but pure beef, fat and buns. Nothing to mask the underlying beef. The ultimate burger. ONce you obtain that, add anything you want, onions, garlic, whatever. If its truly a great burger you are masking the ultimate treat, if not its an onion, garlic kabob. Even the chedder cheese, and I dearly love the cheese, and almost always use lots of it, can mask the greatness of the ultimate burger. Its that best of usda prime, prime rib flavor, that aged flavor, that got to have one more bite flavor. Its that lingerng aftertaste that keeps your mouth drooling, just a little.

[craigster59]

I have to admit, I'm a "stripper" on my burger dressings also. Cheese, mustard, onion. That's it,.. end of story..