Share your grilled hamburger secrets...

[JonT]

Looking for the ultimate burger tips for on the grill burgers. Gas or charcoal tips welcome.

[azasadny]

Put several slices of avocado on the burger when it's on the bun. Don't tell anyone it's there and see how much everyone enjoys it!

[alf]

Grind your own meat or have the butcher grind it for you.
Use Sirloin or Chuck, with fat.
Do not over handle the patty, form it and grill it
Make the patty thinner in the middle than the rim
Flip only once.
Do not squeeze the patty on the grill.
Try adding an egg and some chopped onions to the minced meat with a dash of salt. Great for the forman grill.

[sammyg2]

Worchestershire sauce and cavender's seasoning. Don't use lean meat. flip only once. Pull them off the grill before vthey are done and wrap in foil, they will keep cokking for a while. Let cool a little before serving and the juice will stay in the burger.

Put a very thin layer of butter on the buns and grill them lightly. that adds to the flavor and keeps them from getting soggy.

[on-ramp]

great topic...big BBQer here!

let's get the fire going....

[Joeaksa]

Worcestershire sauce and Lowery's seasoning salt. Marinate the meat for a while beforehand.

Use the meat mix that John L said above and do it over charcoal. A bit of cheese, cold beer and taters and that should make life good!

[austin552]

I make them like a meatloaf. Put room temp. lean ground beef in a large bowl. Add chopped red onion, red pepper, mushrooms. Then add salt, garlic powder and black pepper. Mix in some steak, BBQ or hot sauce for an added zip Make patties LARGE. I smoke them with mesquite blocks for an hour. Then grill until done.

[TWork]

Put in a cup or so of breadcrumbs and a couple teaspoons of olive oil when you're mixing up the beef. You can use plain breadcrumbs or some places have various herbs mixed it. That, plus your Worcestershire, onion powder and other standard seasonings. You can't go wrong.

[Icemaster]

If you use lean meat, you don't get as much shrink and flame-up. Worscetshire sauce, paprika, vadialia onion chopped fine and some bread crumbs as a binder. Cook medium heat, and like was said, thinner in teh middle.

Cook over charcoal, ONLY FLIP ONCE!!! Can't stress it enough.

BUT, remember, you gotta use quality and fresh breading/buns, toppings etc after its cooked. Otherwise you can mess up the whole package.

[cool_chick]

I do chopped videlia onions, bread crumbs and worschechire sauce. I will be trying some variations based on this thread...

(never thought of paprika, bet that's good....)

[WolfeMacleod]

You cook your meat?

[Steve Carlton]

Use Thomas' English muffins for buns.

[greglepore]

2 1/4 lb hand formed patties, stack them w/ Gorganzolla or your favorite cheese in the center, seal the edges, depress center, splash w/ Worcestershire and garlic powder, salt and pepper.

[rcecale]

Originally posted by WolfeMacleod
You cook your meat?

"How can you have any burgers if you don't cook yer meat?"



Randy

[Moses]

Just grilled some tonight!

Put 80% lean ground beef or ground chuck in a bowl. Add LOTS of worcestershire, cajun grilling spices, Tabasco and grated cheddar .Add more than you think you should. Grill, flipping only once. Serve on a grilled potato bun with all the fixins. Home grown tomatoes make them perfect!

[fastpat]

Originally posted by alf
Grind your own meat or have the butcher grind it for you.
Use Sirloin or Chuck, with fat.
Do not over handle the patty, form it and grill it
Make the patty thinner in the middle than the rim
Flip only once.
Do not squeeze the patty on the grill.
Try adding an egg and some chopped onions to the minced meat with a dash of salt. Great for the forman grill.

All excellent suggestions, most or all of which I use. I'd add that you should experiment with fresh spices of various kinds; crushed (or if you're very bold, diced) fresh garlic, chopped chives, shallots, bell peppers, diced oregano, and any variety of fresh basil. All mixed into the freshly ground 'burger meat. Never, never, use preformed burgers even if fresh.

[snowman]

Try this on for size. Use only USDA Prime Tritip. Grind it at home as the grocer will leave most of the meat in his grinder. Grind it twice. No need for added extras, like sauces. Just add salt and pepper to homemade patties and let them set for a full day before cooking. Once you bite into one of these babies, you will long for more and more of the same. Flavor is huge. Fat content is near optimum. ONly way to beat it is to cook the prime tri tips as steaks, again salt and peppering a day in advance.

The ultimate hamburger, all the taste, no added sauce, just the best.

Note. Costco tri tips are far below par, even for hamburger, only use USDA prime for good results. Price is good at $9 per pound for prime, well worth the extra 3 bucks a pound. Fat is important, but the TYPE of fat is even more important. Only the finely, evenly distributed fat is the kind you want, not the fat on the outside of the cut.

Costco tri tip makes good hamburger, but not GREAT hamburger. I mean mouth watering, got to have more, great hamburger. Save on the sauce and put the money into the meat.

[trekkor]

I like sliced onion and grated cheese between two layers of burger.
Hidden treasure-

also a simple plain burger with, avo, grilled onion, bacon, mushroom lettuce, tomato, and bleu cheese is pretty radical...

Try Montreal steak seasoning while it cooking.


KT

[DonDavis]

Subscribed!

There are a LOT of great ideas here! I can make a good burger, or so I thought. I'll have to try some of these very soon.

Great thread!!

[Joeaksa]

Originally posted by trekkor
I like sliced onion and grated cheese between two layers of burger.
Hidden treasure-

also a simple plain burger with, avo, grilled onion, bacon, mushroom lettuce, tomato, and bleu cheese is pretty radical...

Try Montreal steak seasoning while it cooking.


KT

When I was a young pup, my Mother made hamburgers sometimes that were two patties made in a form, then she put cheese in the middle, sealed them up and cooked them. Was really nice to take a bite and have the warm cheese mixed up with everything.