Time to Talk Hamburgers!
Now that we have the secret to making the perfect french fries, it's time to talk burgers! Burgers seem so simple to make, that it has to be impossible to screw up, right? Wrong! I'm sure everyone in here has had a bad burger in their life. Really good ones are hard to come by, but there are a few place in my area that consistently get it right. So what is the key? Is it the beef? Is it the spices? The grill? Is it worth it to use Kobe beef for a burger or is that a waste of quality meat?
I want to hear what you have to say. Thanks for the help!
I want to hear what you have to say. Thanks for the help!
Tags: burgers, grilling, hamburgers, meat
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Eliza Shotts on -
Start with good beef, I like ground chuck myself. Season with salt, pepper and garlic powder to bring out the flavor of the meat. Pure simple and good, of course I like the meat cooked medium rare too.
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Permalink Reply by ALLEN ESTERMAN on -
very good question.. first let me say this, DON'T USE KOBE BEEF FOR HAMBURGER!!! save it for a GOOD cut thick grilled(rare) steak..this is my field as far as hamburger goes.we or i should say i, make all the fresh hamburger for the restaurant i work for.at least 3 days a week i make it fresh. this means cutting up about 120-150 lbs. of chuck each time (about 400 lbs a week) we also cut our own steaks there also, so that means we have some ribeye trim left over..i like to trim some fat off the chuck and add ribeye trim with bits of meat still on there to my chuck. i find this gives the meat a good taste and better flavor.. it also cooks up better. i like to cook them in between med. rare and med.. after that, they just get dry.(unless you actualy slow cook them covered) but who has time to wait now a days...a good burger should be seasoned as it comes off the grill and getting ready to serve. seasonig salt, old bay, mesquite seasoning are verey good to use.
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Permalink Reply by Brandon Stepanek on -
Quick question! What temp is a good temp to cook a burger? I seem to always burn the outside when I cook thicker burgers. I like my burgers thick and juicy with lots of cheese. My all time favorite burger is a mushroom and swiss!
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Permalink Reply by Becky Quarles on -
i cook on the flattop @ 400 degrees. i use a cast iron grill weight. my day cook cooks at 350. i think it cooks too slow.
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Permalink Reply by Ken Ballou on -
Nothing matters more than the quality coming through the back door! After that, if you're a beef purist, all you need is a little seasoning salt next to the broiler to lightly season the burger when it hits the grates. I prefer the 80/20 or 75/25. Some places like to embelish the meat and that can be good also. At home, I like to add finely diced sweet onion, garlic and worchestershire. I did work at one place though that did that all wrong. Their recipe was mayo, liquid smoke and worchestershire mixed into some lousy meat. It was more like pate than burger, and when cooked it shrunk so much that our "half-pound" looked like a quarter pound. The flavor was lousy and I never ate another.
Quality matters. If you're not grinding your own, find a quality local beef vendor that makes their own ground beef from their own trimmings, tour their operation, and then decide if you want a pre-formed patty or bulk to make your own. You may be able to have them make patties with your "special" seasonings already mixed in.
After that, quality extends to the other ingredients. I say this because so many restaurants skip QA and end up with crap, or worse.
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Permalink Reply by Becky Quarles on
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we use a flat top grill. i always use butter on the grill. adds extra moisture. i have seen water used also. i always hand patty out my burgers. i use ground chuck. i use beef base and i thin it out with water. this also adds extra moisture and flavor to the burger. dont forget about the bun. i butter the bun and toast this also on the flat top. dont forget the condiments. use the frest ingredients. most important. DONT COOK IT BEYOND DONE. an overcooked burger is dry. i use 7 oz. of ground chuck. i patty it out between 2 pieces of saran wrap. it is the easiest way to make the patty the size you want. i like it thin it cooks quicker. if you like them thick make sure the center in thinner than the outside. otherwise it takes too long to cook the center and the outside will burn.
goodluck.
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Permalink Reply by Zed on
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As well as using the best ground beef, we season our burgers with MONTREAL steak seasoning. The customers just RAVE.
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Permalink Reply by Charles A. Casamasima CEC on -
Good FRESH ground Chuck with 81/19 ratio, the fat gives the meat flavor, Charcoal broiled is the best. But you can sear it quickly on hot char broiler then place on med heat to cook to desired doneness. Salt and pepper meat before broiling!
Should be served on a bun that compliments the burger and not take away or bury the flavor. DO NOT PRESS BURGER PLEASE...it squeezes out the juices...you want the juices, let it rest a few minutes to before serving. YUM!
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Permalink Reply by Arthur Miller on
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I like to use a ground chuck, and depending on amount of fat-may add some fat that I have trimmed off some other cuts-like steaks, roasts etc. I have even added pork fat when I did not have any beef fat at all around kitchen. I make patties sort of loosely-I dont pound, or press the heck out of them. I of course would prefer to grill over open med flame, but a flat griddle or cast iron pan cooks great as well. I season sparingy with salt and pepper, after putting on heat source, and again after turning. I like my burger med. to med. well. I cant stand that kinda mushy med rare feel in my mouth. I take off heat source as soon as blood stops running out. You absolutely for sure MUST serve very thinly sliced onion (not chopped), and lettuce leaves-again(not chopped), dill pickles, tomatoes sliced very thinly, mustard, and mayo.(not salad dressing-i.e. Miracle Whip). I like to have the buns toasted spread with butter before toasting, and dont like seeds on buns. I leave the rest of seasoning up to each individuals' taste-but offer steak seasoning, cajun seasoning, pickled jalapenos, cheese, ketchup. or whatever else seems to be preferred in your neck of the woods. If you dont have to have plenty of napkins to eat your burger it definately was done wrong somewhere in whole process.
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Permalink Reply by Anthony Aspinall on -
Why do we always say HamBurger when we mean BeefBurger, and why do we always in these discussions seem to focus on Beef, any meat or for that matter 'substitute' makes for a good "Burger".
First of all I don't think that you can compromise on the quality of the beef to be used in a true hamburger. Secondly you must NEVER overseason or over spice the meat as to distract from the full flavour of the beef, too much pepper or strong spice and you loose the idea of the "meat burger".
The principle behind making any of these items is surely the same, never detract from the taste of the principle item you are using. Always use the freshest of ingredients (where possible) Treat the "meat" in the burger as you would treat the BEST item on your menu, look after it and you should end up with the ideal "Dish of the Day".
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Permalink Reply by Paul Gershkoff on -
The trick is not what one kind of beef but to mix fresh ground beefs - Chuck, Round, shank, rib and if possible Ribeye trimmings. Some of the very best burgers I have had and made were at a restaurant where we butchered our own meat. We used the entire forequarter of beef - stripped the bones ourselves and the only thing that did not go into the burger mix was the ribeye itself. The mix of meats gave the burgers great texture and consistency. We also used a 2 grind process starting with a large bore 5/16 grind plate then moved to a finer 3/16 grind. This evenly distributed the fat and broke up any not so tender chunks. Seasoning will vary depending on personal tastes - at the very least salt and pepper early enough before the cooking process begins so you dont lose the seasonings to the cooking utensils. From there it goes to personal tastes, I've tried many and all have their merits. As far as the cooking process - Ive tried both open flame and flat grilling - neither make such a great difference as the quality of the starting ingredient - the meat. And for heavens sake dont press out the juices or overcook past a nice pink center - otherwise just ruins the flavor.
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Permalink Reply by Jerry Moeller on
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I feel in most of my experiences with making good burgers is the spices you use are more important than the quality of the meat but it should be at least good ground round with 80/20 base to make it tasty and moist when serving to the customer.
The onion burger we serve is very popular and is very simple: We just fine dice onion and add it to the burger so when it cooks with the spices we use it develops a richer taste and is not expensive at all.
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