[DC Sunshine]

Just a note on ground beef in burgers - if you want it rare, grind it yourself. I've heard its not safe to use readymade ground to make rare burgers.

Saw a show (yeah I'm a cooking food show junky) that if you put an ice-cube in the center of a burger just before you cook it, it turns out moister. The cook did both rare, one burger with ice, one without, One with- he reckons was moister. It did leave a little hole in the middle though.

Anyone tried this?

Dished - I'm thinking BDL means make a depression in the centre of your burger to make it a little thinner there - just presss your thumb onto it to make a little "dish "shape. Helps it cook more easily and evenly. BDL?

P.S. By the way - your wife is ALWAYS right, even when she's wrong. As am I

[mikebrittain]

I read recently that lightly packing burgers allows nice nooks and crannies for grease to collect in while cooking, especially for a pan-fried burger. You might try to squeeze all of the grease out if you're looking for low-fat. But if you want really good flavor, it might help to keep them loose.

Also, don't flip the burger more than once. Be patient as it cooks to make sure that it stays juicy.

[shel]

Originally Posted by mikebrittain

You might try to squeeze all of the grease out if you're looking for low-fat.

If you want a low fat burger, use a leaner cut of beef. Some of the markets here sell ground beef for burgers that is as much as 96% lean. I've seen 80%, 85%, 90%, 94%, 95%, and 96% lean.

"Squeezing" the grease out of a burger - I assume by pressing down on the patty while it cooks - is considered a poor technique by many cooks and, IMO, reduces the flavor and the tenderness of the patty.

scb

[Dillbert]

folklore says over-mixing compacts the mix and that's not a good thing. can't say I've noticed me over-mixing, but heh, I'm always up for a better idea.

here's my current approach for burgers and meatloaf:

(oh, all the pure beef only patty people, look away now - my burger additives no know bounds . . . .)

background: once upon a afternoon hurried, I wound up having to rapid thaw (home) frozen ground beef and produce dinner.
once "the brick" has sorta thawed, chopped it up, spread it out in a thin (aaah, 2" thick"?) layer on the cutting board to finish thawing.

then layer on 'yer stuff - options:
ground pork if you got it
salt
pepper
sprinkle Worcestershire sauce / steak sauce / bbq sauce / hot sauce / soy sauce
diced green/red/roasted/pimento pepper(s)
diced onion
diced/minced garlic
finely diced celery
chopped chives
chiffed basil
mushrooms - saute fresh or B&B canned . . .
heh - it's your burger - git yer own 'magination.....

well beat up an egg, slather over
sprinkle some panko

fold it together with a dough scraper.

lop off a chunk with the scraper, make a bigga meata ball, squish it flat - about a 6 ouncer

in the fridge for 30 minutes to (hours) to set

grill or pan fry

for burgers I typically star with one pound +/- of meat and my biggie cutting board works fine
meatloaf - two pounds, two eggs, applesauce, etc and that I do flat out on the granite top - does not "fit" on a cutting board.

I find this "mixing" method works veddy well at incorporating all the seasonings and goodies with minimum "mash&thrash" on the ground beef.

[boar_d_laze]

Dill,

I don't want to place an over-emphasis on nomenclature. On a "name" only basis, I (and many others) would say what you're doing is making "meat loaf patties" and not "hamburger." A friend of mine had a restaurant and used to sell what he called "deli-burgers." The Alameda County DA warned him to "cease and desist" because he was violating "truth in advertising" statutes. In California, a "hamburger" is 100% beef and the DA thought "deli-burger" wasn't sufficiently distinct from "hamburger" so as not to confuse consumers.

Consumers be darned! Whatever they were, they were delicious. Some of the best ground meat patties I ever had between the halves of a kaiser roll. Whatever your burgers are and/or should be called, no words are more important than "tastes good."

Pattie on,
BDL

[Dillbert]

bdl -

it is an over emphasis. I told you to look away now . . . .<g>

"pure" <whatever> excludes anything and everything from all things.

"100% beef patty" EXCLUDES salt and pepper.
it EXCLUDES any kind of any oil used to fry.
if they're gonna' do detail, then detail it is - truth counts.
neither salt nor pepper are "beef"

if they want to do a recount, tell Al Gore - he's hot on recounts.

=================
edit:

and EXACTLY where is the ham in a pure beef hamburger?
FALSITIES IN ADVERTISING!

it's ludicrous. Californian even.

[boar_d_laze]

Originally Posted by Dillbert

bdl -

it is an over emphasis. I told you to look away now . . . .<g>

"pure" <whatever> excludes anything and everything from all things.

"100% beef patty" EXCLUDES salt and pepper.
it EXCLUDES any kind of any oil used to fry.
if they're gonna' do detail, then detail it is - truth counts.
neither salt nor pepper are "beef"

if they want to do a recount, tell Al Gore - he's hot on recounts.

it's ludicrous. Californian even.

No. "Pure" means "in," not "on" the meat. Also, the word "pure," IIRC, is not in the regulation or statute (whichever it is). The rule is fairly common throughout the United States -- if not a Federal rule, enforced under the Interstate Commerce and Supremacy Clauses of the US Constitution. I'm not sure.

However, I am sure your statement beginning, "100% beef EXCLUDES ... " is wrong on the law.

As I said in my previous post, my remark was meant to reflect language use only -- and that I did not consider strict usage as important as results. That I'd eaten other "burgers" that didn't meet the language purity test -- and those "burgers" were wonderful; and, that you should go ahead and call them whatever you liked.

If I were somehow unclear, or if you found my remarks to be challenging, "passive-aggressive" or in any other way offensive, I apologize for the misunderstanding.

BDL

[Dillbert]

bdl -

apology not required. common sense applies - I submit you possess that.

but since this place is not a UN bureaucratic wrangling over "how high must a chad hang before it is a real hanging chad" the entire 100% in this regard is illusional and utterly absurd.
imho; of course.

a hamburger is a hamburger is a hamburger.
real people don't run around checking it's pedigree.
it's good or it's not good.
end of situation.
only in California do they need such a stringent 100% definition to avoid plastic surgeons recycling liposuctioned fat into "burger food"

if I put in some crumbed Stilton or blue cheese and call it a cheeseburger, does that qualify?

let California crack off and fall into the ocean. it is a culture that can define 100% pure beef patty but fosters plastic surgery, fake boobs and butts as "okay" for real life.

not limited to CA: for a good example of super-dumkopfness, see:
Alosha's Kitchen: illegal or not?

[novice_01]

Originally Posted by mikebrittain

I read recently that lightly packing burgers allows nice nooks and crannies for grease to collect in while cooking, especially for a pan-fried burger. You might try to squeeze all of the grease out if you're looking for low-fat. But if you want really good flavor, it might help to keep them loose.

Also, don't flip the burger more than once. Be patient as it cooks to make sure that it stays juicy.

I've heard that - don't flip it more than once. What happens if you do?

[DC Sunshine]

Originally Posted by novice_01

I've heard that - don't flip it more than once. What happens if you do?

It doesn't get the time to form that nice crust, and gives it more chance to fall apart , the more you flip it.

DC

[Pete]

For my burgers I usually prefer 75/25 ratio when I buy at the supermarket. I will go for 80/20 if buying at a butcher. Supermarket burger I like a little fattier, because I now tend to cook my burgers MW to just barely Well, due to e coli scares. Sorry, I don't really trust the big markets or where they get their meat. If I could be sure that all their burger was ground in-house I might trust them, but usually it's a mix of in-house and bought burger meat. Now if buying from a butcher, I stick with 80/20 because I will cook them MR (my preferred way of eating burgers) and the meat doesn't need the extra moistness from the extra fat.

Generally, I am a straight forward burger guy. Nothing in the burger meat and seasoned only with salt and pepper. Once on the bun though, that is a different matter. Occasionally, I like to stuff my burgers with blue cheese or mix the burger meat with Mexican Chorizo at a ratio of 2 parts meat to 1 part chorizo. Top that baby with pickled red onions, nice ripe tomatoes and a cilantro-coriander mayo.

[boar_d_laze]

Originally Posted by Pete

For my burgers I usually prefer 75/25 ratio when I buy at the supermarket. I will go for 80/20 if buying at a butcher. Supermarket burger I like a little fattier, because I now tend to cook my burgers MW to just barely Well, due to e coli scares. Sorry, I don't really trust the big markets or where they get their meat. If I could be sure that all their burger was ground in-house I might trust them, but usually it's a mix of in-house and bought burger meat. Now if buying from a butcher, I stick with 80/20 because I will cook them MR (my preferred way of eating burgers) and the meat doesn't need the extra moistness from the extra fat.

Generally, I am a straight forward burger guy. Nothing in the burger meat and seasoned only with salt and pepper. Once on the bun though, that is a different matter. Occasionally, I like to stuff my burgers with blue cheese or mix the burger meat with Mexican Chorizo at a ratio of 2 parts meat to 1 part chorizo. Top that baby with pickled red onions, nice ripe tomatoes and a cilantro-coriander mayo.

The 75/25 and 80/20 explanation make perfect sense. LOVE the chorizo thing. Good chorizo? Or, cheap, bad for you chorizo with glands? You know, the kind we really like.

BDL

[Lisbet]

When mixing ground meats for a meatloaf, or meatballs to serve in spaghetti n' meatballs.....I like to use my stand mixer fitted with the mixing paddle. Makes for a fluffier and tastier product. Mixing time; only just long enough that it takes to incorporate all of the ingredients.

Meat patties for hamburger is a whole other thing! A coarse grind. Just shape by hand, gently.....do not compact! Sprinkle with pepper and salt, and griddle no for longer than 3 minutes on each side. (DH Does sautèe finely minced onion and some minced garlic to add to the meat.) Don't squeeze the juices out of it by pressing down on the patty while cooking!!!

[mikebrittain]

Originally Posted by novice_01

I've heard that - don't flip it more than once. What happens if you do?

I think you basically lose more juice from the meat. You have probably noticed juice/grease pooling on top of the burger when you cook it on a grill. Presumably, the more you flip that burger, the more often the grease comes off the top and goes into the fire.

End result is a less juicy burger.

[mikebrittain]

Originally Posted by novice_01

I've heard that - don't flip it more than once. What happens if you do?

I think you basically lose more juice from the meat. You have probably noticed juice/grease pooling on top of the burger when you cook it on a grill. Presumably, the more you flip that burger, the more often the grease comes off the top and goes into the fire.

End result is a less juicy burger.