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Beef burgers?

6K views 42 replies 17 participants last post by  phaedrus 
#1 ·
I wondered if some one can give me some advice on making a burger pate.

I have a really nice sauce to go with it which I make myself.  Now you can buy some really nice burgers but I want to know how to make my own great ones.

The hard part about a pate is that the meat itself can be quite tasteless.  So it needs something to boost it.  But at the same time I don't want the seasoning to dominate to much.  I still want a nice meaty taste.  So what herds and spices would go great with beef?

I'm planing on adding a bit of Worcester sauce and some ketchup to it. Would bread crumbs  to help it bind take anything away from the taste?
 
#2 · (Edited by Moderator)


Back away from the wooster sauce, ketchup & bread crumbs, your not making meat loaf.

I have a food truck, and do burgers, hand cut fries & beer battered onion rings. I also cook all my burgers on a char broiler.

80/20 ground chuck. Fresh, not frozen. Seasoned only when it hits the grill, I make a seasoned salt with granulated garlic & onion, pepper & smoked paprika.

Don't know what is common for burger buns across the pond, weather your selling a $5 burger or a $15 burger. Buns can range from plain crappy white bread, your standard seeded bun to brioche.

A good quality American cheese is a must, you can offer others, but this is my default, it melts well and is not oily like a cheddar. I also offer cheddar, swiss, provolone, pepper jack & crumbled blue.

Streaky Bacon.

A well toasted bun is a must. I make a spread (1000 island) that goes on most of my burgers.

I use heavy mayo, ketchup, sweet pickle relish, grated onion, granulated onion, salt, pepper & a bit of dill pickle juice. Must be made in advance, needs 24 hrs for the flavors to marry.

So a basic burger goes on a well toasted bun, good amount of spread on both sides, squirt of mustard on the top bun along with a good amount of paper thin sliced onion, on the bottom bun 8-10 dill pickle slices, nice slice of tomato & shredded iceburg lettuce.

There is a million ways to skin a cat, that's my method. My clientele is looking for a $10 lunch.
 
#3 · (Edited by Moderator)
"---Back away from the wooster sauce, ketchup & bread crumbs, your not making meat loaf. ---"

Exactly what I was going to say.

"---Buns can range from plain crappy white bread, your standard seeded bun to brioche.--"

Right on. Why waste your beef and time to make burgers unless you have good buns?

"--There is a million ways to skin a cat, that's my method. My clientele is looking for a $10 lunch.----"

Delicious burger recipe. That's a $15.00 burger in NYC

dcarch
 
#4 · (Edited)
I work in a gastropub, our basic house burger sells for $11.

Our burgers come in pre-formed 1/2 lb 80/20 ground chuck patties

House blend of spices pretty liberally on both sides before slapping it on the grill

on top of a Brioche bun

That's pretty much all I can divulge... Aside from "scratch kitchen sandwich shops" (I don't know how to describe their genre, but I'm a HUUUUUGE fan) and their house and specialty burgers, my workplace's burger is probably the best I've had otherwise.

A good patty, a good bun, and a good sauce = winner.

You could probably get away with two of the three if they're on point (sometimes at work for myself, I replace the brioche bun with lettuce. still cover it in sauce though)

My personal experiences: Multi-flipping a burger is the way to go
 
#7 ·
Personally I prefer cheddar cheese. My only issue with not adding ketchup and Worcestershire sauce is that the meat may be quite bland on it's own. How can I get some taste into the patty.
What exactly do you mean? Of all the best burger places I know of, that would be sin. We are talking burgers, not meatloaf. If customers want ketchup, they will put it on the burger. All needed, no matter what kind of meat combo being used, is fresh cracked pepper, and liberal salt. Or some type seasoned salt you can mix up as some stated above. Please do not "meatloaf-ize" your burger. They are two different animals. It seems like you are trying to mask the natural greatness. If the quality of the beef good, you want to bring out its natural flavors, not hide them.
 
#8 ·
Personally I prefer cheddar cheese. My only issue with not adding ketchup and Worcestershire sauce is that the meat may be quite bland on it's own. How can I get some taste into the patty.
I don't know where you are, and the local taste habits/preferences.

Here in the USA, I remember having seen an one-hour documentary TV program on PBS (public channel) on hamburgers, about hamburgers, everything you ever want to know about hamburgers everywhere. It would be very interesting for you to find this program. They also have done one-hour documentaries on ketchup, hotdogs, etc.

dcarch
 
#9 ·
If you feel the need to season the "insides" of your burger sprinkle a handful of your housemade seasoned salt over the meat chunks before you grind.

Fresh.

Every evening....then form your patties (gently), cover with plastic and refrigerate over night.

The less you mess with the meat the better the texture of your end product.


Back away from the wooster sauce, ketchup & bread crumbs, your not making meat loaf.

I have a food truck, and do burgers, hand cut fries & beer battered onion rings. I also cook all my burgers on a char broiler.

80/20 ground chuck. Fresh, not frozen. Seasoned only when it hits the grill, I make a seasoned salt with granulated garlic & onion, pepper & smoked paprika.

Don't know what is common for burger buns across the pond, weather your selling a $5 burger or a $15 burger. Buns can range from plain crappy white bread, your standard seeded bun to brioche.

A good quality American cheese is a must, you can offer others, but this is my default, it melts well and is not oily like a cheddar. I also offer cheddar, swiss, provolone, pepper jack & crumbled blue.

Streaky Bacon.

A well toasted bun is a must. I make a spread (1000 island) that goes on most of my burgers.

I use heavy mayo, ketchup, sweet pickle relish, grated onion, granulated onion, salt, pepper & a bit of dill pickle juice. Must be made in advance, needs 24 hrs for the flavors to marry.

So a basic burger goes on a well toasted bun, good amount of spread on both sides, squirt of mustard on the top bun along with a good amount of paper thin sliced onion, on the bottom bun 8-10 dill pickle slices, nice slice of tomato & shredded iceburg lettuce.

There is a million ways to skin a cat, that's my method. My clientele is looking for a $10 lunch.
You can skin my cat any time lol.

Pretty much what I want to see when I order a burger.

mimi
 
#10 ·
Grind your own meat Brisket, chuck and top round. Cook on  a flat grill. You don't need to add all that stuff to a good burger, put it all on the side. This meat combo if done correctly taste  great. A little salt and pepper that's it.. This combo is done in the Oyster bar, Central Park, Gramercy Tavern (all owned by Danny Meyer ) and other good places in NY. Writen up for years as best NY burger.
 
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#11 ·
In Britain there are places that will add some of the things I have mentioned to burgers.  Perhaps in America you are doing it a more traditional way.  To be honest it something that I  just want to do. It isn't necessarily something  I would do normally most of the time I would probably buy them.  Sometimes I just like to cook things and they are not necessarily cost affective.  So I might just make some with all the meat mentioned with no extras.
 
#12 ·
All meat, salt and pepper, if you don't season it before it hits the grill you'll get a better sear. I used to work at a place where we did a sauce of ketchup, mustard, and pickle relish- i don't like a lot of mayo on mine. Yes please on some pickled onions tho.
Chefedb, is there a ratio for that? Can't wait tovtry it
 
#13 ·
Oh, and personally i like a thin patty- with more surface area to cook= more sear= more flavor. As long as you don't cook it to death i don't need a mid rare/ medium burger. Also, more surface are gets seasoned.
Son, if you wanted burger advice you came to the right place. Did you check out the other thread?
 
#14 ·
Danny Meyer uses brisket? That's awesome I've always ground ribeye, and I've always been a little afraiad to switch it up but that sounds delish! I also second the comment about not wanting a mr/med burger. It's not a steak and when it's cooked to those temps I've noticed the patties start to fall apart, even though that's how most people seem to order them. Definitely prefer a mid well burger. Man, between chefbuba's piccys and the subject my mouth is seriously watering.
 
#15 ·
Remember that the idea for cooking meat is to enjoy the flavors of the meat and whatever you're eating the meat with.

If you're cooking meat and it is bland and not flavorful when it's done, then you might wanna check your meat source to find out if you're really getting the quality you want.  Also make sure that you're using correct cooking techniques to get it done.
 
#16 ·
I personally disagree with alot of the input in here..  Ask yourself this.. Why is some of the meat labeled Hamburger (70/30 & 73/27)  The burger is a poor mans meal, its not fancy.. It is meant to be riddled with fat.  If you have never truly fiddled around with making the Greatest burger then you are probably blind to the fact that the burgers fat flavor is the shining star, and as hard to believe it may be the Flavor variation from 70/30 to 80/20 is out of this world.    I have ground my own meat, and their is no reason to use a specific cut.. We grind meat to use up the scraps, the small bits after we trim a cow down into steaks & roasts..  

The burger is a relatively new food, only popularized in like 1900... It did not gain wide spread recognition because it was created with lean meat.   

IMO all standard "Burger" patties  should be made the same.  Its far more impressive to make an amazing burger, and add to a perfectly cooked pattie VS trying to incorporate whatever special ingredients into the pattie itself. 

Perfect Burger Patty

1/2lb 70/30 Ground Beef formed and shaped perfectly,

 A divet/well/thumbprint (call it what you want) needs to be pressed into the center (equally on both sides, this will ease the surface tension and stop the burger from shrinking into a fat round ball)

SALT!! SALT!! SALT!!  (it is hard to over salt red meat  the running juices will wash most away so you need plenty from the get go)  and of Course some pepper like all things should be seasoned

Optional: Light sprinkle of garlic powder (While it may be unecessary, I think it is 100% necessary for balanced flavor perfection)
 
#20 ·
Hello

Well An update.  I have made my burgers a few times now.  I have got some good quality chuck mince from one of the best butchers in my city.  It has a about 20% fat.

I add a bit of parsley, some paprika and cumin to it and I add the salt and pepper before I cook it.  It is very nice but still a bi dry. I have added some onions to it to moisten it a bit does anyone have any more tips to make it less dry? Also I thinkI remember reading once that you can use more than one cut of meat perhaps brisket as well is this right?
 
#24 · (Edited)
I've never made hamburgers without egg and breadcrumb for binding. I find they tend to fall apart otherwise. I think if you're buying anything preformed you're making a massive mistake. I like a dash of cumin and a hint of really fine ground oregano, also am a fan of worcestershire in the mix. Have seen people make burgers with a panade, this does seem to make a nice difference in terms of moisture and the retention thereof... Could do a take on the meatball technique and sub your breadcrumb for bread (usually soaked in part of the milk for your panade and then mashed with a fork so it can be distributed evenly through the mix) It is illegal where I live to serve ground chuck as anything less than well done. That puts alot of Americans off.
 
#26 ·
30 percent fat content is recommended here in the west typically, though I have had success using Bison which was considerably leaner, 15 if I recall. That extra 10 might be enough to get them where you want them. Never press down on the burger at any point during cooking. Pan/plancha is always preferred to grill for moisture, at least in my humble opine.
 
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