[keith grima]

Ok so basically I love making burgers I went through a lot of stages eliminating ingredient after ingredient as improved my cooking. My issue basically is very simple, I cannot find that meaty taste in my burgers this may sound stupid but pre packed burgers have a meatier taste than mine and it really pisses me off I dont add eggs or breadcrumbs etc I try to keep them as virgin as possible xD.

The texture is mostly really good and they are very soft(to soft sometimes) as I never go above medium rare ... one more thing when I taste the mixture raw it tastes amazing. What do you think guys ?

Thanks in advance ingredients are below.

Ingredients:

Chuck Meat

Salt

Fresh Pepper

Olive Oil

Thyme 

Basil

Grated Garlic Clove

 

[grande]

I just do meat & season with salt & pepper. Try different cuts, or mixtures of them (some people reccomend a mixture with, say, chuck &brisket) but for me the secret of the flavor is in the sear. Pre packed burgers are probably flatter & more uniform & probably color more evenly.

 

[maryb]

Your pre packed burgers are probably made with pink slime(meat byproduct nastiness!). Look for grass fed beef to get a better flavor.

 

[grande]

I thought the pink slime place got shut down? Anyhow, it is possible to buy pre packaged burgers that are all chuck. Not to say that that is what the OP is getting, but it is possible.

 

[keith grima]

I don't buy pre packed lol ... but when I am invited to someone for a bbq thats what they mostly serve ... like I said what irritates me is that when I do my own burgers I never manage to achieve the "meaty taste" I desire ... so I am trying to point out if its the quality of the meat, lack of fat/salt etc.

 

[flipflopgirl]

Instead of backwards try forwards.

You may find that good meat only needs salt and maybe pepper.

mimi

 

[flipflopgirl]

Leave the herbs out.

You are confusing your palate.

mimi

 

[ordo]

Leave the herbs out.

You are confusing your palate.

mimi

Yep. And the olive oil.

 

[french fries]

Instead of backwards try forwards.

Some of the best advice ever on this forum. Hear, hear!

 

[maryb]

Instead of salt you could mix a tablespoon or so of beef better than bullion into the meat... that would up the beef flavor...

 

[cerise]

Sonetimes, I like to add a smidge of Worcestershire sauce. It may not make it beefier, but it gives the boigas a little oomph.

 

[cerise]

Instead of backwards try forwards.

You may find that good meat only needs salt and maybe pepper.

mimi

Benjamin Button burgers. /img/vbsmilies/smilies/smiles.gif

 

[keith grima]

Ok, out of curiosity how does olive oil alter the taste?

 

[panini]

@Keith Grima,

When I saw the OO in the OP. I immediately thought it was for pan frying the burger.

Ordo could have been agreeing with just leaving it out. I know I wouldn't put my OO in ground beef. I wouldn't want to waste very good VOO

One way I can see it altering the taste would be to use sub par OO. Just the bad flavor will alter.

Also, if you get OO to hot is will change flavor(for the worst).

 

[ordo]

Ok, out of curiosity how does olive oil alter the taste?

Exactly, panini. Olive oil is not a neutral oil and gets in the way to your search of a meaty burger. In fact you don't need another fat that the beef fat for a good burger at least a 20% in my experience.

Here's a burger i made last year, with the addition of bordolaise sauce and powdered mushrooms. The sauce really added for the "meatiness" but of course, means a lot of work, so bye-bye fast food!

burger bordolaise1.JPG

• ordo
• Aug 11, 2015

 

[cerise]

I aim for juicy.  Adding oil to the mix will be greasy (IMO), and not hold together.  I don't overwork the patties, or flatten them prior to or while cooking, put a thumbprint on top when grilling.  If you want a "meatier" mix, add brisket, etc.  I don't eat/taste raw meat, so can't help you there.

 

[atatax]

I would use butter, not OO, Butter and beef just tastes awesome, thats how high end steak houses get their steaks to taste so good, they use butter. The other stuff might be interfering with the beefiness, i would just do salt, pepper, and butter. Make sure to generously salt the beef, salt brings out flavors, maybe they are salting their beef more than you are. Maybe experiment with cuts of beef, fat content, and thickness of the patty. The taste between ground sirloin and chuck is very different for example, one might fit with what you consider beefier more than the other. Also, like if you like the taste of a charred beef, two very thin pattys might have that charred beef taste much more than a single, thicker patty.

 

[flipflopgirl]

So @Keith Grima

Anything look good to you so far?

mimi

 

[mike9]

I don't know what your meat to fat ratio is, but 80/20 is the leanest I like - fat = flavor.  If I grind and it's too lean my preferred fat is pork back fat with beef suet second.  

 

[keith grima]

I havent tried doing burgers again .... but when I do I will do two ... 1 with butter and one without. I will try them with brisket instead of chuck. I will also go a bit thinner.

Thanks for your help guys