How Do You Grill Your Burgers?
 

Since we're well into grilling season, I thought it might be fun to share some recipes.
First off, I like to use the America's Test Kitchen panade method. Basically, for each pound to pound and a half of ground beef, I use one slice of bread wth the crust removed, and enough milk to make a panade (thick paste). Add spices, and mix with the ground beef. The panade adds some binder to the ground beef to replace that lost as the fat drips out. You can also sear these to a nice crust on the outside, without drying the burgers into hockey pucks.
So now, after all that exposition, here's my two go-to recipes:
1. Add steak sauce, granulated onion, and granulated garlic to the panade. Sometimes I'll throw in a little bit of sage or savory for a slightly different flavor. Top with cheddar.
2. Hit the panade with a few generous splashes of your favorite hot sauce. These are great topped with bleu cheese.
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Re: How Do You Grill Your Burgers?
 

I like to buy fresh ground chuck from my local butcher, loosely pack into patties. Then press the spices (kosher salt, fresh ground pepper, garlic and onion powder, Italian seasoning) on the outside of the burger - this helps form a nice crust on the outside of the burger. I've also discovered (this may be controversial...) that flipping the burger several times throughout cooking cooks the burger to a perfect medium rare throughout and doesn't dry it out at all.

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I take them, handcuff them, throw them down on the floor, put a hood on them, lead them into a darkened room, force them to sit in an uncomfortable chair, pull the hood off, shine a really bright light in their face, light a cigarette, blow the smoke in their face and start asking them questions. Every now and then I'll have someone walk behind them tapping a billy club into their hand or the back of the chair.

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You should just get a Taser. ;) :r

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Hilarious!

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I usually make two smaller patties with divots in the middle of both, and then put a small amount of cheese - bleu, goat, etc - in the middle, and press the two patties together to make a burger. Crumbled bacon works as well.

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just granulated onion and garlic sprinkled on top.

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I get some ground sirloin (usually 90/10, I like them more lean), just add some salt, pepper, and a little mesquite bbq sauce. Mix it all up, press them into 3/4-1" patties, and fry 'em up! I have the grill on about 4 (of 10), flip them after about 4-5 min, leave them another 4-5 min, rotate the ones in the front towards the back with one more flip (the front of my grill doesn't get as hot as the back) and definitely don't press them down with the spatula. They end up with this delicious slight mesquite flavor from the bbq sauce and veeeeery juicy.

I let my friend do grill duty while I was making some other stuff one grillout and he pressed the heck out of the patties...they turned out very dry :(

So don't mash your burgers on the grill! The more you know! hehe

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Re: How Do You Grill Your Burgers?
 

Usually with fire.

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Just tell the wife I want it rare. I'm not allowed near the grill.

I assume there's a story here... :r
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4 minutes on each side. I dont know the recipe...my wife mixes it all up. :D

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I only use cheap, high fat, freshly ground chuck from my local Asian market. At only $1.59/lb this meat produces the best burgers west of the Mississippi.

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:r

:r:r

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Ground chuck, lightly formed, thumbprint in middle, heavily seasoned with blackening seasoning, cook 4 minutes, flip, top with a handful of blue cheese... masterpiece!!!

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Montreal steak seasoning rub and once it's done top with A1 and you're favorite cheese...I typically go for pepperjack. :tu


Sometimes I like to mix it up and smoke the burgers too. In that case I leave them plain and cook with Jack Daniels pellets.

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That's it right there. Nothing to add :tu

Forgot to mention this in my OP, helps keep the burgers flat as they shrink on the grill. :tu
Anyone grind their own? I've done it a few times, especially if there's a really good sale on something like Black Angus. Nothng like taking meat right out of the grinder and slapping a few patties on the grll. :dr
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Re: How Do You Grill Your Burgers?
 

Form paties out of ground chuck with indents in the middle so they don't ball up, sprinkle with black pepper and garlic powder (not salt - it pulls moisture out of the meat), grill until just about medium rare, add the cheddar cheese and throw the buns on the grill, finish to medium rare, top with lettuce, tomato, onion, sauteed mushrooms, ketchup and mayo. MMMM.

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I use 85/15 ground sirloin. Mince some onions and mix it in with the meat to form patties and either grill on the BBQ or make sliders on the stove top.

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I know this sounds crazy... or at least it did to me... but ground brisket makes killer ground beef. The burgers are killer beefy tasting.

My partner on the BBQ team told me about and I kept blowing him off. Finally he brought me a bag of it and I was sold. I don't do it all of the time 'cause laziness sets in, but when you can get Angus brisket at Sam's for about $1.80 a pound it makes a lot of sense.

I'll have to give this a try. Thanks for the tip, Brent! :tu
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Re: How Do You Grill Your Burgers?
 

Hellz yeah! Brisket makes THE best burgers!

Some people do find them to be too rich though.


For plain old burgers, Weber Gourmet Burger Rub does a great job of seasoning. I was skeptical when someone told me about how good the stuff was, but he was right. You can take just plain old nothing special USDA Select (3rd grade) 80% ground beef which normally is pretty bland and dump some of the Weber Gourmet Burger Rub on it, or even better, mix a little bit in when you're packing the patties, and even over gas, the burgers come out highly flavorful.

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Just cut out the hard yellow fat between the flat and the point. That crap is nasty!!

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Buffalo or venison burgers for me. Haven't cooked a real burger in years. Cook them sraight up, once and a while with a little Montreal steak seasoning. Super hot sear, 1 min each side, then indirect for another 6-8 min flipping once. No fat content at all so you can't overcook them.

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hmm...first I take a little tinder, get a little fire going, add some apple or pecan wood, fire it up until the coals are nice and red, mix some ground sirloin with lipton onion soup mix, a little water, spread em' out nice and large, let them cook for about 7-8 minutes a side, add some swiss cheese and marinated mushrooms, pinch of salt and pepper, little mayo and tomato and plain white and very soft bread......yummm! LOL!

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It's a little different every time, but here goes: Lea & Perrins worcester, montreal steak seasoning & a splash of hot sauce are the staples. Then either diced scallions, dried scallions or onion powder, sometimes italian seasoning, either fresh garlic or garlic powder.

Re: How Do You Grill Your Burgers?
 

On a grill :tu

aj

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I get some pre made 1/3lb patties from my local butcher and season them with a secret mixture of Brown and White Sugar, salt, pepper, cinnamon, ginger and garlic powder.

They are always juicy and never dissappoint :D

Interesting. Bet they caramelize nice.
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Re: How Do You Grill Your Burgers?
 

They do, and it adds a nice flavor to the burgers as well.

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I do this too.

I'll have to do that next time. Mine always end up fat. We normally use 90/10, so they don't shrink too much.

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I was really ready to do it, excited would be the accurate term. My mother asked me if I
wanted her old meat grinder, and I said HELL YEAH.
Then she brings it to me, or rather I went to her and got it, but she pulls it out and it has
50 attachments BUT is missing the thing that secures the various output holes TO THE GRINDER.
So it is actually a 12 pound pile of useless crap. She is still looking for the ring.
My burgers are simple, take whatever the store throws into the RFQS bin and freeze it for a rainy day.
I take the meat and flatten it out somewhat to achieve a burger thick square. I then
liberally sprinkle that flat with rub, then salt to preference, then add a few tablespoons of
unflavored dry oatmeal as a delicious and nutritious binder. Works like a CHAMP and so much
better than bread. Mix completely but gently and form into large patties. I try to form them
to where there are no breaks in the edges, nice round edges, because this is where your juice
likes to get out. But it needs to be a careful blend of forming and getting it done, cause
overworking ground meat is a disaster. It gets way too hard and tough. I throughly brown
one side before turning, then do the other, but if the burgers do not get fully cooked on just one flip
I flip frequently once both sides are charred to ensure a proper done-ness. It would also be helpful
to impart the best wisdom I got in cooking school.
When turning burgers, ALWAYS use your spatula UPSIDE DOWN. You will see why when you DO IT.
And I mean when when peeling them off the grates. You can flip em all day with the spatula held normally.

I'll have to give this a try.
To help wth sticking? Whenever I've had problems with burgers sticking to the grill, it's because I got impatient and tried to flip them too soon. It's like frying fish: it will stick, then release once the outer layers cook through.
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Re: How Do You Grill Your Burgers?
 

I select a chuck roast a bit on the fatty side and get them to grind it right in front of my eyes. Make some loose patties then season up with some Louzianne Cajun Seasoning then cover one side with the sauce bb'q of choice and place that side up on hot grill. Give it a few minutes and flip it adding sauce bb'q to the new side up. After a few minutes put cheese of choice (and sometimes some grilled bacon and/or mushrooms) on top and melt. Enjoy!

Note: I have found that frozen meat does not work well at all for hamburger patties.

Re: How Do You Grill Your Burgers?
 

HAH! Someone else figured it out! I like Tony Chachere's cause he is a friend, but Luzianne is THE BEST. SOMEHOW they got the blend PERFECT!
I don't know what makes their's different, but MAN they have got it down.

Point taken, and I think you are right for the most part. Also I think above here the OP said
that if you let the exterior cook through, the burger will not stick. Not sure if it is necessarily so,
but I KNOW they stick much worse if you don't let them crust over.

Re: How Do You Grill Your Burgers?
 

No real science or gourmet for me. I use ground chuck, salt , pepper and usually Lawry's or Adobo seasoning. Patty them up and on the gas grill at around 350-400 for 4-6 minutes.

Always remembering the phrase "if you're lookin' you ain't cookin' "

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Dammit, now I am all hyped up for some burgers this weekend. I am gonna hit the reduced rack tomorrow.

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I've never heard of the thumbprint trick. Is there a method to determine how deep to have it in relation to the patty?

A little less than half the thickness of the patty should be fine.
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Re: How Do You Grill Your Burgers?
 

per lb I use 1 Egg, tea ketchup, tea A-1, tea worcestershire sauce, 1 tea garlic salt, salt, pepper... =goodness

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That's alot of tea....do they keep you awake at night??

I was tryng to figure out WTF tea ketchup was. :r
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im glad that you admit the best burgers are east of the Mississippi. :r

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Oh, Hell, EVERYTHING east of the MS is better. S'why the population is so dense, lol.
It's where the WATER is.

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Camomile tea...helps me sleep..:r tea=tsp

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Yeah, babe, I got that part, lol.
Well, not at FIRST. I was like "wtf?" :r That's alot of $}{i+ in one lb of burger.
I wanna eat at YOUR house.

Now does that mean 1/3 of a teaspoon of Salt, Pepper and Garlic Salt? Or did
you get tired of typing the whole thing out?

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<-- Meat Guy.

So I could spend hours discussing this, but if you really want a great burger, you have to use 1) great raw materials and 2) nothing else except salt+pepper and MAYBE granulated garlic.

I make about 10 different "proprietary" blends for different customers including the now famous "Shake Shack" that just opened in Miami Beach (the new york version is made by my good friend Pat LaFrieda, google him).

Some of them I have non-disclosures on so I can't discuss, but I will definately say that the best blend is one that has no less than 20% fat, no more than 25-27%.

It needs to use mostly whole muscles that come from either the chuck or plate section (read: front of the steer), and needs to NOT include: hearts, sirloin, hindshank, oxtail, or loin).

It is possible and beneficial to mix in a bit of some of the more exotic cuts to add your choice of flavors to it such as Brisket, Skirt Steak, Hanger Steak, Foreshank Meat, or god forbid, steak trimmings.

It needs to ONLY be ground twice, once by a slightly coarser blade and once by a slightly finer blade, but not mush.

It needs to be ground as cold as possible, if you are going to your retail butcher, ask them to grab you a FROZEN piece of chuck or put your chuck in the freezer before you grind it at home, the colder the less mushy.

Finally, it needs to not be pattied too thick because you will end up with a meatball instead of a burger.

Other than that, mix it up, patty it up, season the finished products with Salt + Pepper and Granulated Garlic (i guess onion would be ok, but anything more and you are eating meatloaf and not hamburger) and grill or griddle away.

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This is as true as it gets to me, and I know that several of my statements actually contradict
that, mostly cause I am a "tryer", but this statement above, to me, is the absolute truth.
SALT and PEPPER only, emphasis on the MAYBE for garlic, but I always use it too, so I am guilty.
In fact, this goes for steak, too as far as I am concerned.

More contradiction. Made some burgers last night to cook this weekend, and I happened to
get a curiousity from the new spice place I ordered from, 1 lb of Kraft Mac and cheese powder, lol.
I put a few tablespoons of that into my meat. We shall see!

Re: How Do You Grill Your Burgers?
 

I use Lipton Chicken Noodle Soup Mix in my hamburger. It really makes them juicy and tasty. You can't tell the noodles are in there and they really hold back the juice. :tu