Educate me on the art of the burger....

[niko]

Just got a bunch of burgers from the butcher already prepared. What's the best way to cook? We have a propane grill. (Note before you lecture me on what i got, someone gave us burgers, and the grill was already there when we moved in so it's what we have....)

Educamate me on the art of the burger oh might ISHers...anything that will help...

[Shade8780]

Step one, don't buy pre-made patties... Unless the butcher literally ground it and did it in front of you.
QFT.

[niko]

Step one, don't buy pre-made patties... Unless the butcher literally ground it and did it in front of you.
Someone came and gave me burgers (said it in first post) so although interesting, is not going to help me cook tomorrow.

[IamRAMBO24]

Salt the burgers. Butter the buns.

[qrich]

Red Onions

[Styles p]

ask randy bobandy

[NumberSix]

Montreal steak spice and Worcestershire sauce.

[cuad]

Put mustard on the meat. I think the practice is called mustard frying or something. It smells and tastes so goooooood.

http://i.imgur.com/nHEVva9.png

[Godzuki]

IMO u need a real flame to make a great grilled burger. like a flame burning the shit out of the burger but not really burning it, just cooking it hard and fast where it gets this really strong grilled taste(altho given i was charcoal grilling)....if u do a low average fire where it isn't hitting the burger and really scorching it its nowhere near as good.

i remember the first time i realized this thinking "oh shit the burger is going to be burned to a crisp" when the fire got real high basically the burger was in the fire for a good time but still early and raw. Best fukking burger i ever had by a longshot. the burgers on average or no flame on it have never tasted nearly as good.

i usually seasoned it with taco seasoning packets from the grocery store, but i also made a burger rubb last time that had like 5~ spices in it which was real easy i found on the internet that got a lot of good ratings.

i still think its really about the flame being on the burger tho, it could've had zero spices on it and still would've tasted better than every other burger with zero flame in it.

also IMO u need to make it a cheeseburger, add American cheese at the end when its pretty much done to make it good. hate burgers without american cheese on it...like a waste of way more complementary flavor.

[gts]

cuad that looks good...


the cooking is easy.. just put on the grill cook until the blood rises to the top, flip over and cook until the juices run clear...


it's the spices and additions that make the burger...

[niko]

cuad that looks good...


the cooking is easy.. just put on the grill cook until the blood rises to the top, flip over and cook until the juices run clear...


it's the spices and additions that make the burger...
what would you recommend seasoning it with? THe mustard thing looks good but i don't think the other people want that...

[gts]

what would you recommend seasoning it with? THe mustard thing looks good but i don't think the other people want that...

everybody is different... already some great recommendations here i'm gonna try...

with the kids our favorite way of doing this is, a bit of salt and pepper while cooking

use shredded lettuce we mix blue cheese dressing and mayo then stir it in with the lettuce like a slaw...

also mix up sweet pickle relish and ketchup

cheddar cheese, avocado and voila...

messy but good

[PHX_Phan]

Salt, pepper, garlic is really all you need for seasoning.

I like to make my burgers spicy, so I add crushed red pepper and pour some Frank's on the patties while they cook.

Also, saute some pickled Jalepenos (Embasa is a good brand if you can get that), Onions and butter in a pan. Goes great with a burger.

[DukeDelonte13]

my burger recipe

i have a natural gas grill i love. F*ck charcoal.

I prefer 80/20 beef. Leaner beef doesn't stick together as well and fattier beef is a fire hazard.

Put the meat in a bowl and add an egg, a bit of minced garlic and a bit onions.
form into patties. don't be afraid to work the meat a bit, it helps the patties from better.


After you make the patties pour a bit of olive over the patties first, then add generous amount of salt and pepper and a bit of worcestershire.

i like the grill hot and cook it on one side for about a minute or two and then flip. Cook and flip as needed after that.

My pan methodology is different.

[L.Kizzle]

Add worcestershire sauce steak sauce BBQ sauce salt peppee chopped garlic chopped belpepper to the meat than grill. On the side grill some onions and belpeppers. Get your desired cheese lettuce tomatoes. Fresh potatoes and chop and put in over or fry. Toast bread. Eat. Red wine for the lady.

[niko]

Add worcestershire sauce steak sauce BBQ sauce salt peppee chopped garlic chopped belpepper to the meat than grill. On the side grill some onions and belpeppers. Get your desired cheese lettuce tomatoes. Fresh potatoes and chop and put in over or fry. Toast bread. Eat. Red wine for the lady.
:cheers:

[L.Kizzle]

An unusual burger I like:

Season the meat with taco seasoning
On the burger use pepper jack and cheddar cheese
Refried beans
Spicy salsa
Lettuce
Tomato

And on the bottom bun put some tortilla chips.

Really good.
I think you just made a taco.

[Nanners]

ask randy bobandy

:oldlol:

this is definitely a question for the cheeseburger walrus

http://i.imgur.com/yjsiyvY.jpg

[KevinNYC]

:cheers:

Prepare everything you want on the burger first. Cheese, onions whatever....especially if you are going to cook it on the burger, you don't want to be slicing cheese while you are cooking or you might over cook it. If you are slicing cheese like cheddar, slice it thin so it melts easily and you are not tempted to overcook.


Salt and pepper both sides of the patty. Don't underseason, but don't go nuts
Kosher salt is always good for seasoning meat. Fresh ground pepper is better too.

Unlike a steak where you want to season the steak and let it sit awhile. With ground meat you should season it right before you are about to cook it.

If you are making your own patties, try to get them to be even and I would argue not to overhandle the meat.

Also unlike a steak you don't want a super hot grill. Medium to high will give you a sear on your burger without cooking the outside first.

Medium Rare is about 4 minutes a side. I would always be careful with the second side as this is where you can over cook it, so maybe a little less on that side. A good clue is when you see the fat melt and bubble to the surface is a good time for the first flip. It's not a bad thing to flip more than once, but don't touch the burger for the first two minutes.

Number one mistake people make when cooking burgers is to mash them with the spatula, you're just going to dry them out this way. Number two mistake is not to season them. Number three is to overcook.

[KevinNYC]

Let's see what Pat La Frieda says

http://a3.format-assets.com/image/private/s--U2aHBaX2--/c_limit,g_center,h_65535,w_550/a_auto,fl_keep_iptc.progressive,q_95/111021-8584383-91YS_0KtuCL.jpg


PAT LaFRIEDA’S GUIDE TO THE PERFECT BURGER
“What makes a great burger? For me, a burger is the sum of its parts, starting with the meat and then the bun, and ending with how the patty is shaped and cooked,” writes the celebrated New York butcher, Pat LaFrieda, in his upcoming book, “MEAT,” to be released next Tuesday. “When all of these come together, you have hamburger perfection.”
1. MEAT
“To make a good burger, you must use good meat. Plain and simple,” LaFrieda says.
2. PATTY SIZE
Make burger patties that are uniform in size to make sure they cook evenly, says LaFrieda, who suggests weighing the patties. “If you do not weigh the meat for burger patties, you will end up with patties that are slightly (and sometimes not so slightly) different in size, which means they are all going to cook differently,” he writes in his book. For lamb and beef burgers, he suggests forming an 8-ounce patty that’s 1-inch high. When making turkey burgers, he goes for a 6-ounce patty.
His craft: Roll meat portions into balls and form patties by tapping them down gently. “You want the meat to be loose so that as the fats liquefy, they run through the patty,” he says. “Overworking the meat will also cause the integrity of the chopped pieces to break down; maintaining that integrity is what makes a great hamburger patty taste like chopped steak.”
3. COOKING METHOD
“People have strong opinions when it comes to cooking burgers. I prefer cooking them on an open grill,” writes LaFrieda. “I grew up grilling burgers and eating burgers that someone else had grilled. I like the flavor of any food that comes off a grill. People who like pan-fried burgers argue that it cooks in its own juices. But I don’t want my meat to cook in its juices. Whatever juices are going to fall out of my burger, I want them to fall out.”
4. TEMPERATURE
“Whether you’re cooking your burger in a skillet or on a grill, it’s important that you cook it over high heat. You want to get a nice, charred crust on the outside without overcooking the inside (unless you’re talking about a turkey burger). I like both beef and lamb burgers rare. To help me achieve this, I always use a meat thermometer. Letting the burger rest after cooking is also key as it allows the internal meat to cook from the external heat. This gives you a burger with a more even doneness.”
5. BUN
LaFrieda is big on bread selection for his burgers. His rule of thumb when it comes to buns: “I like to toast them before I split them, so the outside is brown and crunchy and the inside is soft.” Some of his favorites:
English muffin — “A great, crispy burger bun.”
Big Marty’s Sesame — “The classic old-school burger bun with sesame seeds. It gives you the perfect meat-to-bun ratio for an 8-ounce burger.”
Martin’s Potato Rolls — “The ultimate soft burger bun. I love these for regular-size burgers — and I like their smaller counterpart for sliders. They’re bright yellow, doughy, and sweet, almost like challah bread.”
Brioche — “The ideal buns. They’re packed with butter, and so delicious … If you can get your hands on homemade brioche rolls, you don’t need to look any further.”

6. TOPPINGS
“What you put on your burger is matter of taste,” says LaFrieda. But his go-to burger dressing is this: “sliced grape tomatoes, arugula and a dollop of mayo.”
__

So he recommends a higher heat than I did and also recommends against overworking the meat. If you are mixing things into the meat, you are going to be overworking it. Season the outside.

[KevinNYC]

I never understood the spatula smash. What is it people think they're accomplishing by doing that?

They think they are getting a sear. It usually means the heat is too low. It makes them feel like they are doing something.

[NumberSix]

Don't make burger patties the size you want them. They won't be that same size after they're cooked. The patty will shrink inwards and get thicker. So always make them wider and thinner so they will shrink to the right size to fit your bun.

[gigantes]

something i learned from bobby flay is to fresh-grind a small heap of black pepper and to coat both sides thoroughly. the pepper will form a sort of breading that is particularly effective in locking in moisture no matter what your preferred cooking time. also as bobby / kevinNYC recommended, be careful not to overcook, turn more than once, mash with spatula.

smoke is always nice, but if you don't have chips and the iron box, liquid smoke can be nice... preferably as part of a pre-marinade before the black pepper gets added.

grilled onions, garlic, mushrooms, bell peppers (as others say) are also genius for boosting the umami-factor. all can be prepared many different ways (sauteed, baked, oventop grilled) and still work great.

blue cheese crumbles are one of the most underrated of the classic cheese toppers IMO. and not to keep harping on the pepper, but it's an awesome combo with the black pepper... commonly called a black and blue burger.

good kaiser rolls for the buns, preferably with poppy seeds, preferably made as garlic bread (minced garlic in butter, wrap in tinfoil, toss in broiler for a few moments).

[outbreak]

put cheese between two patties and mold them together before cooking, or put the cheese on the pattie then cover it with a saucepan before finishing it so it melts with it. I like cheese.

[outbreak]

something i learned from bobby flay is to fresh-grind a small heap of black pepper and to coat both sides thoroughly. the pepper will form a sort of breading that is particularly effective in locking in moisture no matter what your preferred cooking time. also as bobby / kevinNYC recommended, be careful not to overcook, turn more than once, mash with spatula.

smoke is always nice, but if you don't have chips and the iron box, liquid smoke can be nice... preferably as part of a pre-marinade before the black pepper gets added.

grilled onions, garlic, mushrooms, bell peppers (as others say) are also genius for boosting the umami-factor. all can be prepared many different ways (sauteed, baked, oventop grilled) and still work great.

blue cheese crumbles are one of the most underrated of the classic cheese toppers IMO. and not to keep harping on the pepper, but it's an awesome combo with the black pepper... commonly called a black and blue burger.

good kaiser rolls for the buns, preferably with poppy seeds, preferably made as garlic bread (minced garlic in butter, wrap in tinfoil, toss in broiler for a few moments).
is liquid smoke still safe? I remember reading something about an investigation as it contains cancer causing chemicals or something. Who knows though, everything contains trace amounts of cancer causing agents anyway it seems.

[ballup]

Uhhh put ketchup on it. Ya

[L.Kizzle]

Uhhh put ketchup on it. Ya
Ketchup on a burger, that's so early 90s.

[gigantes]

is liquid smoke still safe? I remember reading something about an investigation as it contains cancer causing chemicals or something. Who knows though, everything contains trace amounts of cancer causing agents anyway it seems.
good question. the bottle i have lists "water, hickory smoke concentrate, and polysorbate 80" as ingredients, but apparently the P80 is found to be quite safe.

TBH i'm not very satisfied by liquid smoke nor the iron box smoker. i think the main way to get that awesome smoky taste on meat is pretty much to slow-smoke it for a number of days... which would not work with hamburger AFAIK. but smoked jalapenjos (i.e. chipotles) could work as part of the mix. for some reason i never tried that. :S

worcester-based marinade is prolly just as good as anything. actually a number of top chefs seem to say that making the ingredients as simple as possible while paying strict attention to the cooking science tends to turn out the best burger.

[Rameek]

my burger recipe

i have a natural gas grill i love. F*ck charcoal.

I prefer 80/20 beef. Leaner beef doesn't stick together as well and fattier beef is a fire hazard.

Put the meat in a bowl and add an egg, a bit of minced garlic and a bit onions.
form into patties. don't be afraid to work the meat a bit, it helps the patties from better.


After you make the patties pour a bit of olive over the patties first, then add generous amount of salt and pepper and a bit of worcestershire.

i like the grill hot and cook it on one side for about a minute or two and then flip. Cook and flip as needed after that.

My pan methodology is different.
I do something similar but instead of salt and pepper lowry's

[KevinNYC]

also as bobby / kevinNYC recommended, be careful not to overcook, turn more than once, mash with spatula.

I just read a "Burger Lab" article that says turning multiple times can lead to more evenly cooked burger. I wouldn't start that until you let it sit for two minutes.

They also reccommended if you are making a big patty, put a dimple in the middle otherwise it might swell up.

My wife is the food biz and she came out with these Irish Sea Salt flakes that are great. Big flakes used them on summer heirloom tomatoes in a BLT sandwich. Possibly the best meal I've had this summer.

[gigantes]

I just read a "Burger Lab" article that says turning multiple times can lead to more evenly cooked burger. I wouldn't start that until you let it sit for two minutes.

They also reccommended if you are making a big patty, put a dimple in the middle otherwise it might swell up.

My wife is the food biz and she came out with these Irish Sea Salt flakes that are great. Big flakes used them on summer heirloom tomatoes in a BLT sandwich. Possibly the best meal I've had this summer.
turning multiple times has never worked for me but to be fair the older i get the more i gravitate towards rare / seared meat.

i like the dimple idea. reminds me of my pizza-making days... like, the more even you aim to make the dough / crust, the more chemistry / physics will laugh in your face.

thin long salt flakes sound like the bees knees, no analysis needed i think. random side note-- buddy owns a nearby mexican restaurant and just started offerering a drink called a "paloma" (pigeon) in earthenware mug... basically a margarita variant but with this amazing dried chili / sea salt around the edges. holy fluff i just wanted to throw away drink and lick salt

[Rameek]

Never fails

http://www.mccormick.com/-/media/Lawrys/Products/Spice%20Blends/787x426/21500000529_Product.ashx

[andgar923]

I don't grill mine.

I make my shits in a pan and cook them in a sea of butter. I bathe them with butter repeatedly.

But before that....

I cut up tons of onion, garlic, jalape

[L.Kizzle]

[QUOTE=andgar923]I don't grill mine.

I make my shits in a pan and cook them in a sea of butter. I bathe them with butter repeatedly.

But before that....

I cut up tons of onion, garlic, jalape

[andgar923]

Soy sauce?

Chea!!!!

I knew what it was, but for some reason forgot.


:cheers:

[gigantes]

[QUOTE=andgar923]I don't grill mine.

I make my shits in a pan and cook them in a sea of butter. I bathe them with butter repeatedly.

But before that....

I cut up tons of onion, garlic, jalape

[andgar923]

Grill them in foil.

Been there, done that.

Still not the same as making them in a pan full of butter.

Im telling you, it makes a world of difference. Specially when you cover them up. It only retains more of the heat and flavors.

[tobethdope]

I don't grill mine.

Grilling them makes them dry too quickly, tons of flavors escape, there's little to no juices left. Sure it may have some of the smoky taste, but it doesn't compare to a juicy burger.

u must make something wrong then, virtually every good burger-restaurant in the world grills their burgers.

nothing escapes when u grill them properly on very high heat for not too long, medium beef is really never that dry, its actually just the same like steak; u might get a juicy burger from the pan, but a grilled burger has still way more of its own juices in it then a pan-fried one and these are the juices that really taste great

[Godzuki]

u must make something wrong then, virtually every good burger-restaurant in the world grills their burgers.

nothing escapes when u grill them properly on very high heat for not too long, medium beef is really never that dry, its actually just the same like steak; u might get a juicy burger from the pan, but a grilled burger has still way more of its own juices in it then a pan-fried one and these are the juices that really taste great


this. unless you're buying pre made burger patties, ground beef mashed together has so many juices u can see all of the fat oozing out of it but it still retains more than enough of it so long as you're not letting it sit there forever on the grill.

[rufuspaul]

Good advice here. I'll add: make an indentation in the middle of each patty before grilling. It will help keep the burger from shrinking up while cooking.

[Cactus-Sack]

ask randy bobandy
http://33.media.tumblr.com/9a480ac7022ad12c278561e3e29d4677/tumblr_mlekz1Uo7j1rubro9o1_500.jpg

[2LeTTeRS]

When this thread was made I was out grilling burgers. I doubt anybody here can see me on the grill. I season with onion soup, seasoning salt, pepper, a little worcerstire sauce, and top with my home-made BBQ sauce while grilling.