Hamburgers

As you've had all summer to perfect your grilled american favorite (with the german name), i must ask:

What's your trade secret?

What's your meat- beef, turkey, game, goat, mule? or non-meat?

Do you mix-in the seasonings or just a sprinkle on top?


me? I'm not real picky about a burger, 'cept that it's not overdone. And if i'm doing it at home, it's going to be venison. Quick and light and with toasted whole-wheat bread. Seasonings by the mood that strikes me. also, i blend in a bit of flour to "glue" the patties together as 100% venison is too lean to stick to itself, and i find the binding characteristics of flour to be plenty and not so fatty as ... adding fat.

right, i don't add "cheese" either. not much on kraft singles yo. save my cheese points for pizza.



whatchallgot?

I like buffalo from my local natural foods store. I usually mix an egg and crushed garlic in with the meat when making the patties. Top it off with some good cheddar or Swiss, tasty bacon on a big wheat bun. I like 'em ever so slightly pink in the middle, with a good sear on the outside.

This is a topic close to my heart. I started following A Hamburger Today while I was in Japan. It's the be all end all of hamburger knowledge and reviews.

I like them cooked on a smoking hot cast iron skillet with cheap American cheese and a kaiser roll. Done.

can we change the name of this thread to just "burgers"?

i've enjoyed both of the following on the grill and always looking for other non-animal options:

Grilled Edamame Veggie Burger Recipe - Food2

Toasted Almond Tofu Burgers Recipe at Epicurious.com

Liverman's on to something. Hot cast iron is my weapon of choice, but with sharp cheddar and a nice locally made ciabatta roll. Beef, kosher salt, black pepper mixed and formed by hand, and you're all set.


AHT has made me start a list of burgers to eat nationwide, for future travel planning. Great blog.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by WadePatton

me? I'm not real picky about a burger, 'cept that it's not overdone.

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Couldn't agree more, Wade.

Eddie, Lebanese restaurant where? Awwright.
Hooves down the best burgers I've ever had were made during our Va Spring Training Camp this yr. One of the docs generously offered to bring a huge amt. of freshly ground Angus Beef that local Amish had processed. When you opened the packages of meat the smell was sweet, super clean butcher work. My normal hamburger schtick is to add unsalted saltines and fresh diced rosemary however the good doctors wife offered to break my legs if I did anything other than lightly form 1/2 pound patties and cook over an hot grill. She was right.

I personally like them cooked over blazing hot charcoal and no cheese please.

Nope, will have to travel a bit futher for that one. Brugge.

I did order a burger at Lion Hall in Arlington last week "extra, extra rare," and holy heck did the chef deliver. Awesome. Impressive beer list, too.

Ground pork.
Add in a 1:1 ratio with quality ground beef, preferably from pastured Highlanders if you have access.
Lightly season, some Worcestershire works well.
Hot grill.
Enjoy.

Wade, over in Triune there is a fella that raises Beefalo, i get it ground from him. My family owns the local meat shop and butcher shop, we raise angus beef. If you are ever in the need of anything local let me know. Goat, wild hog, lamb, beefalo whatevs. I was vegetarian for 23 years and have always cooked, but am just now getting into the meat thing. I dont eat it alot, but cook it all the time.... Just pulled of 4 pork loins i smoked in the smoker i built.. Labor day and all..

Cny rider, I've had some very good pork/beef burgers. Very good.

You need to be careful mixing the salt in with the ground beef because it can cause the burgers to toughen. There's an interesting article on AHT about it.

Coarse-ground local beef is the best. In my experience it doesn't even matter if the meat has been frozen if it's ground correctly and fed the right food.

Anyone else like an egg on their burger?

just pulled three bufallo burgers off the grill mixed in crushed garlic, shallots, salt and pepper and three strips of finely chopped bacon topped with a nice humbolt fog cheese and wrapped in a bagel that was baked this morning. mmmmmmmmmmmmm!

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Originally Posted by R.Liverman

Cny rider, I've had some very good pork/beef burgers. Very good.

You need to be careful mixing the salt in with the ground beef because it can cause the burgers to toughen. There's an interesting article on AHT about it.

Coarse-ground local beef is the best. In my experience it doesn't even matter if the meat has been frozen if it's ground correctly and fed the right food.

Anyone else like an egg on their burger?

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Not a fan of the egg. Hard to say why.

The best mixed meat burger I ever had was from Ron's in Tulsa Ok. Ron mixes a beef patty w spicy Jimmy Dean sausage served with Monterey jack cheese. Easy to replicate at hOme. The trick is to keep the patties thin and layer them (like 3 per burger) between the cheese.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Too Tall

Eddie, Lebanese restaurant where? Awwright.
Hooves down the best burgers I've ever had were made during our Va Spring Training Camp this yr. One of the docs generously offered to bring a huge amt. of freshly ground Angus Beef that local Amish had processed. When you opened the packages of meat the smell was sweet, super clean butcher work. My normal hamburger schtick is to add unsalted saltines and fresh diced rosemary however the good doctors wife offered to break my legs if I did anything other than lightly form 1/2 pound patties and cook over an hot grill. She was right.

I personally like them cooked over blazing hot charcoal and no cheese please.

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tammy fix's yo way tall man --- on the road i like 5 guys -- no cheese please..

ronnie

No egg, no filler, no cheese, bison, salted angus ground w/right amount of fat, sirloin, any boutique meat out here (that Amish shit sounds great).
Must be seared over a real fire or grill pan for thick, black, deep carbon stripes while leaving the interior medium rare.
Textures.

Just read a article on the buffalo, not necessarily the beefalo. Article said, buffalo is the only mammal that has no history of cancer... Really, i never heard of that.. If so find that vewry interesting.. Dont eat much beef, but eat beefalo once a week or so..

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Zimmermanbicycle

just pulled three bufallo burgers off the grill mixed in crushed garlic, shallots, salt and pepper and three strips of finely chopped bacon topped with a nice humbolt fog cheese and wrapped in a bagel that was baked this morning. mmmmmmmmmmmmm!

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seasoned black iron skillet is a must, i got my grandads. 50 years of sludge has got to be good..;

I am a big Shake Shack fan, so when Kenji Lopez-Alt, the genius behind Burger Lab on seriouseats.com's burger site put this up:

The Fake Shack (or the Shack Burger at Home) | Serious Eats : Recipes

I had to try it out. It worked really well and pretty much captured the sirlion/chuck/brisket blend for which Shake Shack is famous. His emphasis on technique/methodology is also spot on in recreating the Shake Shack experience in the home kitchen.


I also tried to recreate the Spotted Pig's pub style burger, which I had last year and loved.

The Spotted Pig's Chargrilled Burger at Home | Serious Eats : Recipes

While it came out well, it was not nearly as good at the Spotted Pig's version.

If you are a burger guy, this website if the best:

A Hamburger Today - America's Favorite Hamburger Weblog!

Burgers we grilled outside in the blowing rainy remnants of TS Lee yesterday (it was mom's turf, i just get to flip 'em there). Hell fire i thought LEE was on our side...(well we did need some rain).

wrt thread title change, no--because Hamburg is a place (big city in germany iirc). there is no "ham" in any burger, hence no need to differentiate as all ground up meat or meat substitutes jammed on a bun (often served with _french_ fries) constitute the meaning of hamburger. all variations of "burger" are on topic here.

beefalo, check-got a beefalo guy a couple of miles away. i never even think about it-as i try to keep a stock of ground venison year 'round. but thanks.

with this grinder i now have...there may be turtlepossumadillo burgers coming...

wrt iron skillets-my main ride is ~120 years old and have a set of 100-years olds. pics and thread on cast iron coming.