at burgers. The other night, we went to a good kosher deli near us and I ordered the broiled chopped steak. I have never made a broiled burger that good. I'd be interested to hear the secrets from those of you that make a great burger. I add a little water or chicken broth and the burgers come out juicy, but not with the great flavor I want.
Do you grind the meat yourself? What cuts do you use? If you buy the meat already ground (my preference) what do you buy? What fat content? Thanks in advance for any help.
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Posts: 24987 | Location: NY | Registered: Oct 18, 2001
I go with ground round or 85/15% with ground sirlon, there is almost not enough fat. My wife has been doing these "Juicy Lucys" lately and sad to say....they blow mine away. She makes two thinner patties, then puts a layer of cheese in the middle, pattie on top and seal with wax paper. Give it a try, it is tasty!
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Ground Chuck, about 20% fat has been my favorite. You shouldn't need the water or broth that will undoubtedly drown out other flavors. The fat content of the ground chuck will maintain the desired moistness and enhance the flavor. I like to keep it simple, maybe a dash of Worcestershire or Soy Sauce, and very finely diced onion and/or a little bit of green pepper. The onion and/or pepper if used should be so finely diced that it "dissolves" into the meat.
Leaner meats and the addition of salt are the two most common mistakes IMO.
Posts: 945 | Location: Minneapolis | Registered: Jan 06, 2009
I add a bit of Worchestshire like you, a table spoon of chili suce per pound, and a small bit of pepper.
Take a thick slice of bermuda onion, place on grill, and place burger on top. Cook & serve burger, and toss the onion. Onion acts as a pallette some burger will not fall thru grate.
__________________ Ed Bowers Live simply, Laugh often, Wine a lot!!!
Originally posted by MJAlbers: Ground Chuck, about 20% fat has been my favorite. You shouldn't need the water or broth that will undoubtedly drown out other flavors. The fat content of the ground chuck will maintain the desired moistness and enhance the flavor. I like to keep it simple, maybe a dash of Worcestershire or Soy Sauce, and very finely diced onion and/or a little bit of green pepper. The onion and/or pepper if used should be so finely diced that it "dissolves" into the meat.
Leaner meats and the addition of salt are the two most common mistakes IMO.
Ditto. I also like to add some minced garlic and/or cumin for a little variation.
Posts: 2519 | Location: Utah | Registered: Jan 15, 2008
If its juicyness that you want - stick to 20% fat meat. Buy good ground meat - not the stuff at Kroger's or Publix. Go to a butcher shop and ask for their best 20% ground beef. My local shop takes the scraps from cutting up rib roasts, Strips and tenderloin and grinds it up. Great for burgers - since the steaks are mostly prime or top choice - the ground beef is very fatty and flavorful.
I put the meat in a bowl, add spices (fresh coarse ground pepper, shaved onion and garlic (so it dissolves in the burger) and then other spices/herbs based on what I am aiming for (cumin and red pepper for southwest style, Tbls or two of BBQ sauce for BBQ burgers, etc)
If you really want the burgers to explode in juice when you bite into them - add a pat of truffle butter, plain butter or duck fat to the middle of the patty and then fold over so that it is on the inside. Grill over high heat so that the outside sears (keeping the juices in) and enjoy!
G
PS- I like to add blue cheese to the inside of the burger patty (instead of butter or duck fat)for blue burgers - it is really special and it doesn't get your grill as dirty.
20% fat ground beef, egg yolk and a dash of steak sauce or worchestshire and mix. Don’t over work the meat because the burger will be too dense. I also only salt and pepper the outside of the finished patty, not the inside during the mix process. Always turns out really nice.
Posts: 2202 | Location: OC, CA (Currently in London) | Registered: Aug 01, 2007
I use 80-20 ground chuck. I find the key is actually adding enough salt to the meat. I tend to under salt the beef when I make my burgers and they lack the flavor I want. I use butter too instead of broth.
Spices, I keep it simple, some chopped chives/or scallions, salt and pepper.
Posts: 3633 | Location: NYC | Registered: Feb 16, 2007
A good way to keep the burgers from getting too thick during cooking is when you make the patties, make a depression with your thumb in the middle of the pattie.
I like to add a little worchesteshire to 20% groud beef.
I think the trick is the fat, not the cut of meat. When I trim a whole filet and have pieces left over and grind them, they taste like ground beef (not like ground filet). If I grind anything myself I use the roughest setting to try to get a little more of the ground steak texture. I find worstershire and chili sauce and the like to be too dominant, but a little soy really adds something nice in the background. I would use any good beef and chop or grind in some fat from the cap of a prime rib roast (I wouldn't buy a roast to do the burgers, but if I had a roast I would trim some fat and use the opportunity to make burgers).
That being said, I think the best ones that I made were using ground veal (which is ironically lower in fat), and using a standard italian meatball recipe...parmesan, bread crumbs, fresh garlic, extremely finely chopped (vidalia) onion, salt, pepper, chopped parsley. Ingredients really seemed to provide a good complement to the meat. Texture was surprisingly juicy and tender. If it was only a bit more beefy it would have been perfect.
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Board-O: My take is that the meat is key; get that right, and no adulteration is needed. My burgers are just the meat, kneaded enough so it holds together (kneading won't make it dry as long as it's the right meat). On the outside, a little olive oil and lots of salt and pepper. If I was going all out, maybe a little duck fat ground into the meat would be killer.
Many have said ground chuck, which is a good start, but but since you are on LI and can find a good butcher, I'd go a little further. The next step is fresh ground - not only is this likely to taste better, but you'll feel better cooking only to rare, as ground beef ground from whole cuts is less likely to have pathogens.
Moving onward, if you can find a butcher to make you ground chuck from what's called either the chicken steak or blade steak, you are golden. It's from the upper part of the chuck, and for me is the ultimate burger meat when ground. It's got great beefy flavor - just oil, s&p and a grill should give you superb burgers.
Incidentally, do you know the touch test for meat, so you don't have to use a thermometer for testing doneness? Just poke it with your finger - the varying resistance will tell you very accurately how done it is. To calibrate the feel, take your non-poking hand, let it hang limp, and shake your forearm to release all tension from that hand. Using your other hand, poke the fleshy part between thumb and forefinger - that's how rare feels. Then spread your thumb and forefinger and poke at it again - that's medium. For well done, poke at the tip of your nose.
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Posts: 673 | Location: St Louis, MO | Registered: Feb 27, 2005
Originally posted by Squirreljam: if you can find a butcher to make you ground chuck from what's called either the chicken steak or blade steak, you are golden. It's from the upper part of the chuck, and for me is the ultimate burger meat when ground. It's got great beefy flavor - just oil, s&p and a grill should give you superb burgers.
S
O.K., Squirreljam, took your advice and saw my butcher. Picked up the aforementioned cut & had him grind it up.
, oh, nevermind. Carry on. 
