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Cooking Outdoors

LOOKING for: The Perfect Hamburger

24 years ago

Thought I would bring your attention to a thread on the 'cooking' forum to share with us your 'secrets' to making the perfect hamburger.

Darkmenace started a thread 'Perfect Hamburger, have you found it'.

Please join us there and share your tips with us.

Sue

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Comments (14)

jasavak
24 years ago
I use onion powder, salt and pepper. I cook with high heat over an open flame.
Always use the 30% fat. The lean meat seems too dry.
bulldinkie
24 years ago
When i make mine I pour Kikomens sauce over top mmm Its in chinese section at the grocery store.Good on steaks too.
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I made these, they're great. Cracker Barrel Old Country Store Dumplings Ingredients: 2 C Flour 2 tsp Baking Powder 1/2 tsp Salt 1 C whole Milk 4 Tbsp Vegetable Oil Preparation: Mix above ingredients, blend them well and turn out on to a floured surface. Knead 4 or five times and divide dough into two parts. Roll out one piece of dough to 1/8" thick and cut into 1"x1 1/2" strips. Place into a large sauce pan that you have place 8 cups of water and 3 chicken bouillon cubes that has been brought to boil and the bouillon cubes have been dissolved. Cook 1 half of dumplings until just about done and strain and set aside. Next finish the other half of the dumplings in the same way. While cooking the dumplings you can prepare the sauce. Dumpling Sauce 3 Tbsp Butter 4 Tbsp Flour 1/4 tsp Salt 1 C Whole Milk 2 Chicken Bouillon Cubes (crumbled) 1/2 tsp sugar 1/2 -3/4 C Dumpling Cooking Liquid (after dumplings have been cooked) Place butter in medium sauce pan and melt, add salt and flour, stir until thick. Mix sugar with milk, and add to flour mixture a little at a time and stir constantly with a whisk until thick and smooth. Remove from heat. Place cooked dumplings in dumpling sauce and add 1/2 cups of cooking liquid in which the crumbled chicken bouillon cubes have been added and stir gently, Simmer dumplings until blended on low heat. More cooking liquid may be added if needed.
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I had a chuckle over that one, because I WISH the city maintained the sidewalks in front of the houses I own in town. They are for public access, but I bear the expense of their upkeep and repair and if the property owners fail to do this, it's done by the city and then put on the house's taxes. This I think is the killer clause in the article garysgirl linked to: "Lake Forest originally approved the subdivision plans with the stipulation that the sidewalk to the park be built over the public utility easement beneath it, Rummel said." If this is true, then whomever owned and developed the ground in the first place accepted this as a condition of approval to even go forth with their building. If it doesn't show on a deed, but if Lake Forest can cough up that contingency clause in writing.........it ought to be an interesting court case to follow as they duke it out. It would certainly not be like the authorities just took it upon themselves to interlope on a utility easement. It looks like they crossed their T's and dotted their I's before the fact if what they say is true and they can prove it. If it's not on the property deed, then somebody failed to provide a good property description when the ground was modified, and that's not up to the authorities to implement that, but the developer who is selling the plots, no?
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NancyL
24 years ago
I make my patties out of med. ground hamburg and freeze them. When I am ready to BBq I thaw them and sprinkle on a good amount of McCormick's Montreal Steak Spice and some garlic powder. Near the end of the cooking time sometimes (not always,) I will baste with some Dianna, spicy BBq sauce.
BBQ_Mike
24 years ago
In the nearby city where I live is a tiny hamburger joint that hangs a sign that says "We didn't invent the hamburger, we just perfected it". The joint's founder says "a lot of people are going to disagree with me, but you need a thin patty and a hot grill to bring out the maximum flavor."

I've applied that concept to my patties. I like the 70/30 beef to fat combination. I will take a third lb of beef, and some finely chopped fresh onion, and using a meat mallet, will pound the chopped onion into the beef, and flatten the patties until they are about 1 1/2 times the size of the bun. I will only season them with salt and a little pepper.

Over a hot outdoor grill (I prefer a charcoal grill with natural lump charcoal with hickory wood chunks added), I will build my fire to about 600*.

The patties are thrown on right over the hot coals. Being thin, it will only take about 90 seconds for the juices to be oozing out the top of the patties. I flip them once, leaving them about a minute on the other side. I leave the lid up on my grill so the coals will mix with the fresh outside air. Of course, the flaming fire will "kiss" the meat, charring it just slightly on the surface. It should shrink down to the size of the bun, overhanging the edges just slightly.

I like serving the patty right on the bun, while the burger is still sizzling. The top half of the bun should be about 1/2 off the patty so it can be easily removed to add the other desired condiments.

These burgers are a huge hit everytime I serve them up. A thin patty and a hot fire--a must combination for the most flavor.
bsbbq
24 years ago
1 lb. 28% fat hamburger
1/2 packet Lipton onion soup mix
That's all!
Make as many or as few patties as you want from this.
Immediately after putting on grill, flood with beer and sprinkle with garlic salt. Turn once and repeat beer and garlic salt. The alcohol keeps the meat tender, works excellent on steaks as well. Wonderful flavor. Enjoy.

bsbbq
honnnybabbbby
20 years ago
My perfect hamburger
By Davie wormy

Here it is ehhh?!?!:
1 BIG FAT MEAT
1 HUUUUGE BUN!!
KIPS MAYO PLUS CHEEZE (CHEDDA)
TOMATO, LETTUCE, ONION
GRANDPAS GREAT HORNY ATTITUDE
A GIANT FARRRRT
curlylocks
20 years ago
My favourite's the onion soup mix but my friend made them up for us with her mother's recipe and all she uses is milk and salt. WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!They were terrific and she got if off the Food Network.
sharon_fl
20 years ago
Having flipped scores of these juicy burgers over the past 30 years, this is my technique.
After placing the meat in a bowl, I add just a few shakes of garlic powder, MINCED onion, salt, pepper & some worchestershire sauce.I make about a 5oz patty, first rolling into a FIRM meatball then flattening it to a 1/2" thickness. Over hot coals, I grill it until half cooked, then flip ONCE and continue cooking for just another 2 minutes-being careful NEVER pressing down on the patty with a spatula-as it will seep all of those great juices from the burger.
MY favorite burger is to make 2 thinner pattys & place 1 heaping TBS of crumbled bleu cheese on one patty, then top with the other patty & press the edges together. Delish!!
smking1_gardener
20 years ago
OK, maybe it is a bit more than 10% fat, it's hard to tell as you cut the chuck steak up for grinding. I have also used sirlion steak and love that too.

If you use good ingredients then it usually tastes good!

S King
bonelady
20 years ago
I add a bit of A-1 sauce to the meat mixture (25-30% fat)salt and pepper and some Montreal Steak Seasoning and grill over a hot fire. I form them just thick enough so the middle stays a nice meedium rare and the burger is juicy.

Nothing worse for me than a dry burger.

I also like a toasted bun.
jim_1
20 years ago
I use ground chuck Imix in montreal steak season, Eggs,worstershie,italian bread crumbs and allspice and cook over low heat slow until it is alittle rare when you take it off it will finish cooking.
anya_101
20 years ago
diced onion
diced mushrooms
clove crushed garlic
chilli powder
Mix with burger, pat out & grill over charcoal with wet hickory bark.

Everyones favorite here at my house!
als_garden
19 years ago
I make my burgers with 80/20 hamburger and i mix in seasoned crutons and diced onions and green peppers and add a few drops of worchestire and a sprinkle of liquid smoke...grill em med rare and put em on a toasted kaiser bun for the utmost dining experience. there always a hit with the adults and grandkids as well
bbq_raleigh
19 years ago
I use

ground beef
Worcestershire sauce
garlic powder
soul seasoning

I coined these burger Raleigh Burgers in my area, they are the best I've ever had and I have never heard any complaints about them...they are so good you don't even need and catchup, mustard, or mayo

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