I use my butcher's own blend...about 15,/85 lean. I make a 5 or 6 oz patty about 1/2 inch thick seasoned with whatever floats my boat at the moment...always salt, often garlic granules, sometimes W'shire...sometimes Weber's Steak seasoning...grill hot and dangerously pink on the inside. Serve in my home made bun, a brioche bun, top with sweet onion, lettuce. tomato if tomatoes are good, dill pickle and mayo on the bun....ketchup for dipping.

Mouth watering, linda! Can you share your brioche bun recipe?

I usually go 80/20 for burgers because more of us like them closer to well than rare and the extra fat takes longer to melt off. In the mix, I try hard not to meatball them, but still have plenty of flavor. That usually means some dried leeks, S&P and whatever other spices I feel like, strenuously telling myself not to use herbs. Middle Eastern spices are great in hamburgers--or at least, if those flavors are part of your heritage. Mine are the lightly gathered between two hands, with a thumbprint dimple, rather than the compressed ones. Loose and potentially messy, but high on that homemade flavor and texture with the crusty outside and meaty inside.

I make a toppings bar to let people do their own. My own opinion is very California--as much veg as meat. That's leaves of crunchy iceberg, slices of fat tomatoes, whole white onion slice, and dill pickle chips. Avocado if it's the kind that doesn't squish out. Maybe a grilled chili pepper (just done enough to soften and gain a bit of char), or banana pepper or jalapeño slices. Ketchup and mustard, together on the bun. Mayonnaise and 1000 available for those who want them, plus Tabasco and/or Sriracha. I love hamburgers, and like all kinds of other things on them, like any of those sauces, mushrooms, pineapple, etc., but when I'm doing my own, just a good char, ketchup and mustard, plus the more common sandwich veg.

For buns, I prefer 100% whole wheat/grain, as I do my bread, but get white for those who like it better. I think egg or potato buns are better white buns, but there's a certain kind of old style white buns we can still get that everyone seems to really like. Toasted on the grill so they don't fall apart.

I only eat burgers during the summer when I have homegrown tomatoes. Tomato harvest has been ongoing since early May, so we've eaten a lot of burgers lately

80/20 ground chuck seasoned with McCormick Spicy Montreal Steak seasoning. Nothing else. I form balls and then press lightly using my mom's old wooden press ... just enough pressure to flatten them a bit. Dh grills his longer than mine. Served on lightly grilled store bought or homemade sesame seed buns. I dress mine with tomato and mayo; dh does tomato and Creole mustard.

Well done, no bun (since going gluten-free), with fresh-ground pepper. That's it! I like to taste the meat. If I want a salad it will be served as a side dish, not sliding around on top of the burger and dripping off of the side. And no cheese, please. Cheese and/or bacon on a burger is a serving of protein robbed from another meal and not necessary with the already generous amount of protein from the burger. I know, I'm just no fun.....

The worst burger I had recently was at a new place and they put delicate baby leaf lettuce on the hot-from-the-grill burger (served without a bun as requested) and it immediately heated through and turned into lettuce slime, which I scraped off. The "chef" came around and asked how we liked the burgers and noticed I had removed the lettuce. The burger was wonderful, but I explained how unappetizing the slimy cooked leaf lettuce was. I guess he just thought he was being generous and using it as a garnish. We also ordered PLAIN burgers, nothing on them. Too simple I guess.

80/20 ground beef. Medium rare. S&P. Sliced raw onion, dill pickle slices, light on the mustard. Tomato only if it is fresh home-grown from the garden. Toothy lettuce, either iceberg or Romaine only if I have tomato. No cheese except for maybe once a year when I'm hungry for a cheeseburger (with no tomato or lettuce.)

There's no wrong answer, grainlady!

Brioche style buns....I use a little less sugar for hamburger buns...like 1/3 cup
this recipe makes about 12 good sized burger buns.

2C Scalded Milk, cooled to warm temperature

3T Shortening or Butter, Melted

½ C Sugar

1 t salt

2 eggs, beaten

2 pkgs yeast (or 1T bulk yeast)

1/3 warm water

4-5 cups flour

Dissolve the yeast in the warm water (about 105 degrees) with
a teaspoon of the sugar, wait until it foams.
While waiting for the yeast to foam, mix the milk, butter, remaining
sugar and salt. After the yeast foams,
add the yeast mixture to it, and the two beaten eggs to the mixture. Either by hand or in a stand mixer, blend in
flour a cup at a time until the dough is soft and fairly sticky. Turn onto a floured board and knead just
until the dough is no longer sticky, but is smooth and satiny.

Let rise until doubled, punch down, knead a little,
then shape into rolls. Bake at 350 until
golden. May brush with egg wash or
butter and sprinkle with sesame seeds.
Also good rolled in butter and cinnamon sugar. Dough is a good base dough for a variety of
sweet breads like cinnamon rolls or brioche

Minipadv... "Hockey puckage"... I'm stealing THAT term! Cindymac... is that "vintage" weapon made of WOOD?!? Aren't you afraid you're gonna DIE... stressing my sarcasm. Lindac92... not exactly baking weather here in NJ, but gonna try your recipe tomorrow... "grilled hot and dangerously pink" is the ONLY way to go!

Yup, it's wood. I use a sheet of plastic wrap when I press the burgers. Found another on Etsy and sent it to one of dh's buddies from back home along with an Old Smokey grill.

Organic beef, 85/15. or 80/20

On the grill, red in the center. American cheese, soft potato roll.

Russian dressing and a tomato

I like to toss my 85/15 ground Angus gently without squishing it at all. Salt, pepper. On the grill until medium rare. Keeps its shape but the meat stays loose. Served on a buttered grilled Kaiser/bulky roll (not hard and crusty - have to watch our nomenclature).

Sometimes with cheddar cheese, often not.

I like mine "through the garden" - lettuce, tomato, onion, dill pickle. Mayo for me, ketchup for DH.

Peanut butter, with sweet pickle relish or pepper jelly.

80/20 meat, done very rare (moo!) with nothing added into the meat. Catsup, mustard, maybe mayo and lots of grilled onions, on a bun. Sometimes cheddar or bacon.

To avoid the baseballing of the meat, press a divot into the center of the pattie. Problem solved.

Maxmom,is that an Elvis burger?

No banana!

"thru the garden"- love the diner lingo!

I don't know the fat ratio, but our favorite butcher's ground beef holds together without any binder. Grilled plain with s&p or maybe Montreal seasoning. I'm a purist....just mayo, ketchup, bit of mustard, lettuce, onion and tomato (if decent). Mayyyybe a slice of cheddar or dill pickle. Medium rare, and the bun doesn't much matter...it's just a way to keep the other stuff on the burger and most of it's usually left behind.

We're different, we like most of the condiments in the pattie. I get good smoked bacon cut about 1/4" thick and cube it, add that to the meat along with a good amount of grated cheddar, thinly sliced green onions (DH can't eat regular onions any more) salt and pepper, a bit of minced parsley and an egg. Serve on a GF bun for DH and a regular one for me, with lettuce and tomato, mayo and ketchup for DH, mayo and Asian hot chilli sauce for me. Many Australians like to add canned beet slices to their burgers and I have to say if we get burgers while we're out I rather like it.

My burger is chicken as I can't eat beef or pork. :( If I could I'd be eating the Danish frikadeller (meatball) as my burger! I always add cream cheese, cheddar, grilled tomatoes, medium heat salsa, mustard and a pickle on toasted dark Danish rye bread. Occasionally I'll have baby greens on it too. Whole wheat or white bread brings on a migraine so must avoid that too. http://www.copenhagenet.dk/CPH-Map/CPH-Recipes-Frikadelle-03-2011.asp

Mmm love beets. I'll have to try that.

Salt, pepper, a dash of red wine, garli granules in the burger, on pretty any toasted bread/bun, and slathered in béarnaise sauce.http://rita-may-recipes.blogspot.ro/2010/05/easy-bearnaise-sauce.html

I buy solid meat, not much fat or connective tissue, chop it in the food processor, mix in plenty of salt along with pepper and sometimes oil, sometimes granulated garlic or onion.

Put a loose plop on a very hot pan, give it a single quick press into a freeform patty, cook until the bottom is browned, flip once, cook until done. Place on bun with the browned side up.

If making cheese burgers, flip earlier, add cheese, cover until cheese melts, uncover and cook until done.

My personal preference is done = 110 F, which means carry over cooking will yield about 120 F. Yes. I'm one who likes his burgers rare, hence the home-ground beef - I wouldn't eat store-ground beef that rare.

I don't use much for condiments, just lettuce, tomato, ketchup, mustard. Maybe avocado. I like my burgers pretty simple. Bun toasted, or a lettuce wrap in lieu of.

I posted on the other burger thread.

We have been grinding our own for 5-6 yrs now. Getting near perfect. We grind every 4-6 weeks for other things like sausages, meatballs and start with a burger grind.

Condiments are seasonal. Always changing. Not often do we mile-high with extras. Only with company do i offer all the various toppings for custom likes.

Like John Liu, I press firm on a hot griddle, leave alone, them flip and give just a short time on that rare side. Served seasoned seared side up.

I like to give the seasoned formed burgers at least 4 hours un-covered in the fridge to dry a bit. Then a half hour in the freezer.

Last week was a topping of steamed onion, homemade ketchup and grainy mustard with a bit of feta and cilantro. Lid on the steaming toothpicked onion until soft and caramelized.

Almost forgot the onion! They were resting on the cooling shelf above the stove.

A few months ago i thought i had homemade EnglishMuffins in the freezer. Only had thin slice pumpernickel, (oy). Toasted under the broiler with grated gruyere so it made a cheese skirt, (when the cheese melts over the sides and grills toasty on the hot pan)...made big 'flatty patties' to fit the bread with just hot wasabi mustard. Folded the cheese skirt over the burgers. Simple and surprisingly good. Tomato slices when the garden produces. Blue cheese a favorite with caramelized onions and mushrooms....baby salad greens do wilt fast so a crisper green is better. We just have a side salad. Not often on the burger these days.

Still working out the perfect grind combination and grinding plate size and grinding twice or three. If you have a KitchenAid stand mixer the ChefsChoice grinder is really nice. I have a big grinder now but the mixer will easily grind up a few or a dozen burgers quick and easily.

How I dress a burger depends completely on what's available, what sides we're having with it, and what mood I'm in -- but never with cheese, please. :)

I have the KitchenAid grinder and think it's time to grind my own mix.

I've seen brisket, short rib, chuck and sirloin in the mixes. One of Alton Brown's mixes calls for 1/3 ground lamb, for that "Hmm...what is that?" factor.

I usually only use salt and pepper in the meat. On the burger I keep it traditional: mustard and mayo, tomato, onion, and lots of pickles. Not a big fan of "themed" burgers. I don't eat them very often, but when I do I only want the real thing.

If grinding your own for the first time, keep it simple. Put your grinding plates in the freezer for an hour. Slice your meat choices and keep cold chilled in the freezer. Cold, partially frozen meats grind easier. Cut in strips so they go down in one long piece in the grinder. . Alternate your choices. Then run back through the grinder a second time. Good quality meat should not need any seasoning mixed in. Or just try without first if you usually add things.

sleevendog - you are a powerhouse. Wish I could download some of your energy and inspiration.

A burger that has always brought back fond memories had sautéed mushrooms and a thick amount of Boursin cheese on a toasted bun. Match made in heaven.

"Use a condiment" ha ha ha!

Pkramer: never heard of an Elvis burger. Back in the early 50s there was a restaurant in Cleveland, Ohio that offered a peanutburger. Loved it then, and have made them ever since. Several years later I was in NYC and went to a small hole-in-the-wall burger joint and asked them to make one for me, which they did. Went back 3 or 4 years later and it was on their menu.

Peanutbutter condiment....sounds messy, : )

Thai spicy peanut sauce sounds like it would be fab on a burger, but even messier!

Peanutbutter condiment....sounds messy, : )

*******

Does the peanut butter go ON the banana, or...?

Never mind ;-)

Well, you know how you can take apart a banana in three sections? I do know a guy who does this and then pastes it back together with peanut butter. :)

If you have never tried Southern Chow Chow on a burger you have been deprived of an amazing taste that enhances, enriches, empowers the plain old beef. It's made from cabbage, green tomatoes, sweet peppers, onions, garlic, a little jalapeno, vinegar, sugar, celery seed, mustard seed, salt and turmeric. It is not a relish so much as it is a celebration of flavors that sparks up a burger.

I only make burgers from locally-raised cattle (or lamb) -- I don't like the notion that there could be parts from hundreds of animals in my burger, especially since I prefer them rare to medium rare. I make them slider-sized these days, and serve them on a bed of lettuce, since I'm "low gluten" and I really don't like hamburger buns to begin with.

Mother always added stuff into the burgers I grew up with, so I follow suit:

I'll usually fry up some diced onions and brown them, let them cool a bit, and mix them in with the meat, along with a touch of: Worchester sauce, salt, pepper, Dijon or powedered mustard, a little ground garlic. On rare occasions, I'm in the mood for a little hot sauce. Don't over mix - the stuff becomes pasty. Fry up in a skillet or on the grill, add a slice of meltable cheese of whatever type suits your mood at the moment.

Serve with slices of real tomatoes from the garden or a farmer's market, and some horseradish mustard (or other mustard), and enjoy! Maybe a half a sliced avocado. Or a passle of sautéed mushrooms.

I'm someone who doesn't really like ketchup.

Nancy's condiment topping described above sounds intriguing!!