Home made burgers / Pink or well done?

Soldato
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maybe - if we could knew what the temperature was, and also knew the credentials of the cook, the cow ... his wife and his lover.
 
Man of Honour
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Steak cut into cubes and put in freezer for may be 10 mins, then chopped in blender (freezer stops it smearing) and saves having to hand chop, then smashed. Medium well.

Hadn't heard of smashed burgers until reading about it on here a while back and much prefer them. I occasionally did sous vide then sear but prefer smashed.
 
Soldato
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About like that

That looks disgusting.
 
Soldato
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Flicked on to a random Gordon Ramsey video on YouTube where he was showing a home made burger recipe. He froze some butter to then grate and mix in with the burger. Sounded tasty so suddenly I want to try my first home made burger.

I'm assuming on a basic level its 15% fat mince as mentioned above, mushed together with a beaten egg to help glue it all together? Roll up and squat to size, then grill?

It sounds fairly straight forward and do fancy trying it. Any basic tips appreciated. Never really mess about like this in the kitchen
 
Soldato
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Flicked on to a random Gordon Ramsey video on YouTube where he was showing a home made burger recipe. He froze some butter to then grate and mix in with the burger. Sounded tasty so suddenly I want to try my first home made burger.

I'm assuming on a basic level its 15% fat mince as mentioned above, mushed together with a beaten egg to help glue it all together? Roll up and squat to size, then grill?

It sounds fairly straight forward and do fancy trying it. Any basic tips appreciated. Never really mess about like this in the kitchen
Pretty much, throw in some seasoning and you will end up with a tasty burger.
 
Soldato
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Burger mince normally has a medium to high fat content but you can most definitely make moist burgers with leaner meat and careful cooking (lower temps and don't squish the burger while cooking!).

I have been using 5% mince, egg yolk and it has been working well to make a burger to better fit my nutritional goals. My current favourite spice combo is a generous amount of smoked paprika, salt, pepper, vinegar, dried chilie flakes and a generous amount of crushed fresh garlic. The combination is a result of me trying to make chorizo burgers.

Although a controversial opinion among burger makers, I find cold meat definitely binds better. Obviously room temp before cooking though. Making it a bit thinner in the middle will stop the burger curling and the need to squish it and therefore save the juices.

Want to get a bit silly with burgers? Check out 'Stufz', bought it just to make some novelty burgers but have ended up making quite a few of these bad boys this summer.
 
Soldato
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First attempt went well! Next time I'd go a bit thinner and buy a better roll with a thicker lower half. Just the basics here. Onion and garlic salt and pepper. Did some bacon and a large mushroom on the top :)
 
Associate
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Flicked on to a random Gordon Ramsey video on YouTube where he was showing a home made burger recipe. He froze some butter to then grate and mix in with the burger. Sounded tasty so suddenly I want to try my first home made burger.

I'm assuming on a basic level its 15% fat mince as mentioned above, mushed together with a beaten egg to help glue it all together? Roll up and squat to size, then grill?

It sounds fairly straight forward and do fancy trying it. Any basic tips appreciated. Never really mess about like this in the kitchen

You've got the mechanics down but the trick, imo, is in the seasoning. Personally I always use 80/20 when making a burger, but that's a matter of personal taste.

Here's a good, cheap and easy mix: 1 lb. ground beef, 1 pkg. Lipton's onion soup mix (not sure if that's readily available in the UK. If not there are copycat recipes available on the webz.), 1 egg, 2 to 3 Tablespoons of breadcrumbs. Mix well with your hands and form patties. Let sit covered in the fridge for at least an hour, longer if possible. Remove and bring to room temp before cooking.

The result is a juicy and tasty burger. But the sky is the limit from there. Experiment with adding cheese to the mix, or any other seasoning you like.

ETA: Be careful with salting the meat, there's a lot of salt in the soup mix. You're essentially brining the meat here but you can't rinse it off so be careful about adding any more.
 
Associate
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Back to the OP buy a cheap temp probe from the rainforest and make sure its over 75deg in the middle and you'll be good
That's the safe temperature for *instant* elimination of pathogens. In reality you can cook your burgers to lower temperatures and still be safe. For example, holding it above 62°C for 5 minutes or 66°C for 1 minute. Check out page 4 of the USDA time-temperature tables: https://www.canr.msu.edu/uploads/234/48508/RTE_Poultry_Tables1.pdf
 
Soldato
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That's the safe temperature for *instant* elimination of pathogens. In reality you can cook your burgers to lower temperatures and still be safe. For example, holding it above 62°C for 5 minutes or 66°C for 1 minute. Check out page 4 of the USDA time-temperature tables: https://www.canr.msu.edu/uploads/234/48508/RTE_Poultry_Tables1.pdf

Blurgh Murica

I'd rather go with UK references

https://www.food.gov.uk/safety-hygiene/cooking-your-food

But still. Like I said make sure its over 75deg and you'll be good.
 
Soldato
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agree 62C might work for a spam fritter,
the recent chlorinated chicken documentary (more about poor hygiene in usa) reenforced that in the USA they have some 3000 food poisoning deaths a year
 
Associate
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I'd prefer somewhere inbetween for the most part, though I'd err on the side of well done over medium.
I have also been enjoying the luxury of smashed burgers recently too though, which is always going to be well done!
 
Associate
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Just saying, pasteurization is a product of both temperature and time. The guidelines of 73 degrees are the "foolproof" point but as long as you time things you can cook to lower temps.
 
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