How do you do your burgers?

Van Hellseek

Van Hellseek

Van Hellseek

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2 Jun 2004
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I usually do 80/20 mince, small pinch of mixed herbs, salt/pepper and a teaspoon of soy sauce :eek: Then 4-5 minutes each side in the pan.

(wish I had a proper "patty former" for making perfectly round burgers, as they tend to be a bit thick/ugly without one, but I haven't seen them for sale in shops here)

then I do one of two things depending on my mood...

Either put the burger in a nice bun whith some nice fresh salad, proper cheese and maybe a slice of bacon.

Or... I occasionally get the urge to do it McD's style, so I put the burger on the bottom half of the bun and add slice of fake cheese, a bit of ketchup, finely diced onion and a slice of pickle. Then wrap the whole thing in clingfilm and whack it in the microwave for 20-30 secs. This softens the bun, melts the 'cheese' and warms the relish. End result isn't pretty, but it tastes just like a McD's cheeseburger. :o:o

Second method is good for if the buns are a couple of days old and have lost their freshness. It's a lot less noticable like this.
 
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Van Hellseek said:
... wish I had a proper "patty former" for making perfectly round burgers...
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One idea I had for this is to use a smooth round cookie cutter. Stuff the cookie cutter full of the burger mix and then use a flat palette knife to get the top perfectly flat. Would be interested to see if this works. :)

Van Hellseek said:
... it tastes just like a McD's cheeseburger...
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I'd have to add a small dollop of mustard to complete the McD's cheeseburger taste.
 
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Each burger is about 150g steak mince and a level teaspoon of dried breadcrumbs with quite a lot of salt and pepper. I usually form the burgers and leave them for 30 minutes or so for the breadcrumbs to soften. I oil the outside of the burgers and put them on a red hot griddle and serve them slightly pink inside. No fat or juice comes out because the breadcrumbs absorb it.

Usually served in a ciabatta bun with extra mature cheddar melted over it and lashings of ketchup and mayo. It's normally too big to get salad in, so the salad goes on the side with the potato wedges :p
 
jon86 said:
One idea I had for this is to use a smooth round cookie cutter. Stuff the cookie cutter full of the burger mix and then use a flat palette knife to get the top perfectly flat. Would be interested to see if this works. :)
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If you mean filling the cutter to the brim then I think that would be too thick. The pattys need to be big but thin before cooking because they shrink and get fatter in the pan.

The last burger I made shrank loads and it ended up looking more like a little meatball than a burger. :o
 
If you squash them a bit in the middle it helps to make them stay more burger shaped when cooking. just a little dent in the sides helps. so it's kind of shaped like a red blood cell...
 
I tend to always make Chilli Burgers...

1Kg of 80/20 Beef Mince (enough for 8 burgers)
1 Large Egg
1 Onion
Some Hot Chilli Powder
Small amount of Chilli Flakes
Fresh Chillis (choose on how hot you would like)
Good amount of Hot Sauce (Nandos Hot Marinade works well)
Salt and Pepper

Caution... I do like my food very hot.

I find that due to the Hot Sauce and Egg it is very easy to make a good hand patty, and tends to allow for a good meaty home burger.... Good for BBQ on Pan Fry.
 
20% fat minced beef
very finely chopped onion
chopped parsley
a pinch or two of cumin
a handful of breadcrumbs
salt & pepper

I have two burger presses. One is just a short plastic tube about 4" in diameter and a plunger, stick a ball of burger meat in and squish it down, lift off the mould & get a good uniform burger. The other is a big cast iron double press from America that makes pretty good 1/4 pounder sized patties but they're difficult to get out
 
This is the one I have. I use it for both beef and bunny burgers. You can control how thick your burgers are, plus you can really squeeze hard to get a really good, well compacted burger. Bargain at less than a fiver. I just put greaseproof paper squares between the burgers - result :)

Beef burgers are mostly 500g home minced beef (if I'm feeling proper poncey, butcher minced if not) - a very finely chopped and pre-sweated onion, a slice of bread (breadcrumbed), an egg, a few herbs, a dash of Worcestershire sauce, a tiny pinch of cumin, garam masala and turmeric. Lush :)
 
I have to admit I'm a bit poncy about my burgers.

To shape them I use a round cookie cutter. Take about 160g of minced beef, push it down into the cutter, then flip it over and gently press down the other way so it ends up nicely shaped.
I never use supermarket minced beef, either mince from the butcher or some good beef that I mince myself.
It can't have ever been frozen either, has to be fresh to make the best burgers.

To cook I get a cast iron frying pan on the heat for a good 5 minutes to get really hot then generously salt and pepper the burger before putting in the pan (never mix the seasoning with the meat, always just on the outsides)
Cook for about 2 minutes on one side, then flip over and put a slice of cheese on the flipped side and cover with a lid for the remaining 2 minutes of cooking time on the other side.

With my burgers that leaves them reasonably pink in the middle, but still cooked and the cheese goes just gooey enough with the lid on.
Serve on toasted buns with a couple of slices of lettuce, some caramelised onions, mustard and ketchup.

See, I told you it was poncy :p
 
Coarse ground mince, finely diced onion, finely diced sweet pepper, piquante smoked paprika and salt and pepper. I use the Lakeland burger press and I find 150g a burger makes a nice sized portion. Served with home pickled gherkins, bacon, cheese and english mustard in a crusty white bap.
 
this thread is just what i'm looking for - having a big bbq in a week or so and i'm planning on making my own chilli burgers.

how do people make the breadcrumbs or do you buy it ready crumbed?
 
lookitsjonno said:
this thread is just what i'm looking for - having a big bbq in a week or so and i'm planning on making my own chilli burgers.

how do people make the breadcrumbs or do you buy it ready crumbed?
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I have a small chopping attachment that goes on a handheld blender and I just blitz it with that, but a food processor would do the same thing (but means more washing up!!).
 
I just use all mince and salt and pepper. Make the patty thinner than you would expect - it will get fatter as you cook it.

My burger sauce is:-
40% ketchup
40% mayo

The the rest is:-
Tablespoon of french dressing (mustard + olive oil + vineger)
Dollop of Sweet pickle
Half a teaspoon of sugar

*Always* toast the bun.
 
One tip I can give for people, do not season the meat before it is formed into a patty!!!!!

Putting salt in the mince before forming it breaks down the bonds and will make the burger rubbery and too tightly packed.

For a perfect burger you want mince with at least 20% fat, loosly form the patty, rough edges are good as this will give you more of a crust once the burger is cooked.

Also do not press down on the patty while you cook it, this will push all of the juices out of the meat and make for a dry burger but....

....if you like you can "smash" the patty, which involves pressing down on the patty hard with a metal spatula ONCE to "smash" it onto the cooking surface, this will roughen up the edges and cause there to be more surface area meaning more nice rough crusty bits on the burger, once it has been "smashed" do not press down on the patty again after flipping.

I also do not ever add anything extra to my burgers other than a bit of salt and pepper once formed into patties, I usually enjoy the burger with a nice sesame seed bun, some diced lettuce, diced onion, burger sauce and some american cheese melted nicely onto the burger just before it's served :D
 
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