Tuesday, August 29, 2006

How to make a great hamburger


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When I've written about making hamburger buns (and hot dog buns)in the past, I generally left out any sort of instructions for making the filling. Basic hamburgers are made with ground beef, which is seasoned and grilled over a relatively high heat, leaving a juicy inside and a patty with very slightly crisp edges.
The timing for grilling hamburgers varies so widely that I won't even offer suggestions as to how long you should cook you meat, but I will share a few tips on how to ensure that your burger is flavorful and juicy.


I have heard people say that they add everything from oatmeal and breadcrumbs to shredded vegetables to their hamburgers. While the vegetables are actually a pretty good idea, especially if you're trying to sneak a few more into a child's diet, oatmeal and breadcrumbs are for meatloaf - not hamburgers.
I saw this technique on Paula Deen's show well over a year ago and it works beautifully. Simply add a bit of water to your (lean) ground beef, just a tablespoon or two per pound, and some salt and pepper before mixing it up. Once it is well blended, shape the meat into balls, making twice as many balls as the patties you want (4 patties = 8 balls).
Place all the balls on a plate and season them with a bit more salt and pepper. Place one ball on top of another and squish them into a flat patty. Because the meat will shrink and get a bit thicker as it cooks, it is wise to make them larger and thinner than you want them to be. I estimate the size using one of my buns to make sure that they'll fit.
Once all the patties are shaped, you can put them on the grill, or even freeze them for later use. It really does seem to keep the burgers moist, and the extra seasoning (feel free to use spices other than salt and pepper) in the center improves the flavor of the burger.
Nic, 9:28 AM


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18 Comments:

I loved your hotdog bun recipe...I'm bookmarking to use the same recipe for hamburger buns...all the other hamburgern bun recipes ask for potatoes...and yours doesn't.
Blogger Nabeela, at 1:15 PM  
Sometimes all you need to make your day better is a good burger. Yours look fantastic.
Blogger Abby, at 3:22 PM  
love all your recipes. just wanted to add that i read in one of Pam Anderson's cookbooks that ground chuck is the best for burgers. we tried it and haven't looked back!
Anonymous Jenni, at 4:57 PM  
Nabeela - I use the hot dog bun recipe for hamburger buns, too. It's one of my favorites.

Jenni - Thanks for the tip. Pam Anderson has some really fantastic ideas.
Blogger Nic, at 5:09 PM  
Thanks for the bit of water tip, it was exactly what I needed to make my patties that little bit more moist. I've always thrown a tad bit of onion or garlic salt into my mix as well, or sometimes some crushed garlic. Sometimes I'm in the mood for a little flavour, but sometimes I just want a plain patty to smother in swiss and mushrooms!
Anonymous risingsunofnihon, at 5:09 AM  
The butcher at our local store recently recommended ground round for hamburgers. The best burgers we've had! Moist without adding water, and excellent flavor.
Anonymous Anonymous, at 6:58 AM  
the Diet Coke in the background detracts much from the appeal of anything! ;)
Anonymous hannah, at 11:18 AM  
I take it you're not a Diet Coke fan, then, Hannah?
Blogger Nic, at 11:42 AM  
Water in burgers? I never thought of that. I've added water to meatballs with good results so I can see how that would work.
Blogger The Cookbook Junkie, at 11:51 AM  
Love that first picture Nic!
Blogger Zarah Maria, at 12:26 PM  
Since we dont eat red meat, I wonder if this would work for turkey burgers?
Blogger Randi, at 2:46 PM  
Simple food is great. There's too much pretense nowadays about posh food, and this leads to closed-mindedness by chefs and suchlike, who would shun a recipe such as this.
The truth is that if something is simple, made from good ingredients, and cooked well, it is as good as any white truffle topped chateauxbreand.

How do you spell chateauxbreand?
Anonymous Scott, at 5:11 PM  
I love burgers! And my son does too. Thanks for the tips and the recipe. :D
Anonymous Stephanie, at 1:23 AM  
ah! i love the hamburgers, and your first pic!

by the way, may i ask - is there anything to the technique of placing a ball over another before you flatten them?

can we just make 4 balls and flatten them ? instead of 8 (1 over another).

thanks !
Anonymous mymuzingz, at 7:07 AM  
mymuzings - Yes, the point of making double the number of meatballs is that they are all seasoned and when sandwiched together, the inside of the burger is then seasoned.
Blogger Nic, at 1:38 PM  
Diet Coke rules. HOLLA!
Blogger Ray, at 9:03 PM  
Hey Nic!

By LEAN, you mean 20% fat, right? And extra lean is about 9 or so, me thinks.
I keep my burger meat pretty plain as well. Mostly because my two little monsters (boys) can't deal with anything but plain. Tiny E even freaks over added salt.

Something I've been enjoying lately are breakfast sausage patty burger action. Man, that has an entire mouth full of flavors there. I believe Fatted Calf's B Sausage is probably 30% fat, yum. Now that's a flavor delivery system at full steam.

Biggles
Blogger drbiggles, at 10:45 AM  
Randi - I'd try it with turkey, but since turkey is typically so lean, it'll probably be a little drier than a beef burger anyway.

Biggles - Lean or extra lean. I guess it depends whether you're feeling like you should be "good" or not that day!
Blogger Nic, at 5:07 AM  

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