Here's my burger "recipe"

[dprice]

It gets raves, so I must be doing something right!

I use about 6 oz. per burger, either 80/20 ground chuck or our own grass-fed ground (lean-fat ratio unknown). I divide it into two 3 oz. portions without handling/compressing it too much.

The half burgers get a generous dusting of garlic powder and onion powder on their interior before being combined into a loosely handled and compressed, but very thin, burger, which then gets a generous load of kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper.

The burgers are then cooked for 5 minutes per side over direct charcoals, which generally takes them to medium well (I've done it so often that I don't check the cooker temp).

People love them!

[Huskee]

I use Morton's Nature Seasoning on my burgers- basically has all those in it with a pinch of sugar. Good combo of seasonings on burgers for sure.

[3DJ]

Yeah, I have been discovering simple is better! What I have been playing with is making them diner style (thin) and cooking them on my grillgrates griddle. They are turning out pretty good, but it is taking sometime to perfect the technique as they have a tendency to fall apart a bit. I have been putting mcCormacks pub style burger seasoning on them right before they go on. Jim

[boftx]

I've been trending towards a "reverse sear" on my burgers. I actually use a two-zone setup on the grill portion of my COS, and move them over to direct heat after they have been "smoking" for a while. My wife makes them on the thick side and usually puts an onion soup mix in the batch, so it takes a while to be sure they are properly cooked.

[Bill P]

I tried the reverse sear on burgers too, after reading about it on amazingribs. Hot-smoked with oak or pecan for maybe 15 minutes then finished direct. New to me and very tasty. Used Dizzy Pig's Raisin' the Steaks rub as always.

[FLBuckeye]

I tried the reverse sear with burger I ground myself (using chuck steaks and extra fat from the local store) and they turned out great. I use two Webers for ease of the sear for the finish.

[boftx]

Those look like real $6 burgers!

[John Tanner]

You really need to grind your own meat, it's just that good! http://amazingribs.com/recipes/hambu...hamburger.html


I'm copying what I wrote as a comment to MH's "Hamburger Secrets" page:
I ate the best burgers/sliders I've ever had last weekend and I made them after grinding the meat myself. I was having company and I was inspired by a slider I'd had at one of Canada's best restaurants in downtown Toronto so I thought I'd give it a shot myself. I ordered the meat grinding and sausage stuffing attachments for my Kitchenaid stand mixer off of Amazon and then did some research. Kenji from the Burger Labs said to do it this way: http://aht.seriouseats.com/arc..., which for grilling is to grind the meat twice. So I did. Here was the meat composition:
- 1 prime rib steak, fat and meat, around 600 grams
- 650 grams of Angus short ribs minus the bones
- "maybe" 300-400 grams of my recently smoked Tamworth bacon
I tossed in some minced garlic, about a teaspoon.
As you can see, my measurements were NOT precise. That said, WOW, I've never had a better burger in my life, not ever. I did pickle some red onions and made a garlic aioli with a beef reduction which I added to the toasted bun slider along with very thin slices of zesty pickles and some fine 3 year old cheddar. It got raves from the guests.
It will be hard to make burgers again from store-ground beef....thanks to this site and Kenji for the motivation to do better.

[dprice]

I omitted what is probably fairly important -- I throw about a 4 oz. piece of pecan wood on the fire before putting the burgers on. It yields a lot of white smoke for the short cook, but it adds a certain something that my wife tells me is important!

[Huskee]

Her approval. That's what it adds, and that's what's important!

[boftx]

Oh boy, that could be a whole thread, or even section, by itself; "What do we add for flavoring (or cook) that we DON'T like but makes our SO happy?"

[Ernest]

I mix some Vietnamese fish sauce in my burger meat.
I get the "WTF is in this burger" reaction every time.

[dprice]

That must be the umami working!