Steakhouse Burgers with… Braising Ribs?

[hungrybear]

It's a wonderful warm fall day and I think I'm going to try the Steakhouse Burger recipe.

I'm still learning the various cuts of meat and I'm always unsure of what to buy in the butcher shop because the names of things seem to vary so much. As it happens, my local shop has this on sale today:



Is that the same cut that Meathead recommends in his recipe? Or is it something only intended for braising?

[Jerod Broussard]

Those cuts do well with braising. With that said, plenty people smoke them all the way unwrapped. A high quality short rib can do that.

What we get out here, ain't worth a flip unless you braise. Unless you jaccard them do death.

[David Parrish]

HB it looks like short rib meat to me, I'm not an expert though. If you grind it up per the recipe I'm betting it will turn out great.

Here's an article on short ribs if you want to do more research: http://amazingribs.com/recipes/beef/...beef_ribs.html

[Huskee]

I think those would make excellent burgers! You want about 75/25 or maybe 80/20 meat/fat for great grilled brugers. Those look in that range to me, but I'm not an expert either. $5/lb is not cheap, but those will be some TASTY burgers if done right! Try Meathead's burger glop with 'em, and be sure to toast your buns. It will be unreal!

[hungrybear]

Thanks for the replies.

While I've done this recipe before, this was my first time grinding the meat myself. Things looked promising but then disaster struck when the meat hit the grill.

Unfortunately the patties didn't stay together at all. I lost most of the meat through the grill grates

The fat content appeared to be more than sufficient. I'm wondering if I ground the meat too coarsely.

[Charley from Tampa]

Great short ribs.

It seems like you had some issues, though. I have had similar problems, and in my experience:

(1) the meat was either too fatty or not "tough enough" (that usually applies to poultry I grind myself...I need to add bread crumbs and binders)

or, more likely:

(2) it was not only fatty, but you didn't press the meat together enough. When I make sausage and don't put it in a casing, if I don't mash the meat a little bit with my hands, I find that it cooks in little unsatisfying clumps. I must actually "mush" the meat together to get the shape and form that I need.

Hope this helps.

[Jerod Broussard]

Probably needed a finer grind. I can't do the coarse grind for my burgers. I pack by hand or press, but not as much as what they do in the stores.

Mine don't crumble, but they could easily be torn apart. Need some airspace in there.

You need to get some grill grates. Best thing I ever got for a grill.....other than charcoal.

[hungrybear]

Thanks for the tips guys.

I'll try a bit finer a grind. I was trying to heed the warning in the recipe not to pack the meat too tightly but perhaps I went too far in that direction.

I actually do have Grill Grates but they're 18.5", so they're too big for little Smokey Joe.

[hungrybear]

Thought I might update this post since I've learned a little bit since then.

In regards the meat, I've since read the Zen of beef ribs article and I'm sure it was just regular short rib that I bought. The fact that the store called them "braising ribs" is probably because it is a European butcher shop and that's how many of their customers would cook them.

I tried this recipe again a few weeks ago. Probably about the same grind but this time, I formed the patties a little bit firmer and they did not fall apart. Much better result.

Charley from Tampa is right. The patties need to be packed reasonably firmly to stay together.

[bbqoaf]

I add a few egg yolks to my burgers. I know this may offend the purists, but by omitting the white you keep the texture and flavour of pure meat while adding a little richness and binding help. Add a few more if you feel your meat is too lean, great trick with lean wild game like deer or elk.