The better burger isn't happening...

[rat88]

Yall are talkin the french stuff i dont understand. Diner style or do a 2 hour smoke style (225). bacon wrap will help with the moisture. There is a point where the fat will render out and burst into flames that will surely make it worse. Sneak into the 155. I take mine off at 140, but I am an outlaw... I have also done the taco bell quickstep from underdone burger.

[Breadhead]

Hmmm... one thing that none of you will ever accomplish is to get Meathead to state what temperature of doneness his World Famous Steakhouse Steakburgers ought to be cooked to. I've tried! I assume it's a liability issue for him.

I've read about food safety regarding making your own hamburger in the Modernist Cuisine cook books and I'm pretty sure that if you blanch the chuck roasts in boiling water for 60 seconds before you grind it in a grinder, you've personally cleaned... you are not going to serve contaminated food if you serve your burgers at 135°/140°. I'm so sure of that that I've been serving it that way for a few years to my friends and family... young and old!

I've never poisoned anyone with under cooked hamburger!!!

[rat88]

This may or may not be relevant, but I did eat a KC strip sammy last night cooked to a med rare. 3/4 steak slit down the center with Mozzy cheese, onions and jp with a kc style BBQ sauce. Back on topic.. I dont do the 90-10 burger, I like the 70-30 or better. If I cant find it, I may my own

[vandy]

This is all very interesting, the last burgers I cooked were from some ground chuck that I ground myself after blanching in boiling water for 1 minute before grinding it. I did not add anything to the ground meat except pepper then I made the patties in a hamburger press then put them in the freezer. When I was ready to cook the meat I put them on my Weber kettle with the SNS on the indirect side straight from the freezer until they got to about 130 IT then I moved them to the hot side to sear them and took them to 160 IT. They turned out juicy, so much so that I had juice running down my hand when eating it. The only thing I forgot was the salt, I didn't add any salt to the meat before or after grilling them. To be honest with you I did not feel the need for the salt but next time I am going to add some salt to the meat just before eating the burger to see if that adds something to the finished product.

[Hugh]

Yes I think the bun is acting as a sponge. Maybe if I get a layer of lettuce down first it will improve?

[vandy]

What kind of buns are you using Hugh?

[Hugh]

From Cobs Bread, called "The Traditional Hamburger Bun". I could try a heavier bun. Maybe a ciabatta? (spelling?).

[fzxdoc]

I'm intrigued by your idea to roast the garlic first. I just googled it because I've never done it. Wrap in tin foil and bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes till soft. Sound right? Or do I need to cook that much?

Roasted garlic has a more mellow flavor. For me, sometimes it gets lost in the stronger flavors of whatever it's in.

To take away the sharpness of raw garlic, I use Cook's Illustrated recommendation of microwaving the whole garlic cloves until the water is warm and letting them sit for 2-3 minutes. You don't want the water hot enough to cook the garlic, just warm enough to draw out the sharp/bitter tasting compound.

Here's what CI says from its website (it's on the free side of the site, accessible to anyone):

Many cooks like to temper the harsh bite of raw garlic before adding it to foods like pesto, hummus, and salad dressing—but there’s no end to the suggestions for how to do that. We tested four methods: blanching whole cloves in milk for 5 minutes, blanching them in water for 5 minutes, microwaving the cloves until warmed through, and toasting them in their skins in a dry skillet until lightly browned.

Both forms of blanching worked equally well, as did microwaving. Toasting was the least effective in mellowing out garlic’s taste. Here’s why: Garlic’s sharpness is caused by a sulfur-containing molecule called allicin. Allicin is produced through an enzymatic reaction by the enzyme alliinase, only after the cell walls of the garlic are damaged during cutting or chopping. To deactivate alliinase, you must raise the clove’s temperature to 140 degrees or above—which both microwaving and blanching accomplished (the type of liquid used is irrelevant). With light toasting, only the outer layers of the cloves got sufficiently hot to turn alliinase inert.

For simplicity’s sake, we prefer heating garlic cloves in the microwave to blanching them. Microwave the cloves in a small bowl for 2 to 3 minutes, or until warm to the touch but not cooked.

FWIW, if I microwaved garlic cloves in a small bowl with water for 2-3 minutes (I'm thinking cereal bowl with maybe a cup of water), the thing would be boiling dry. I toss the cloves in a cereal bowl or small prep bowl, add water and heat for about 20 seconds. Usually by then the water is in excess of 140. I let it sit for 2-3 minutes and then chop the garlic. Works great--good garlic taste without the sharpness.

Kathryn

[bten]

When I cook gumbo, jambalaya, or other dishes where I need to soften up my vegetables first, I don't add the garlic until after I have added water It keeps the garlic from getting bitter. I don't know how you can do it in a burger. Perhaps use garlic powder instead of fresh garlic.

[Hugh]

What a difference it made Kathryn. I put two cloves in per burger. No bitterness.

[fzxdoc]

Yay, Hugh . I'm glad the microwave trick worked out for you.

K.

[Mosca]

You guys are killing me with this ( cook to 160*) thing.
I hate seeing my burger all brown/gray inside.

I've only ONCE in my life had an issue with bad meat.
Sure felt like crap for about a day but got through it.

I want my burgers done to a medium/medium rare.
135-140* at best.

I used to be the same. But Meathead convinced me to go to 160*.

If you're using store-bought ground meat, the key is you really have to monitor those sons o' guns. For cheeseburgers, put the cheese on at about 150*, when the cheeses is melted, check the temp, it should be 160. Pull them right then and there.

[Hugh]

The jury is in.....wrapping the burger in tinfoil upped the juciness enough that there was juice through to the end of the burger (although I didn't take long to eat it!).

And as Jerod suggested, the bun was total mush from absorbing all the juices. Nice problem to have I think. Now I will focus on a good garlic burger and some fixings to protect the bun.

Thanks all.

[kmhfive]

Excellent!

[fzxdoc]

Good to hear.

[Medusa]

As an alternative... try this

Steamburgers



Don't have pix, but Oklahoma Onion Burgers are outrageous!

Good luck!

--Ed

[Medusa]

Let's see... in about 8 minutes the burgs are done. Cheese melted off-heat for 1 minute; buns warmed and softened for 30 seconds after cheese melts. You won't believe how much grease has dripped away into the dutch oven under the steamer.

[jgreen]

I have the same Canadian problem as Hugh. If it is pink, it is undercooked. Even in a restaurant you seldom get asked how you like your burger cooked. I think I get a bit better juice by doing the sear on CI so nothing drops through. I usually reverse sear, but am certainly going to try Jerod Broussard method with the tin foil.

[Archangel208]

So, unless I missed it, how long are the burgers sitting on the bun? Not more than 30 minutes ago I did the reverse sear (I've been doing this for years for really thick cut steaks), but not usually with my burgers. Today I mixed 93% with 80% to get two pounds of ground that has the right amount of fat for me and made 8 half pound burgers. My probe thermometer had my Weber Kettle up to about 425 before I put my patties on indirect for about 10 minutes. Put enough oil on them so that it was running off and slowly moved them over the coals to prevent flare ups. After the sear (no char; just perfect brown), the burgers had no pink and were about 160 internal after 5 minutes. Still juicy after 10 minutes. At 30 minutes (not in foil), still juicy. Perfect burgers.

[Cheef]

I am a burger FREAK, and following this thread closely.
One suggestion I might make is try a little of this on your next batch.
I used it on 12 ounce 80/20 this afternoon, and DEEELICIOUS.
I believe this Looks is going to be a regular on my burgers from now on.

https://www.mooksfoods.com/products/mooks-meat-seasoning-6-oz-shaker

[Hugh]

I must be jinxed. I did foil and then reverse sear to 165 or higher. I pulled the burgers and put them on the table without looking at them. People opened them up and they were pink and they lined up at the microwave. I'm stumped. I have the iGrill2 and a thermapen 4. Both read over 165. I did some hunting on the internet. Found some USDA articles that hamburger can be pink at 165. Also got complaints the burger was too much like a steamed piece of meat.

Archangel when you say you mixed 93 and 80, is that extra lean with medium? And what type of oil out of curiousity?

I'm gonna start over. Ground chuck cooked direct medium heat to 165. Compare that to indirect and sear to 165.

[HouseHomey]

Color is not always an indication of doneness. Sounds like a great cook. See if you can do that again.

[HouseHomey]

Maybe try a juicy Lucy?loosy? Stuff some cheese and pastrami in the sucker so the exterior is a quicker cook.??

[Hugh]

thx HouseHomey. i thought it was kind of funny how the whole group lined up at the microwave. Pink just wont work up here even if it was cooked. i am wondering if the reverse sear might be working against me when Im going for no pink. I also think my chuck burger must be too lean. Im going to try some other butchers.

I want to get a baseline comparing a direct cook to indirect/sear and then Im going to start adding things like panade, mayo and egg. Then its a juicy lucy

[Ernest]

Get 70/20 beef or mix your meat with more fat before forming patties. cook them to 145 and let the carryover heat finish the cooking

[EdF]

Nah, really what you need is to get my wife up there to get those things "well". Her Dad was a Quebecois.

[Breadhead]

Ernest I'm pretty sure that if you SV the Steakburger patties at 135° for a couple of hours, and then sear them in a skillet to get a nice crust your meat will be pasteurized and safe. No?

[Ernest]

Breadhead yeah but they'll still be pink. I think they don't want to see pink

[EdF]

That's right, it's the aesthetic of the matter that seems to matter on this one.