atot cooks: juicy grilled burger recipe?

[ky54]

I'm more of a fan of charcoal grilling burgers, though not the juciest method, I think it develops the best flavor.

If you don't mind doing a little extra work you can sear them properly on charcoal and then slow(er) cook them to develop the flavor. If your using a standard Weber or any charcoal grill after your coals have turned white (I use a chimney starter because I hate starter fluid) leave them in a pile so the heat is closer to the grill, make sure your grill rake is very hot too (so the meat won't stick), then place the burgers on the grill. Watch out because they are going to sear very quickly and the fat will spark flames which is a good thing. About halfway through if you want to be fancy turn the burger one/quarter turn so you get the nice criss-cross grill marks. Get a nice sear, then if you have a second person, lift the grill rake, spread the coal in half to each side, throw in your wood chips, put the grill back down, when you see the first wood chip spark put the lid on vent open. The wife and I can do this is in about 30 seconds so the meat doesn't really cool much. Now, if you like your burgers rare they're done already so there's no need for further cooking but I always cook mine to about 130 or so (I know it's way more done then they should be but I don't completely trust our food system) and they come out droolingly juicy and should still be just on the edge of pink. I'm not a big fan of drowning the burger in a salad so all I put on mine is maybe a little steak sauce and, if it's the right time of the year, a nice slab of Texas 1015 - the king of sweet onions. They should be out right about now.

I have a ton of ways to make burgers but my favorite is to chop some fresh mushrooms (whatever variety you like) and mince whatever onion you like. A few drops of lite soy or worchester. Here's a couple of variants for cheese - I love good swiss so shred some in. Or I like to mix mozzarella and fresh grated parmesan. Or good blue cheese. Some of the cheese itself will get nice and toasty when you seer the burgers too. Sometimes I'll grill a nice portabella (a little olive oil, fresh cracked pepper NO salt) and put that on top with no other accoutrements. Yummy.

Damn now I want a burger!

 

[Apple Of Sodom]

Try mixing some high quality pork sausage with the burger at a 4:1 ratio. It makes fucking excellent burgers.

Also, bread crumbs, egg, Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper make a good recipe. Keeps the burger together much better than just mashing some beef together.

 

[oznerol]

I like to experiment with burgers every year, and I think I finally found one that I would consider my favorite. I used to add eggs and breadcrumbs as others here suggested, and it does work to keep the burgers together and retain a bit more moisture. But I started adding diced onions and leaving out the eggs and bread and the results were far better. To keep your burger from falling apart, use enough fat (80/20 meat or 90/10+added fat), and put them in the fridge for ~30 minutes after making the patties.

Before cooking, take them out of the fridge and let them warm up a bit.

Anyway - for my new favorite burger:

90/10 ground beef
Worcestershire sauce
Diced red onions
Diced chipotle peppers (get the ones in adobo sauce - leave seeds for a little extra kick, not too bad)
Adobo sauce

Mix everything together and form patties. I like to put them on a flat plate. Put a little indent in the center of each burger so they cook flat on the grill. I like to fill the little crevice with more Worcestershire sauce. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for ~30 minutes.

Take out of fridge. Remove plastic wrap. Sprinkle with a little bit of kosher salt. Let sit for ~10 minutes, while grill is heating up. Throw on high heat, wait a minute, flip, wait another minute, move to other side of grill on medium heat, and let them cook on each side for another 3-4 minutes until your "doneness" is reached.

I'm not a fan of flipping a lot, but I do it if I keep them on high heat. I prefer to only start with high heat to "sear", then finish off on lower heat. I cook steak the same.

 

[waggy]

I like to experiment with burgers every year, and I think I finally found one that I would consider my favorite. I used to add eggs and breadcrumbs as others here suggested, and it does work to keep the burgers together and retain a bit more moisture. But I started adding diced onions and leaving out the eggs and bread and the results were far better. To keep your burger from falling apart, use enough fat (80/20 meat or 90/10+added fat), and put them in the fridge for ~30 minutes after making the patties.

Before cooking, take them out of the fridge and let them warm up a bit.

Anyway - for my new favorite burger:

90/10 ground beef
Worcestershire sauce
Diced red onions
Diced chipotle peppers (get the ones in adobo sauce - leave seeds for a little extra kick, not too bad)
Adobo sauce

Mix everything together and form patties. I like to put them on a flat plate. Put a little indent in the center of each burger so they cook flat on the grill. I like to fill the little crevice with more Worcestershire sauce. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for ~30 minutes.

Take out of fridge. Remove plastic wrap. Sprinkle with a little bit of kosher salt. Let sit for ~10 minutes, while grill is heating up. Throw on high heat, wait a minute, flip, wait another minute, move to other side of grill on medium heat, and let them cook on each side for another 3-4 minutes until your "doneness" is reached.

I'm not a fan of flipping a lot, but I do it if I keep them on high heat. I prefer to only start with high heat to "sear", then finish off on lower heat. I cook steak the same.

I do the same! well except for the red onions i use yellow since we usually have them on hand.

I found having a "hot" section of the grill adn a cool is great (i just stack the coal on one side). i get a nice grill marks on the outside then move them to the cool section to finish.

hmmm yummy.

sometimes i will add cheese to the mixture too but it mess's with the cooking times.

 

[DestinyKnight]

80% lean ground beef. gently shaped patties. salt and pepper each side. cook on high heat, flip once. Done.

 

[Zargon]

I found having a "hot" section of the grill adn a cool is great (i just stack the coal on one side). i get a nice grill marks on the outside then move them to the cool section to finish.

hot/cold side is nice to have.

esp when mixing in brats and hotdogs, big and small patties

I have a few recipes I use, gnereally by request of who is coming over

generally angus cert'd 80/20
plain salt/pepper with a little mozz mixed in, and mozz/tomatoes/oregano/basil/garlic/evoo in the middle

80/20, black pepper, sweet baby rays, sharp cheddar all mixed in(friends wifes favorite preggo food), can add bacon too

black pepper, garlic, chili power, cumin, brown sugarminced onion(my pork rub recipe actually)

minced onion, salt, black pepper, worcester. simple classic burger patty

and of course, worcester and lowrys

 

[ElFenix]

Best burgers come from the best beef. Get some ground sirloin! Mix in some worchestershire and maybe some ranch...call it good

best burgers come from the best beef so you'd want dry aged prime. and you'd want one of the chewier cuts because those develop the best flavor.

note: dry aged prime is not going to be juicy but it is going to explode with deep beefy flavor all over the inside of your mouth.

 

[Drako]

Add a pat of butter.

http://www.addictedtogrilling.com/quick-trick-super-juicy-hamburgers

 

[Sixguns]

Salt, Pepper, Garlic and Onion salt. But the most important part is adding the pepperjack cheese right before you take if off the grill to melt it.

 

[Sixguns]

best burgers come from the best beef so you'd want dry aged prime. and you'd want one of the chewier cuts because those develop the best flavor.

note: dry aged prime is not going to be juicy but it is going to explode with deep beefy flavor all over the inside of your mouth.

Are you still talking about burgers here?

 

[slag]

Are you still talking about burgers here?

heh

 

[Howard]

I say that because I've read that article and most of the others on AHT and I don't think this particular article gives us any legitimate evidence that the flipping is really that important. I think that the size of the burger and the temperatures being used are more important, and I'd imagine different variations would benefit from different cooking techniques. I haven't tried a true side by side experiment, but maybe I will someday

If you assume the beef to be a fairly uniform material, the beef that is in contact with the hot metal is almost immediately brought up to the boiling point (or above, depending on how much moisture is left inside). My understanding then is that the primary factor in the speed of cooking in this stage is the conduction through the beef.

Now, once you flip it, the hot side of the beef is now on top, cooling in the air, but it is still quite hot, which forces heat transfer toward the center. That plus the fact that the colder side of the meat is now experiencing the same hot metal means that the net heat transfer is higher. No idea why the center would be less overcooked, though.

I will draw a graph of the predicted heat transfer when I get home.

 

[American Gunner]

note: dry aged prime is not going to be juicy but it is going to explode with deep beefy flavor all over the inside of your mouth.

It sounds like you have some awesome fun at your bbq's.