I'm on the hunt for the best burger.. in my own kitchen

[ignerntbend]

I can deal with a little Mao on my eastern burger but I will not accept any of that on my western burger. You really do need to draw a line somewhere.

 

[cody6766]

I too have found that thin is better, but I take another approach.

I mince onion to almost a paste and add it to my meat. I use 50% ground sirloin and 50% ground chuck. It gives a nice balance of fat and steak flavor to the burger. I liberally salt the meat and add some pepper and garlic powder before folding it and the aforementioned minced onion in. I roll it into half pound balls and set it aside. While prepping my meat (giggity), I'm also cooking bacon in a cast iron skillet. Once that's done I crank the heat to medium high and wait until it barely smokes. As soon as it's hot enough I drop a meat ball in and count to about 10. Then I flatten the burger as thin as it'll go without breaking up with a masonry trowel. I've found that this gives better consistency than flattening out the patty before cooking. Once a good crust is established, I flip. Once turned, I pile on chopped onion, bacon and cheese. I cover the patty with a pot lid and add a small splash of water to melt the cheese in a hurry. I pull it off, set it on a paper towel to rest and plate up. I add mayo, tomato and lettuce to the burger.

If I"m going fancy I'll add adobo sauce to the meat, fold in some cheese too, and add peppers to the burger along with the bacon and cheese. I also like mixing up an aioli instead of using plain mayo. The type of aioli matches the overall theme of the burger.

 

[Greengiant]

Easy to improve that burger, add a fried egg & 2 strips of crispy bacon. Aside from that it sounds like you have a winner on your hands.

yep, plus cooked outside on a grill and add some horseradish

 

[Danny Tanner]

The only thing I see you are doing wrong is cooking inside.

My only charcoal burning vessel is a smoker that doesn't reach high enough heat or else I would, though I'd still use a skillet. I like the crust that forms on burgers (and steaks) from the contact of meat on metal. If I could cook over charcoal and absorb a little charcoal flavor, though, I'd be all over it.

 

[348]

My only charcoal burning vessel is a smoker that doesn't reach high enough heat or else I would, though I'd still use a skillet. I like the crust that forms on burgers (and steaks) from the contact of meat on metal. If I could cook over charcoal and absorb a little charcoal flavor, though, I'd be all over it.

Try this:
http://www.academy.com/shop/pdp/outdoor-gourmet-36-propane-griddle/pid-478901

 

[willystruck]

I trust your using a cast iron skillet for this masterpiece? Should be able to hold the heat needed to form the crust your looking for and eliminate the need to rotate the patty.

 

[okla1911]

Might try using a cheese grater for the minced onions....that's what I use.

 

[tRidiot]

I have a GE electric that was cheap and had only 3 coils on the small burners and 4 on the large burners.
I replaced them with 4 coil burner on the small and 5 coil on the large.
Much more even cooking in all my pans and skillets.

I'm not sure exactly what you mean by number of coils... are you talking about the number of turns the element makes?

So this is what you're calling a "3 coil":

And a "4 coil":

And a "5 coil"?

Easy to improve that burger, add a fried egg & 2 strips of crispy bacon. Aside from that it sounds like you have a winner on your hands.

This x eleventy billion.

I trust your using a cast iron skillet for this masterpiece? Should be able to hold the heat needed to form the crust your looking for and eliminate the need to rotate the patty.

That was my question for Danny... I'm really surprised with a well-seasoned cast skillet, I thought with most any heat source it should be a pretty even distribution of heat.

Might try using a cheese grater for the minced onions....that's what I use.

That's a great idea! I saw this and thought immediately of my orange/lemon zester. It looks like this (and it's never been used, lol):

But then I thought, well, that would probably be a bit too small. But most cheese graters, even the cheap-*** dollar store ones, have multiple sections of different sizes to pick whichever size you'd want for your onions. Great idea!


I can't remember the last time I cooked burgers at home, and even then, I'm pretty sure for a number of years I've never cooked anything but premade frozen patties out on the grill... usually throwing them on as an afterthought with some dogs for the kids, while the grown-ups eat the grilled brats and sausages and steaks. They're terrible, but they're easy.

Yeah... I know... man card revocation pending. <sigh>

 

[Calamity Jake]

Before cooking that 80/20 fold in some liquide smoke and worcestershire sauce about a tsp each per pound of meat and anything else
you want to add, the two liquids add some moisture and a whole lot of flaver.

 

[davek]

Bun preferences? I think there is a lot of room for improvement there. I used to prefer onion rolls but always thought there should be something better out there.