how to cook the perfect burger

trixyben

am making some homemade burgers from a jamie oliver recipea and was wondering the best wat to cook them...

i usually fry or grill but they end up bland, do any of you cook then like the chippers do n a hot plate thing or even flame grill them? id say that makes all the difference

trackguy

A normal frying pan is fine but a griddle pan is slightly better. For best results, cook on the BBQ.

Cooking over a high heat is key to get the caramelisation and crust on the exterior of the meat. This adds so much 'meaty' flavour. Add a little oil to a very hot pan/ griddle and fry for a few minutes on the first side before turning over. Don't move them around too much but turn every two minutes until fully cooked.

I prefer to use plain mince, seasoned with just salt & pepper for a pure beef flavour.

Chemistry Ftw

Griddle pan without a doubt Throw a few chopped onions onto the pan as well while you're at it yuuum

trixyben

how does the likes of eddie rockets cook theirs does anyone know?

and how would you rate there burgers? had one at the weekend and i have to say i think i could do better myself was fairly disappointed tbh

FanadMan

I normally add a little finely chopped chilli to it - just gives it that little bit extra without overpowering the meatiness. And def use a griddle pan - way better. God, getting hungry now :pac:

lempsipmax

A little tip I read somewhere which I have found works is to make a hole in the middle of your burger, with your finger. It allows the heat into the middle of the burger to ensure faster/more even cooking and it pretty much closes up by the time it is cooked.

BailMeOut

The Italian milky bread trick works brilliantly with burgers. It allows you to cook meat well but will not dry up so you end up with really moist and juicy burgers.

Get 2 slices of white bread, remove crust and cut into small cubes.
Mix with just enough milk to make into a paste
Add a crushed garlic clove and couple teaspoons of Worcester or YR/brown sauce
Pinch salt and pepper

Mix this paste with you mince meat and shape nice sized patties.

Cook outside on your BBQ until meat is cooked through.

Some cheese on top towards end to melt.

Serve on a toasted bun with your favourite burger toppings. Pickles being a must IMO.

chrismon

Really need to stop looking at this forum when I'm hungry

TBoneMan

Perfect Burger must have at least 15% fat in it...A good butcher shop usually makes there own...making a thumb print in the middle does help with even cooking & its lumpwood charcoal BBQ all the way for pure charred flavour. You can't beat it

Dr.Silly

blitz together some bread, garlic, parsley, onion, and Potatoe (Yes, potatoe, it's the secret ingredient), salt and pepper till it's a mushy paste.

Mix that in with the beef (there should be a little fat in the beef).
griddle away on a high heat.

the beer revolu

I think the biggest problem with burgers in this country is that they are far too thick so that by the time they are cooked through, they are horribly dry.

My best advice is to make the burgers no more than 1.5 cm so that they cook quickly and stay nice and moist. For me, I just like my burgers to be good quality mince and seasoning - everything else can be added on top of or underneath the burger.

Mrs Fox

Dr.Silly wrote: »

blitz together some bread, garlic, parsley, onion, and Potatoe (Yes, potatoe, it's the secret ingredient), salt and pepper till it's a mushy paste.

Mix that in with the beef (there should be a little fat in the beef).
griddle away on a high heat.

Raw or cooked?

Dr.Silly

Mrs Fox wrote: »

Raw or cooked?

chop it up raw and blitz it with the other ingrediants. .
it's a great binder and adds good flavour.

Gin Fizz

I never saw potatoe used before. I must try it sometime

cookie75

Blue cheese ,tabasco sauce ,Worchester sauce and mustard all required ingredients for the ultimate burger

Seaneh

My personal opinion.
Do not use bread crumbs, eggs or any other fillers or binders.

Use a mince that is at least 12% fat and preferably 16%.

If you can get it, add minced bacon, 3/1 ration with the beef.

Make them thinner than you'd expect. If you have meassuring cups, use a half cup per patty.

Roll into balls and them press down, try and make compact, flat discs of 1-1.5 cm.

Get a scorching hot pan, as hot as you would have it for steak.

Throw it on, 45 seconds each side, turning it 3 times, (total 90 seconds each side) remove it and let it sit for about 2 minutes.

IF you want a "big" burger, just stack them.



Pro tip for helping them bind, just season with plenty of salt. the saly will pull protiens out of the meat, when it starts to cook, this will become your bind agent.


Just season it with salt and pepper, it's beef, let it taste like beef. I fecking hate biting a burger and and all you can taste is whatever stupid "seasonings" they put in it when the filler.

guerito

You can use leaner beef and throw in some grated parmesan for binding and seasoning.

Or to hell with it and throw in the kitchen sink! Personally I love chopped chipotles or chopped chilli plus smoked paprika in a room-temperature burger mix with some chopped fresh parsley, left in the fridge for a few hours. Works best on a griddle pan rather than a BBQ.

BAD idea reading this forum at this time of night!

trackguy

the beer revolu wrote: »

I think the biggest problem with burgers in this country is that they are far too thick so that by the time they are cooked through, they are horribly dry.

My best advice is to make the burgers no more than 1.5 cm so that they cook quickly and stay nice and moist. For me, I just like my burgers to be good quality mince and seasoning - everything else can be added on top of or underneath the burger.

This.

kylith

I use mince, milk, breadcrumbs, whatever herbs I have lying around, garlic, and grated parmesan in my burgers. Lovely stuff.

Melendez

This post has been deleted.

Brian?

I wouldn't mix anything at all in with the meat. I've never had a problem with burgers not binding.

Use beef that > 15% fat, ideally closer to 20. Shape them so they're about 3/4 of an inch thick at the most and make an indent on one side with your thumb. Season the outside, use more salt that you think you need, (as a note, seasoning=salt and pepper, anything else is flavouring) and rub with a little oil. Cook the burger on a high heat.

My preference for cooking burgers is: Charcoal BBQ>Gas BBQ>Grill Pan>pan.

Someone earlier asked about Eddie Rockets burgers, they are shocking bad. They cook them on a hot griddle and repeatedly squash the beejesus out of them, this squeezes out the juics and leaves the burgers dry. Never push down on a burger when it's cooking.

I like to eat my burgers medium, fantastic.

Super-Rush

The best way i've found to make a good burger is to just add chopped parsley and a good glug of oyster sauce. Chilling them in the fridge, covered in cling film helps them retain their shape when cooking.