Burgers - Home Made or Ready Made

convert

I find the Jamie Oliver recipe pretty good, and the burgers have much more flavor and texture than the bought ones. I tend to add a little finely chopped chilli (1-2, depending on your taste) to add an extra little bite to it. Fresh parsley also makes a big difference.

With regard to toppings: I'm pretty much a cheddar cheese, onion and bacon person, with a little ketchup. However, I remember having a grilled pepper and goats cheese burger once at a restaurant - it sounds a little odd but it was actually really good. Something which shouldn't work, but did.

il gatto

Dr.MickKiller wrote: »

I divide a 500g pack of mince into four, make into balls and flatten each ball with the bottom of a lunch plate (press quite hard). Salt, pepper and a rub of oil, and cook in a really hot pan two minutes each side. Cheese on top with 30 seconds to go, put a splash of water into the pan and cover with a lid to melt the cheese.

The surface of the burger will be nice and caramelised, the middle will be cooked through but juicy.

I use a George Foreman. Handy and lets some fat escape. But in the pan is tastier and closer to how it all began. Burgers were neither grilled or barbecued. They were done on a hotplate. Usually just a ball of mince squished with a flipper.
It's nice to jazz them up and make them interesting but they have very simple beginnings.

Billy86

300g beef mince
300g pork mince
100ml milk
1-2 eggs
Fistful of breadcrumbs
Salt, pepper, parsley

Mash all together thoroughly in a large bowl, season, and mash again. Put bowl in fridge for an hour. Remove from fridge, and break off into patties. You can also add finely diced mushroom, chopped/diced/blended crispy bacon or cheese either into the mix, or afterwards (make two thin patties, put stuffing in between them and use the tynes of a fork to mesh the two patties together around the edges).

Congratulations, you just made a Swedish meatball burger!! Love the things, especially on BBQs. If the mix seems too 'wet' for a BBQ (like it might fall apart) flash fry them on high heat on the pan for 20-30 seconds first and they'll be grand - gives a solid base and solidity to them.

Greenmachine

With you on the half and half for the meat, but all that liquid would surely just make sludge.

Billy86 wrote: »

300g beef mince
300g pork mince
100ml milk
1-2 eggs
Fistful of breadcrumbs
Salt, pepper, parsley

Mash all together thoroughly in a large bowl, season, and mash again. Put bowl in fridge for an hour. Remove from fridge, and break off into patties. You can also add finely diced mushroom, chopped/diced/blended crispy bacon or cheese either into the mix, or afterwards (make two thin patties, put stuffing in between them and use the tynes of a fork to mesh the two patties together around the edges).

Congratulations, you just made a Swedish meatball burger!! Love the things, especially on BBQs. If the mix seems too 'wet' for a BBQ (like it might fall apart) flash fry them on high heat on the pan for 20-30 seconds first and they'll be grand - gives a solid base and solidity to them.

Alun

Greenmachine wrote: »

With you on the half and half for the meat, but all that liquid would surely just make sludge.

No, that's about the same proportions I'd use for Swedish meatballs. The breadcrumbs soak up a lot more moisture than you'd think.

Greenmachine

Alun wrote: »

No, that's about the same proportions I'd use for Swedish meatballs. The breadcrumbs soak up a lot more moisture than you'd think.

Guess it depends how big a hand-full of breadcrumbs you use.

Billy86

Greenmachine wrote: »

With you on the half and half for the meat, but all that liquid would surely just make sludge.

It resolidifies very well, hence the time in the fridge, works perfect for standard meatballs. You could reduce the milk content a bit if you liked, but the egg acts as a coagulant to bind the meat together during cooking - you get a more sturdy and solid burger with it than without. Only issue is that if barbecuing, you would be advised to put them on a grill without large gaps between them and making sure the first side gets seared very quickly (or pre fry them very hot for 5-10 seconds either side). After that, it's clear sailing.

But if you do it in a hot day with all ingredients straight from the fridge, it's borderline painfully cold on your hands... like mashing up ice cream for 10 minutes straight.

the beer revolu

Had a burger with beef marrow in from O'Mahony's butchers, English Market, Cork.
Gives it such a sliky but firm texture. And the flavour!
I'll never make a burger again.

He does : standard burger, marrow burger, buffalo Burger, rump steak Burger and lamb burger.
I usually go for the standard as they're such good value but the marrow one was fab.

Dizzyblonde

Anyone else have their burgers in gravy with lots of onions? I think the posh name is Vienna steaks.

Zelda247

Oh that sounds lovely, how do you cook onions with gravy my mam used to do it with fried liver?

Greenmachine

Dizzyblonde wrote: »

Anyone else have their burgers in gravy with lots of onions? I think the posh name is Vienna steaks.

Sounds a little like salisbury steak.

Dizzyblonde

Zelda247 wrote: »

Oh that sounds lovely, how do you cook onions with gravy my mam used to do it with fried liver?

I just sautée the onions until soft, sprinkle on some flour then add a stock cube dissolved in hot water, a dash of Worcestershire sauce and season it.

Greenmachine wrote: »

Sounds a little like salisbury steak.

They're probably named after more than one place. On Neven Maguire's tv programme a while back he was making them with the chef in the GPO in Dublin and they called them Vienna steaks. They shaped them a bit more like steaks than burgers.

the beer revolu

I really don't care for burgers served any other way than in a bun. For me, the classic burger sandwich just works so well that I don't eat them any other way.
I'd eat burgers in gravy with mash if given them but I'd be wishing for a bun.
Mrs beer, on the other hand, never goes for a bun.

katydid

the beer revolu wrote: »

I really don't care for burgers served any other way than in a bun. For me, the classic burger sandwich just works so well that I don't eat them any other way.
I'd eat burgers in gravy with mash if given them but I'd be wishing for a bun.
Mrs beer, on the other hand, never goes for a bun.

I wouldn't consider them burgers unless they were in a bun of some kind...

Markcheese

katydid wrote: »

I wouldn't consider them burgers unless they were in a bun of some kind...

What about battered and deep fried ??
( only half joking)

BaZmO*

Finally got around to trying the Aldi brioche burger buns tonight. Wow! Amazing.

As for the burgers themselves, just went for the Aldi 10% fat Angus mince and added salt & pepper and some onion salt. They were beautiful. Got a nice char on the outside from a hit pan. They rose a bit too high though in spite of pressing my thumb in the middle. I think I'll make them a bit thinner next time.

MissFlitworth

Dizzyblonde wrote: »

Anyone else have their burgers in gravy with lots of onions? I think the posh name is Vienna steaks.

Sometimes when I'm round my Mams. It's delightful

challengemaster

Anyone ever request custom made burgers using different cuts (short rib, brisket, etc) from their butcher? I only stumbled across this from spotting Ramsay has a short rib burger on most of his menus.

http://firstwefeast.com/eat/guide-to-burger-blends-with-tom-mylan/

The Black Oil

Think I've only tried crackers once. Bit a flour is basically the same thing, right?

pickarooney

Slice of parma ham on the burger before you close it up.

Muahahaha

sometimes I crisp up some prosciutto between two baking sheets in the mircowave. It gives great crunch on top of a burger, you dont want too much though as it can be quite salty

rubadub

katydid wrote: »

I wouldn't consider them burgers unless they were in a bun of some kind...

+1, wiki describes a hamburger as a sandwich, made with a beef patty, but then says the uk can call a patty a burger.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamburger

A hamburger (also called a beef burger, hamburger sandwich, burger, hamburg, cheeseburger) is a sandwich consisting of one or more cooked patties of ground meat, usually beef, placed inside a sliced bun. Hamburgers are often served with lettuce, bacon, tomato, onion, pickles, cheese and condiments such as mustard, mayonnaise, ketchup, relish, and green chile.[1]

The term "burger" can also be applied to the meat patty on its own, especially in the UK where the term "patty" is rarely used

Markcheese wrote: »

What about battered and deep fried ??
( only half joking)

I would call it a "batter burger" it it had no bun I would call it a "bunless burger" or similar. A batter burger in a bun is usually called a whurly/whirly burger.

The fairly obvious exception I would have is someone going to the shop and saying they bought burgers. But if they said they ate burgers or if asked if I wanted one I would take it to mean with a bun.

I put finely chopped chorizo in some burger mix before which was good.

Super-Rush

The Aldi and Super Valu Angus burgers are fantastic.

When i make my own i use beef and pork mince, 70/30, a handful of bacon lardons(half fried) and seasoned breadcrumbs(cayenne, black pepper & parsley). Start on very high temperature on each side for a minute or two, and then steam the rest of the time with water or a dark beer.

Sometimes i put the cheese on top and other times i put the cheese in the middle of the burger Jucy Lucy style.

Markcheese

Never heard of a whurly burger- can see where you're going though -
If you go to the butchers/shop to buy burgers it's just the " patties" , you go "out" for a burger it's in a bun. At home it's gets trickier-
Gubbeen smokehouse used to do chorizo burgers ( beef and chorizo patties) , venison burgers and lamb and feta / lamb and rosemary burgers . Not sure if they still make them -

readyletsgo

I have a (maybe silly) question for all of y'all.

I bought the 8 pack of burgers in the fridge in Tesco, not the frozen ones. I only needed two for the dinner, so I decided to freeze the other 6.

Now, the noob question. It says on the box that it's ok to freeze the burgers but to allow them 12hours to defrost before cooking them. Can I cook these from frozen in my George Foreman or do I absolutely have to let them defrost for 12 hours? In a fridge I presume?

Also, what's the best blue cheese to use in burgers? I used the usual one in the half circle packaging in the blue cardboard wrapping, the name escapes me now. But I couldn't really get the taste like I would in Eddie Rockets, any help would be much appreciated.

Also, thanks for the tip on using Brioche Buns from Aldi, gonna pick some up and give them a go. I tried the burger in the Workmans bar on Friday night, very nice and they use brioche buns too, but very much like McDonald's burgers but fancied up a bit, nice sauce

Thanks guys!!!

Tree

Yeah, you'll need to let them defrost. If they're not defrosted when you put them on the george, the outside will be cremated before the insides are done.

rubadub

Freshly made burgers tend to be much thicker, I hate thick narrow diameter burgers. They do this as it would just fall apart if lifted while fresh. You will notice most frozen burgers are much wider and thinner.

If freezing fresh ones with the intention of cooking from frozen you can squash them out on baking paper first, and freeze them with layers of paper between them.

readyletsgo

Tree wrote: »

Yeah, you'll need to let them defrost. If they're not defrosted when you put them on the george, the outside will be cremated before the insides are done.

Ah ok, so in that case, what are the best frozen burgers on the market at the moment? I see some people at the start of this topic saying aldi frozen burgers are worth a go?

And sure while I'm asking. Am I an idiot to be using a George Foreman to cook my burgers? It's tales about 8 or so mins but it does take a lot of the fat out but that's all the juices, which, makes the burger. Cooking them under the grill be better?

readyletsgo

rubadub wrote: »

Freshly made burgers tend to be much thicker, I hate thick narrow diameter burgers. They do this as it would just fall apart if lifted while fresh. You will notice most frozen burgers are much wider and thinner.

If freezing fresh ones with the intention of cooking from frozen you can squash them out on baking paper first, and freeze them with layers of paper between them.

Ok, but would you recommend I cook my frozen burgers, from frozen, or let them thaw out for the 12hours too? They are pretty big when I put them in the freezer last night so I don't think they'll shrink too much for me. But I'll do that next time thanks for that.

Billy86

If you've got a microwave you can defrost them quicker in there, depends on the size of the burgers but typically one minute on a very low heat setting will do fine (keep doing in 20-30 second increments after), since they mess about the water molecules and tend to cook things from the inside out in that sense. Once the burger has gone a bit limp it should be fine to use, just be warned not to overdo it because a burger that has gone grey in the microwave looks absolutely rank.