Burgers

[essexsmoker]

I did do a search but can NEVER get it to find anything!

Any how, having read about 'f-ing outrageous burgers' on another post thought I'd start a thread on it.

My burgers are just ok and defo not outrageous.
They are such a popular thing to do but I just can't seem to crack them.

I salt just before cooking, I only lightly compress them. I tried grinding my own chuck, sirloin steak and adding oxtail and other bits but nothing really hit me as super good.

Does anyone have any tips?

Thanks.

[awesselbaum]

Yours sound pretty good to be honest!
Other possible improvments could be to use a toasted brioche burger bun rather than a seeded bap, makes a big difference.
Maybe adding something to raise the umami level such as a tiny bit of anchovy/worcester sauce/mushroom sauce. Bacon, smoked applewood cheddar and pickles go a long way. Then of course adding a bit of pulled pork as a topping helps to raise the outrageous bar.

[YetiDave]

Brioche buns should just come with stick on beards and be done with it Nice though they are

I'm not a 100% meat and nothing else guy when it comes to burgers. Personally I like minced onion and gherkin plus a little dijon mustard in the mix (make sure you squeeze out all of the moisture from the veggies, a potato ricer works perfectly)

[awesselbaum]

I'd imagine with a name like yeti, you'd appreciate the hairy beard!

[YetiDave]

Haha, that was from back in the day when I used to have long blonde hair, there's nothing left up top now and I had a beard way before it was cool

[essexsmoker]

Thanks for he replies guys. I haven't even got as far as the toppings or buns yet. That's a whole separate post. Lmao. Still just concentrating on the burger!

What's the thoughts on thick or thin?

I'm toying with a mix of chuck and ribeye at the mo. Want at least 20% fat.

[YetiDave]

You can get 20% fat mince in supermarkets, but it is always best to grind your own. I'd go thick, so long as you're going to be letting the meat come up to room temp first

[stretchie_]

We used to use beef mince, then steak mince, then we got a mincer and it's all changed

We've never used fillers or binders, just meat, salt n pepper and cook them to medium rare.

Now we get PAD beef from Bookers, give it a coarse mince, season, mix then medium mince and make 4oz patties, but we don't squeeze them together with a million tonnes of pressure like most "gourmet burger pubs" and restaurants do, we get the required amount of meat, roll it gently into a ball, like you were rolling an egg that you don't want to crack then press it in to a disk.

No problem, even though there is hardly any fat in the pad beef juicy delicious burgers every time, NEVER dry.

We prefer wider thinner patties ourselves, never seen the point in huge multistory burgers you can't even get in to your face.

A nice brioche bun if poss and standard lettuce, tomato and pickle for a basic burger

mmmmmmmmmmmmm

e.g.

[essexsmoker]

Thanks gents.

I can only get 20% fat in the value mince. I did try this and it was ok, but too much gristle.

Have to say I normally only grind once. Might try a second grind. Never even heard of PAD beef, what's that?

[tommo666]

i get my 20% mince from asda and it's not the value brand. If i use a higher meat contest like 5% i add bacon fat. I cook down some streaky bacon till crisp, crunch it all up and add it and the fat to the mince. Gives it a certain something