Why do my burgers suck?

[johnmeyer]

To echo a few comments:

1. Definitely grind your own. MUCH better flavor.

2. 450 doesn't sound hot enough to me. I can get my old Weber Genesis to about 550, and even that isn't hot enough.

3. Do add a little salt before cooking, but nothing else. It is more for the cooking chemistry than the flavor. If you want seasoning, add that when serving, along with the condiments and toppings.

 

[chopsaw]

Well ,, my add would be this . I hold seasoned Burgers under vacuum in a 8 x 8 canister . Might be 1 hour or could be up to whatever waiting for kids to get home . For me the vac is a game changer . Burgers come out full of flavor , and moist
Store bought 80/20 .

 

[johnmeyer]

Vacuum? I'm intrigued.

I've used the vac when marinading and the claim is that is "opens up" the meat fibers so you get quicker penetration of the marinade. This gets the marinading step done more quickly. I think it works, but I've never done a side-by-side vac/no-vac test, so I don't know for sure.

But I wonder how this changes things when making burgers? I could see how it too would open up the meat a little so maybe that's the secret.

It is simple enough that I'll give it a try the next time I grind some meat for burgers. Thanks for the idea!

 

[chopsaw]

Vacuum? I'm intrigued.

I've used the vac when marinading and the claim is that is "opens up" the meat fibers so you get quicker penetration of the marinade. This gets the marinading step done more quickly. I think it works, but I've never done a side-by-side vac/no-vac test, so I don't know for sure.

But I wonder how this changes things when making burgers? I could see how it too would open up the meat a little so maybe that's the secret.

It is simple enough that I'll give it a try the next time I grind some meat for burgers. Thanks for the idea!

Maybe it's all in my head ,,
The first time I did it I used a wet teriyaki marinade , held under vac for about 3 hrs . When I took them out , they were so soft I could not lift them . Used a spatula and put them on foil , grill til firm then put straight on grill and charred them up . Came out great .
Last night I used a dry store bought burger seasoning . Vac'd about 4 hours . Again came out great .
Don't ask me why , just seems to work . If you try it let me know what you think .

 

[old sarge]

I have a hard time thinking about vacuum marinading ground anything. But I can and do mix in a little liquid flavor by hand. Most of the 'flavor' manifests itself when the sugars in the marinade get a taste of heat and start to glaze.

 

[chopsaw]

I have a hard time thinking about vacuum marinading ground anything. But I can and do mix in a little liquid flavor by hand. Most of the 'flavor' manifests itself when the sugars in the marinade get a taste of heat and start to glaze.

I bought my kids a book on restaurant copy cat recipes . I was following a recipe for a teriyaki burger . Not my idea , was in the book .

 

[old sarge]

If it's in the book, it has to be A-OK! Thanks.

 

[GaryHibbert]

I keep my burgers pretty simple. 2 pounds of hamburger from Costco (85/15), 1 pkg of Liptons Chicken Noodle Soup--just the flavoring not the noodles. Mix it all together by hand. Form the patties about 1 1/2 inches thick, and put that dimple on the top so they don't turn out like balls. Cracked black pepper and garlic powder on the top. NO salt, there's enough in the soup mix. Then into the smoker at 240* with hickory or pecan until done. There's no crust, but OMG are they good.
Gary

 

[bgaviator]

I can get my Kamado Joe to 1,000 degrees I bet if I needed to..

To echo a few comments:

1. Definitely grind your own. MUCH better flavor.

2. 450 doesn't sound hot enough to me. I can get my old Weber Genesis to about 550, and even that isn't hot enough.

3. Do add a little salt before cooking, but nothing else. It is more for the cooking chemistry than the flavor. If you want seasoning, add that when serving, along with the condiments and toppings.

 

[bgaviator]

Just as a follow up to this thread...

A couple weeks ago I made burgers again and made some changes. Based on an article I had saved about making better burgers, I added some fish sauce to the meat and duke's mayo to the meat the night before.
I also formed the patties using my new burger press. This press makes thick patties, at half lb of meat each.
I also got fresh ground chuck from the butcher counter at Kroger. I know it was fresh cause I actually had to wait on the butcher to grind it since it was first thing in the morning.

I seared the burgers on the KJ at around 600 degrees on the cast iron griddle accessory I bought. I pulled the burgers off when my thermo was registering when they should have been medium well, but once we bit into the burgers, they were still pretty raw. Not sure what happened there. I had to throw them back on the grill for a minute.
But the flavor was MUCH better on these burgers doing all these things. I used smoked gouda cheese and thick cut pepper bacon on the burgers too. The bacon really wasn't to my liking. I think I would have preferred a smoked bacon as opposed to the pepper bacon. And the gouda, while a good cheese on its own, was just to blah for the burgers. The burgers definitely needed a stronger tasting cheese, like a sharp cheddar. All in all I was much happier with the results.

I also recently discovered a new local butcher shop that's been getting rave reviews. They sell a ground burger blend made from ribeye and short rib. I may give that a try next! A little pricey though at $8.99/lb

 

[tallbm]

Just as a follow up to this thread...

A couple weeks ago I made burgers again and made some changes. Based on an article I had saved about making better burgers, I added some fish sauce to the meat and duke's mayo to the meat the night before.
I also formed the patties using my new burger press. This press makes thick patties, at half lb of meat each.
I also got fresh ground chuck from the butcher counter at Kroger. I know it was fresh cause I actually had to wait on the butcher to grind it since it was first thing in the morning.

I seared the burgers on the KJ at around 600 degrees on the cast iron griddle accessory I bought. I pulled the burgers off when my thermo was registering when they should have been medium well, but once we bit into the burgers, they were still pretty raw. Not sure what happened there. I had to throw them back on the grill for a minute.
But the flavor was MUCH better on these burgers doing all these things. I used smoked gouda cheese and thick cut pepper bacon on the burgers too. The bacon really wasn't to my liking. I think I would have preferred a smoked bacon as opposed to the pepper bacon. And the gouda, while a good cheese on its own, was just to blah for the burgers. The burgers definitely needed a stronger tasting cheese, like a sharp cheddar. All in all I was much happier with the results.

I also recently discovered a new local butcher shop that's been getting rave reviews. They sell a ground burger blend made from ribeye and short rib. I may give that a try next! A little pricey though at $8.99/lb

Sounds like you found some things that work for you!
Yeah Gouda can be a funny one to work with. Sharp cheddar or Colby Jack are usually good ones to rock on a burger. Swiss with mushrooms and then don't be afraid to use provolone for basically anything since it's sooooooo good :)

Keep on working those burgers. I'm sure you'll find a number of methods that work including a method that allows you to slap it together quickly and throw on the grill whenever you want a burger! :)

 

[Binford 6100]

I am surprised no one is suggesting butter burgers.
A few ways to make them, but my go to is to wrap a chunk of butter in each burger and then top with some Webber Chicago seasoning or Penzey's Chicago seasoning.
Then they go into a cast iron pan with Bacon grease.
Perfect every time.
I like to play around with different mixes of meat and stuff like that, but then I don't consider it a burger any more.
I also grind my own. Buy a meat grinder, you can get a decent one for around 50-80 bucks at a hunting store. That food processor will never work as well as you want it to. I never worry about what my exact ratio is. Just do an eyeball 80-20/75-25 mix. I don't think it matters much on a flat top.

 

[bgaviator]

Well....my burgers STILL suck in my opinion. I've gotten slightly better, but still not to my liking. I've been mixing in a little fish sauce and Duke's mayo to my 80/20 chuck that I get from the butcher counter. I have been making into thick patties using my burger press. I think they are coming in close to 1/2 lb each.
Based on numerous articles I've read, they always seem to suggest just using 80/20 chuck, and seasoning with salt & pepper only. My burgers still are very flavorless though despite doing all these tips.

I've also been finding that with the real thick patties, I've been typically cooking on my KJ between 500-600 degrees on the gauge. I have the flat cast iron half moon accessory that I cook on. Since the burgers are so thick, by the time they get done internally, I've almost completely burnt the outside of the burgers and you can taste that in the final product.

I also think by me adding the fish sauce and mayo, since I then have to work that into the meat, that the meat is getting too dense. I've read numerous articles that say you should essentially just press the meat into shape enough to where it will hold. I'm just not sure I can add the mayo and fish sauce if I don't work it in.

Burgers may just be one of those things I need to give up on and leave it to the pros at restaurants. I seem to spend almost as much money buying everything myself, only to end up disappointed.

 

[johnmeyer]

I'm not a fan of the fish sauce idea. Cook's Illustrated created a lot of recipes for meat where they claimed that fish sauce provided more intense meat flavors, but for me, it just added a fishy taste.

I've been playing around with a lot of blends and the other night decided I wanted some burgers, but had run out of boneless shortribs and oxtail, which were two things I was adding to my flap meat (it's a beef cut). So, I just went with plain flap meat, which several sources have recommended as a good cut to use all by itself if you don't want to blend meats. I like it much better than chuck.

I got the best results of anything I have tried so far!

I get my flap meat at Costco. I grind it using the course plate on my KitchenAid grinder attachment. I add a very small amount of salt and grill on my Weber Genesis gas grill for four minutes on one side and three minutes (or less) on the other side.

I don't know if I can duplicate this result, but if I can, I will be in hamburger heaven the rest of my life.

 

[bgaviator]

Grinding my own meat and different blends is just getting way too involved for me. I'm trying to keep it simple. If I'm gonna get that in depth then I'll just head to a restaurant where at least I can send it back if it's screwed up.

 

[Bearcarver]

Well....my burgers STILL suck in my opinion. I've gotten slightly better, but still not to my liking. I've been mixing in a little fish sauce and Duke's mayo to my 80/20 chuck that I get from the butcher counter. I have been making into thick patties using my burger press. I think they are coming in close to 1/2 lb each.
Based on numerous articles I've read, they always seem to suggest just using 80/20 chuck, and seasoning with salt & pepper only. My burgers still are very flavorless though despite doing all these tips.

I've also been finding that with the real thick patties, I've been typically cooking on my KJ between 500-600 degrees on the gauge. I have the flat cast iron half moon accessory that I cook on. Since the burgers are so thick, by the time they get done internally, I've almost completely burnt the outside of the burgers and you can taste that in the final product.

I also think by me adding the fish sauce and mayo, since I then have to work that into the meat, that the meat is getting too dense. I've read numerous articles that say you should essentially just press the meat into shape enough to where it will hold. I'm just not sure I can add the mayo and fish sauce if I don't work it in.

Burgers may just be one of those things I need to give up on and leave it to the pros at restaurants. I seem to spend almost as much money buying everything myself, only to end up disappointed.

Just for once, forget about Fish Sauce & Mayo---These are Burgers!
Just add 2 to 3 TBS of Worcestershire Original per pound of 80/20 Beef. See how that is.

Bear

 

[SmokinVOLfan]

Keep it simple don't worry about grinding your own meat. I like 85/15 and try to buy a grass fed or organic beef. You can get it in the plastic baggie type wrappers in the meat section for $5.99 lb. I seem to get better results there. What bear said add a little Worcestershire sauce or some low sodium Dales to it. Then just SPG. Make about 1/3 lb pound patties with the thumb print in the middle. When done melt sharp cheddar on top.

Or if you want something different do it with Cajun seasoning and boursin cheese.

Just keep trying. Luckily its not an expensive thing to keep doing until you get it to your liking

 

[zwiller]

Timely bump... Ate a left over burger from the weekend last night. Made these with phosphate and really like it.

I judge homebrew and it is actually quite a bit of effort to produce something on par with the pros but that doesn't keep many from claiming otherwise. That is, until it is judged...

What burger you aiming for? We prefer smash burger over grilled... Pretty easy to nail too.

 

[Binford 6100]

Keep it simple don't worry about grinding your own meat. I like 85/15 and try to buy a grass fed or organic beef. You can get it in the plastic baggie type wrappers in the meat section for $5.99 lb. I seem to get better results there. What bear said add a little Worcestershire sauce or some low sodium Dales to it. Then just SPG. Make about 1/3 lb pound patties with the thumb print in the middle. When done melt sharp cheddar on top.

Or if you want something different do it with Cajun seasoning and boursin cheese.

Just keep trying. Luckily its not an expensive thing to keep doing until you get it to your liking

85/15?
Grass fed?
The dude wants good tasting burgers!
He didn't ask for a healthier burger.

 

[RiversideSm0ker]

I find buying 80/20 from Sam's and just making balls that I smush into patties works great. From time to time I toss some rub or something in them but nothing at all works just fine. I do always use the thumb print to keep them from ballooning but other than that, burgers are pretty simple. Just don't burn them. Stand over them and be vigilant. That's about it. My wife and I love burgers and they are almost always better than anything you can get from a restaurant. Not sure what to suggest. I would just stick to Five Guys if you don't feel that you get the best results from your own grill. I don't care fo the griddle type burger. I prefer my burgers with some flame char. Not crispy or anything but just that little bit of char that tells you it was on the grill.

George