Why do my burgers suck?

[old sarge]

I have been following this and see several recommendations for grinding the meat yourself. That is what I do and burgers are great (I still drink beer though). So I use a LEM #8 Big Bite grinder. All stainless, no aluminum. I got a notice today from Mills Fleet Farm that they dropped the price so if you need a grinder that might be a good one to look into. 5 year warranty. I have not had mine bog down at all. Just a suggestion and you can custom grind till you get the mix just right.

https://www.fleetfarm.com/brand/lem...lem/_/N-4164077436?null&_=1527905955155&No=72

 

[chopsaw]

 

[old sarge]

I'll take two to go please!

 

[chopsaw]

Thanks Sarge . Just trying to make a point . That cook was ,,,, MAYBE 20 minutes ,, and I mean maybe .
Lid only went on to melt the cheese . Store bought 80/20 just salt and pepper . Best burger I ever had ,, no , but very good . Don't over think it , and don't over cook .

 

[SonnyE]

Well, Ima goin in tomorrow!
Grand Daughter is 5 on the 11th. We won't be here.
So Grandma is throwin a shin-dig, Grandpa will be flippin Burgers and rollin Hot Dogs.
Pool is clean and heated, yard is vacuumed, outdoor kitchen is ready, I'm dicing some smoked cheese and going to make some Kielbasa ordervies, and Salmon dip.
Grandma's makin her loved Macaroni salad, and other delights.
All decorated up.

I have a Weston Patty Press and weigh out my burgers to 1/4 pound apiece, then they get stacked with Patty Wax papers and froze in a pound before vacuum sealing. So I pulled 4 pounds, 16 Burgers.
My plan is Salt, Pepper, Cheese on request, and Grilled Onions on request. Condiments available, Ranch Dressing, and Smokey Horseradish Sauce.
Iced Green onions, slice white onions.

Good, Grandma is done in the kitchen. Time for Grandpa to go play. :rolleyes:;):p

 

[KrisUpInSmoke]

Buy ground meat 80/20 and make your own patties. I personally believe a really great burger needs a little pork in it.
MY burger recipe:
4# 80/20 beef chuck
2# ground pork butt
2 eggs
3~4 TBSPS Cajun seasoning or more to taste(Tony's, Slap Ya Mama, etc...)
1 TBSP hot sauce
2 TBSPS worchestershire sauce
1/2 small onion fine dice

and here is the really important part.....

1/2~1 cup of either crushed club crackers or bread crumbs...this will keep the burgers moist! It will absorb the juice as the burgers cook!

mix well in a SS bowl until the meat gets tacky, form into burgers and grill....

You lost me after 80/20. That recipe looks a little meatloaf-esque. But, now I'm curious enough to try it!

 

[old sarge]

Guess my invite is still in the mail. Save me a seat, I might be a tad late!

 

[nanuk]

My simple approach for you would be:
Form Large patties (thicker/bigger is easier to practice with than thin patties)

IMPORTANT: Before throwing on the grill add Salt to the patties. Mixing in salt earlier makes the proteins bind up and you get a firm dense chunk of meat for a patty rather than the proper burger texture.

Now for your Charred outside I'm not sure what to do because I don't really look for a char or crispness to my burger, BUT I would imagine a screaming hot grill would do this for you. Again with a large/thick patty it is more forgiving so you don't overcook the inside while trying to char/crisp the outside.

In short, Large patties, mix Pepper, Garlic, Onion powders into the meat and then make the patties, add salt at the end and cook to your liking. Do this and the flavor will be amazing everytime with basically no effort and then you can perfect your cooking and crisping techniques :)

I hope this helps :)

Well, I never went to burger school, so I don't know how patty texture is supposed to be....
But I like mine thin DENSE and seasoned.
Thin because they cook through quickly, staying JUICY, and NOT BURNED on the outside.
the smell and taste of burned meat/fat turns me off when it comes to burgers.
Preformed dense thin patties are a delicacy for me.

This new wave of loosely made patties with premium meat just gives me a sawdust burger.

 

[tallbm]

Well, I never went to burger school, so I don't know how patty texture is supposed to be....
But I like mine thin DENSE and seasoned.
Thin because they cook through quickly, staying JUICY, and NOT BURNED on the outside.
the smell and taste of burned meat/fat turns me off when it comes to burgers.
Preformed dense thin patties are a delicacy for me.

This new wave of loosely made patties with premium meat just gives me a sawdust burger.

I don't disagree at all with what you describe (if I'm understanding it correctly).

What I am meaning with the word dense is like a 1 1/2 inch patty that is like a rubber hockey puck.

There is a site that talks about this issue and here are two patties where everything but one factor is identical and both were cooked in he same skillet. The one difference is when the salt was mixed in/added. The first image looks like a good burger, the 2nd image looks like a dense thick rubber hockey puck. This is what I'm referring to as dense, what I think the OP is getting, and what I am thinking when I describe how to avoid it :)

See how the 2nd patty is mostly like a solid hunk of meat even in the less cooked center.

I have a sneaky suspicion you mean thin dense like this which is perfectly fine. Let me know if this is the case because the topic can get confusing without the images :)

 

[nanuk]

Yup, I think that is what I mean

I have never seen ground meat turn into hockey pucks (something we Canadians know a lot about)

Even when I make a sausage product with salt in it, and leave it for a couple days, the salt does not make it like that double pic... more like your second one....

interesting stuff

I may have to salt some ground, just to see what it does

 

[zwiller]

I do not like the salt effect in big thick burgers like a 8oz pub style but it works well in small 2-3oz smash burgers. Phosphate is a total game changer for my pub burgers.

 

[Jeff Wright]

Don't know about the KJ. I have a BGE and still would not think of cooking burgers on anything but my Weber. Just my opinion, but burgers and steaks just come off better from a Weber than anything else. I see a lot of interesting variations in this thread on making a perfect burger, but the one thought I find most relevant is that it is in the eye of the beholder. Everyone has their own idea of the perfect burger. Have seen a few ideas to try for variation here, though. Good thread.

 

[tallbm]

Yup, I think that is what I mean

I have never seen ground meat turn into hockey pucks (something we Canadians know a lot about)

Even when I make a sausage product with salt in it, and leave it for a couple days, the salt does not make it like that double pic... more like your second one....

interesting stuff

I may have to salt some ground, just to see what it does

Yeah the stuff is interesting and that article I took the pics from is an awesome read.

I'm in the camp where I like to mix my seasonings into the meat in bowl for outstanding overall flavor throughout the patty. The dense big puck problems happens due to 2 things here. 1) As you mix the meat you break down the proteins which makes them easier to bind into a more solid meat structure and (2) salt wants to aid the breakdown and formation of denser meat. So mixing in the salt is like a double whammy for thick dense hockey puck burgers.

My solution is to mix all the seasonings in EXCEPT the salt. Take the bowl of mixed meat out to the grill and THEN mix in the salt (lightly working the meat) and immediately make a patty, throw it on the grill, and repeat. This way the whole hockey puck situation is avoided AND I get the outstanding flavor throughout the entire patty!

The other option I sometimes do is to mix the meat and seasoning in a bowl EXCEPT the salt, make the patties on a tray then take the tray out to the grill and salt all the patties on top. Throw the patties salt side down on the grill and then add salt to the top facing side of the patties while on the grill since they have no salt. That is a simple process but at the cost of less salt flavor througout the patties. This works best with thinner patties rather than whopping 8oz+ patties which are my favorite. I like my patty to be bigger than my bun :D

As Jeff pointed out, it's all personal preference :)

 

[Jeff Wright]

Another something I have noticed recently, and I don't know how regional this may be...Someone above mentioned mixing pork with their hamburger. I have really noticed over the last year or so the popularity around here with Boston Burger. Very frequent sales around here at $1.99/lb. I am not exactly sure of the ratio, but it is either 40/60 pork/beef, or 50/50. It is mixed to be 80/20, and has remarkable flavor for ground beef.