The perfect burger

[SpanishCastleAle]

Everybody's vision of a perfect burger is different. I've tried mixing spices/seasonings/marinades in, pre-seasoning, using binders, etc. but for me...none of that actually improves the burger (doesn't necessarily make it worse either) so there's no reason to go to the trouble. For me it's just: make the patties with good, fresh beef of the proper fat-content; refrigerate; cook on high heat and season w/ salt & pepper after you flip it.

This is sort of what I was getting at in the op...that for me...the perfect burger is uber-simple but the devil is in the details.

Another thing I just discovered the other night: the buns should be not too soft but not too hard either and not chewy like sourdough. I bought potato hamburger buns and they were a bit too soft.

 

[brewthunda]

I add one clove of garlic per lb of meat (crushed through a garlic press) and a splash of basalmic vinegar, plus salt and pepper. Try the basalmic vinegar thing some time - it's really good. I'll also sometimes throw in a minced dried thai chili. We keep a martini glass on the kitchen windowsill filled with thai chilis - they start out fresh and green and slowly turn perfectly dried and bright red, and they last forever.

Oh, and tomato quality is key. Grow your own if you can, or buy from known sources. The ones at Safeway half the time aren't even ripe - they're immature tomatoes treated with ethylene gas so they turn bright red and look ripe, but still have the extended shelf life of a green tomato. What that means is that they look nice but have little flavor.

 

[dataz722]

The ones at Safeway half the time aren't even ripe - they're immature tomatoes treated with ethylene gas so they turn bright red and look ripe, but still have the extended shelf life of a green tomato. What that means is that they look nice but have little flavor.

That goes for pretty much all produce at grocery stores. Most all are picked very young and atrificialy ripened.

 

[jgln]

There are a few things that I'm a purist on and burgers would be one of them. Quality beef, salt, pepper, done. As far as condiments are concerned, go crazy, the burger itself is just those three items. But that's just me.

One loophole I would provide is that if the beef's not the best, and I'm sure all of us have had to deal with that from time to time for whatever reason, feel free to doctor it up. I look at steak much the same way. Good steak needs just salt and pepper. If, however, I'm at my BIL's and he just picked up the jumbo pack of strip steaks from Wal-Mart I'll be a good guest and eat what I'm provided, drowned in A-1.

What is the difference between WalMart steaks and those brought elsewhere? I am not trying to be wise, I really would like to know. Is it the grade they sell as determined by the US inspectors?

 

[dataz722]

If you are not getting your normal steaks from a true butcher the grade is probably no different. Now how walmart handles them and the condition they are in might be a different story.

 

[jgln]

If you are not getting your normal steaks from a true butcher the grade is probably no different. Now how walmart handles them and the condition they are in might be a different story.

So only butchers get the good meat? Acme, Shop Rite, Sams Club, WalMart, BJ's and all the other chain supermarkets don't?

 

[springer]

Sounds more like meatloaf to me...

just a little bread crumbs . Try it it comes out great

 

[springer]

If you are not getting your normal steaks from a true butcher the grade is probably no different. Now how walmart handles them and the condition they are in might be a different story.

So only butchers get the good meat? Acme, Shop Rite, Sams Club, WalMart, BJ's and all the other chain supermarkets don't?

I think Data is trying to convey is that meat from the butcher is handled much different than a chain store. They may come from the same slaughter house but the butcher cuts the meet to order . Wonder how many places the Walmart beef has been ....

 

[jpc]

just a little bread crumbs . Try it it comes out great

I might just do that. I like meatloaf anyway, so it's not like there's anything wrong with it. I may try your method with the ground venison I have in the freezer, since it usually needs a little something to keep it moist.

 

[MBasile]

I think Data is trying to convey is that meat from the butcher is handled much different than a chain store. They may come from the same slaughter house but the butcher cuts the meet to order . Wonder how many places the Walmart beef has been ....

wait, people actually trust walmart for food?

I buy the $2/pound trader joe's bricks. I know those are the best but I trust them more than walmart.

 

[dataz722]

So only butchers get the good meat? Acme, Shop Rite, Sams Club, WalMart, BJ's and all the other chain supermarkets don't?

I think Data is trying to convey is that meat from the butcher is handled much different than a chain store. They may come from the same slaughter house but the butcher cuts the meet to order . Wonder how many places the Walmart beef has been ....

Not only that but also much much better cuts. When it comes to ground beef it probably really doesn't matter but you will never find a prime cut at a grocery store, atleast not very often. But what will cost you 6.99/lb at the grocery store will cost you close to 25/lb at a butcher. Is it worth it? To me yes but only a couple times a year.

 

[niquejim]

I work for Costco, and I know that occasionally they get Prime beef by mistake and can't mark the price up. Nevermind, we employees usually get those mistakes.
This week we have T-bones for $4.99 and no butcher can touch that

 

[RayInUT]

I have a big fat neighbor that refers to her vagina as a "hamburger". It makes you lose your appetite very fast.

 

[MBasile]

I have a big fat neighbor that refers to her vagina as a "hamburger". It makes you lose your appetite very fast.

Why would you even get on that topic with her? These are the detrimental side effects of that mythical phrase "too much beer"

 

[springer]

Not only that but also much much better cuts. When it comes to ground beef it probably really doesn't matter but you will never find a prime cut at a grocery store, atleast not very often. But what will cost you 6.99/lb at the grocery store will cost you close to 25/lb at a butcher. Is it worth it? To me yes but only a couple times a year.

While it's a grocery store Stew Leonards has an excellent butcher/meat dept . They Have Prime cut and they have dry aged beef. I buy it every time I am there . But its a hike from my house so I buy meat at the local butcher.

 

[dataz722]

While it's a grocery store Stew Leonards has an excellent butcher/meat dept . They Have Prime cut and they have dry aged beef. I buy it every time I am there . But its a hike from my house so I buy meat at the local butcher.

I really wish I had something like that around here. How are the prices? Is it just a mom and pop place? I was really referring to big ass chain stores because that is all we have around us.

 

[brewthunda]

wait, people actually trust walmart for food?

I buy the $2/pound trader joe's bricks. I know those are the best but I trust them more than walmart.

Walmart has normal Walmart stores with a few rinky-dink aisles of nasty processed or frozen foods . . but they also have Walmart "Supercenters", with full blown grocery stores - with all the produce, meat, deli counter, etc. type stuff that you expect to see in a grocery store. My brother in law manages the grocery department for one in Oregon. I'd say it's comparable to a Safeway. Their operating goal is to offer comparable quality as the major chain supermarkets at the lowest price in town.

Oh, and those trader joe's bricks are not as good or tasty compared to what you find at a Safeway for the same price (Safeway owns it's own herds, by the way).

 

[dataz722]

Walmart has normal Walmart stores with a few rinky-dink aisles of nasty processed or frozen foods . . but they also have Walmart "Supercenters", with full blown grocery stores - with all the produce, meat, deli counter, etc. type stuff that you expect to see in a grocery store. My brother in law manages the grocery department for one in Oregon. I'd say it's comparable to a Safeway. Their operating goal is to offer comparable quality as the major chain supermarkets at the lowest price in town.

We have those all over the place here too but I have found that they have a real problem with freshness and actually maintaining the right temps for things.

 

[Mutilated1]

you put the tomato and lettuce on the bottom bun under the burger ?

pervert

 

[SpanishCastleAle]

you put the tomato and lettuce on the bottom bun under the burger ?

pervert

I'm not sure how or when it happened that people started putting that stuff on top of the patty...since ya know...it's retarded to do so. Every time I go to a REAL old-style burger stand (say Fatburger for example) they put the lettuce and tomato where they belong...under the patty.





















And they use shredded lettuce!

 

[chuggs]

It's probably off topic...but somewhat related.

My favorite burger (well not actually a burger) starts with a Prime Rib Roast. I make incisions in the meat and insert sliced garlic cloves...sprinkle with sea salt & freshly ground black pepper. Then I smoke it for just over 2 hrs - 2 1/2 hrs...(internal temp around 145 degrees) in a side fire box smoker using Royal Oak Lump charcoal...and a blend of hicory and mesquite chunks. Serve half of it for dinner. Wrap up the rest and place it in the fridge.

http://yfrog.com/52dsc0444j

Next day...run the leftover meat through a meat slicer...nice and thin. Saute the meat in a pan...and after it's heated...melt Provolone Cheese over it. Place it on a Toasted Bun. YUMMY. I've never tasted a Burger that is as good as a Cheese Steak made with Garlic infused, Smoked, Prime Rib...ooohh baby!!! You may like bbq sauce, horsy sauce, or au jus with it. I like it plain.

My second favorite is from one of our local Sports Bars, "Duffy's Draft House". They don't have it on the menu anymore...but ol' timers that have been around for a while will ask them for a "Death Burger". It's a 1/2 lb Angus Beef Burger cooked to order, then they put Sliced Jalapeno's, Horseradish, & "Death" wing sauce on top...cover it with a slice of cheese...serve it on a Sesame Seed Bun with Lettuce, Tomato, and a thick onion slice. Oh man...I'm cravin' one now. Once you've had a Death Burger, everything else seems a little too plain.

 

[springer]

I really wish I had something like that around here. How are the prices? Is it just a mom and pop place? I was really referring to big ass chain stores because that is all we have around us.

its a family owned operation I think they have 3 or 4 stores in NY & CT. The owner and his son actually goes to cattle farms and buys the cows has them slaughtered and then trucks them in to the stores, whole sides of beef . But the meat is incredible specially the dry meat its 25 $ a pound.

 

[Pabst Blue Robot]

I use 100% chuck and grind it immediately before forming/grilling. I mix some gorgonzola or bleu with the meat, along with an egg and a bit of worchestershire to bind it. Cooked to medium rare at most, I like it bordering on red in the center. Nothing else on the bun save maybe some nice thick bacon or onions grilled in said bacon grease. When the burger falls apart and melts in your mouth like a soft, ripe cheese.......drool.

 

[Tsuyako]

I want my patty cooked through with a little salt and pepper and cheese. We make faccacia (sp?) and use that as our 'buns'. Fresh hot bread, freash hot patty. Yum!

As for toppings, I don't like lettuce as it becomes a slip zone. So a little mayo on the bottom, patty, cheese, onion the size of the patty, ketchup and maybe mustard and that's it.

 

[dataz722]

slip zone??? Looks like we watch the same TV show.

 

[Tsuyako]

most likely! I'm addicted to the food network.

 

[dataz722]

I only watch 4 channels on a regular basis and that is one of them, with good eats being one of, if not my number 1, favorite shows on TV.

 

[Tsuyako]

I don't have TV (stupid digital switch over) so I youtube has become my new best friend. I watch Good Eats on there as every episode is available.

 

[SpanishCastleAle]

A burger on focaccia bread sounds awesome.

IME, lettuce is less of a slip zone if you use shredded.

Another thing I just thought of...I always see people cutting their burgers in half and then complaining about it becoming a mess. A burger is much less messy if you don't cut it in half.

 

[dataz722]

I always cut my burgers in half if they are a dcent sized burger because I find it is much easier to eat. You have to make sure the meat has rested though before you cut it.