How do you make the perfect beef burger?

Question

It getting towards BBQ time and this year I want to make my own burgers. Has anyone got a really good personal or family recipe for making the actual burger from scratch?

Answer 1

Elvis Burgers

Ingredients
450g/1lb minced beef
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 tbsp American mustard
110g/4oz Monteray Jack cheese or strong cheddar, grated
1 tbsp chopped fresh chives
1 tbsp coarsely ground black pepper
4 slices of crispy cooked streaky bacon
1 baby gem lettuce
2 tomatoes, sliced
1 small red onion, sliced into rings
4 burger buns

Method
1. Mix the beef with the garlic and mustard.
2. Mix the cheese with the chives and set aside.
3. Divide the beef into four and form into burger shapes. Make a deep indentation into each of the burgers and place a spoonful of cheese into the indentation. Shape the beef around the cheese until it is totally sealed. Sprinkle a little pepper over each burger and place in the fridge until ready to cook.
4. Cook the burgers in a pan or under the grill, for 4 minutes each side for rare, 6 minutes for medium and 8-9 minutes for well done. Or stick em on the BBQ!
5. Toast the burger buns on the cut-side. Load the buns with the burger, top with the bacon, tomatoes, lettuce and sliced onion and serve with fries

Answer 2

Quality of beef is the single most important factor. I use rump steak for mine as it is a flavoursome cut of meat but is also good for quick grilling. Here's my recipe:

Mince your rump steak - include the fat! If you are using the old style hand mincer, mince twice.

Finely chop onion and garlic and sweat off in a frying pan to translucent stage with a knob of butter (if you like the flavour, try black butter)

Whiz up the end of a stale baguette in a coffee grinder type thing.

Finely chop some fresh herbs - whatever you prefer.

Whisk up an egg.

Quantities depend on how many burgers you are making but experiment. You will hit on the combination that you like best after a couple of practice runs.

Combine the lot in a bowl and mix thoroughly. Really work this bit - massaging it all together. You are aiming for a mixture that is not too wet but still holds together. Dont forget to season. This will take about 10 - 15 mins.

Form burger patties.

Take a small lump of smoked mozzarella cheese and put it onto the centre of burger, making sure it is well sealed in the middle. The flavour is great and it keeps the burger moist.

Griddle till cooked to the desired level. NB anyone who asks for theirs "well done" or "cremated" dont deserve a homemade burger - give them a pre-packaged frozen one instead!

A variation which is only for grown-ups is to marinade your minced beef in Guinness for 24 hours before making the burgers. You need less egg if doing this (often I miss out the egg altogether as I dont mind if they fall apart a bit)

Hope you enjoy :)

Answer 3

Here is my recipe. First I shall explain the basic burger, then you may add the extras for a more flavourful burger.

Basic burger
1.Minced beef
2.Sauteed onions
3. Salt and crushed pepper
4. Dried herbs like oregano)
5. Beaten egg (it binds the burger while the same cooks)

Optional items.
Little ginger root (fine chopped), corriander leaves (fine chopped), dash of worchetershire sauce / maggi seasoning.

Procedure - Mix all together well. Shape into patties

Additional tip - To make all burgers even, take little squares of plastic sheet. Place a stainless steel ring on top of a square, press measured out mixture in the ring. All your burgers will be even

Answer 4

Mix the raw ground beef with salt and pepper. You can use a surprisingly large amount without the burgers tasting salty or peppery, but in the end, it's up to your personal taste. Obviously, you can add your favorite seasonings to taste. I like to add a dash of garlic powder per patty.

When forming the beef into patties, form a depression into the center of each patty. If you start with flat patties, you'll end up with rounded ones. (You're making burgers, not meatballs.) Start with a "divot" in the center, and as the beef swells, it will flatten out.

Grill over the highest possible heat, 2.5 minutes per side for medium rare. Turn only once!

Answer 5

Not a burger recipe, but a good tip. Whatever the recipe is, make sure you cook the onions first and allow them to cool before putting them in the burger mix. It adds a great depth of flavour to the cooked burger.

Answer 6

When it comes to burgers, I'm a purist--ground chuck, sprinkled with a little salt and pepper, and cooked. I don't generally mix things in with the beef (although I'm not opposed to topping it with all sorts of yummy stuff after it's been cooked!) This recipe (below) however, is the one exception. YUM!

2 lbs ground beef
1/4 cup chopped onions
3 tablespoons hot sauce, like tabasco
2 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon garlic salt
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon black pepper
6 ounces blue cheese, cut in 6 pieces
6 hamburger buns, toasted
roasted red peppers (from a jar)
6 portabello mushrooms, grilled

Pre heat grill to med-high heat.

Combine beef,onion,hot sauce,honey,garlic salt,red pepper flakes and pepper in large bowl and mix well.

Divide into 6 portions and place one piece of bleu cheese in the center of each burger, wrapping sides of burger around cheese to seal completely. (Be sure to pinch it closed tightly or your cheese will leak out onto the grill!)

Grill until desired doneness. Place patties on buns and top with roasted peppers and mushrooms.

Answer 7

I use lean beef mince, gently fry an onion, clove or two of garlic, salt and pepper then from here on you can add 1 - 2 or more of the following
Tabasco sauce
lea and Perrine's sauce
Rosemary and Thyme
Steak seasoning
mixed fresh or dry herbs
Another i like is turkey burgers - again gently fry the onion, garlic optional, then add freshly chopped tarragon.

good luck and happy BBQing x

Oh and don't be tempted to make them too think and beefy as they will take ages to cook in the middle -

Answer 8

Use a good quality beef - round steak minced is good. Get your butcher to mince it fresh. Grate a little onion into it, some fresh black pepper and bind it with a little tomato ketchup. Some recipes add bread crumbs and egg but I find that makes it a lttle heavy.

Answer 9

it's really easy
1lb of mince of choice ( iprefer beef)
1 chopped onion
1 egg
1 tablespoon of horseradish

mix all the ingredients together and shape into burgers put into fridge until ready to cook!

you could do lamb with mint sauce
pork with apples instead of onions !

Answer 10

get 2lb of mince meat, (less fat the bettrer)mash it up .until fine,
very finely chop 2 small onions, or 1 large onion.
finely chop some corriander leaves,and some jalepino peppers. tiny bit of salt and pepper.
mix all together.
make into fat burgers. put in fridge to bind, 2hrs is best. i dont worry about the egg white.