What make makes a good hamburger?

Answer 1

SEASONINGS! There's nothing sadder than a bland hamburger. The necessaries: chopped onion (minced if you have kids), minced garlic, worcestershire sauce, salt/pepper/pinch of cayenne, maybe a dash of liquid smoke. Any other seasonings are your own personal preference. You can make themed burgers. Add some cumin and coriander for a mexican burger, your favorite italian seasonings for an italian burger, and so on.

Some great toppings: grilled onions and tomatoes, lettuce, cheese (blue, goat, gouda, good quality sharp cheddar, etc), grilled peppers (red, green, jalapeno[minus the seeds unless you really like it hot!], grilled mushrooms, red onions, bacon, anything you can think of.

Great sauces: ketchup, mustard, salsa, BBQ sauce, various salad dressings

A great hamburger is only limited by your imagination. Hawaiian burgers: mix some crushed pineapple to the beef, make a fruit salsa and grilled onions for the topping, and make a mango-lime dressing for dipping, king's hawaiian bread for rolls. It was tasty.

Use good quality, lean beef and a meat thermometer.

Answer 2

The ingredients make the flavor. Don't use just ground hamburger. Pick a nice piece of chuck and ask the butcher to grind it, or take it home and do it yourself with your Kitchenaid stand mixer grinder attachment. You may want to adjust the meat blend with 1/2 chuck and 1/2 sirloin, or maybe you like chuck and a bit of ground lamb. Try until you're happy with the blend. Season with a bit of worcestershire, garlic powder, black pepper, and anything else that amuses your taste buds. Mix well, form burgers, grill (don't hit the burgers with the spatula, it destroys their structure and depletes the natural juices,) let the burger rest 3-5 minutes (on the bun, so it captures all the natural juices) then enjoy. I like to add finely diced scallion from time to time. I take two smaller burgers, add some scallion between them, form them into one burger and grill to perfection. Try topping with freshly crumbled bleu cheese and serve on fresh, grilled seeded rolls with all the garnishings. Or maybe you're a purist and want just some Tillamook cheddar (classic.) Be creative, experiment, and don't sear at high heat or grill frozen. Enjoy!

Answer 3

Ground steak, chuck or other lean beef - cook it to order (I personally like it medium rare); Good quality cheese, not sliced too thick, melted on the patty (sharp cheddar, swiss, havarti, etc); fresh grilled hamburger buns. Then with all of these essentials covered, put out fresh toppings and let people decide what they want on it (onions and/or bell peppers grilled with garlic and onion powder; fresh homemade guacamole; sauteed mushrooms, good quality condiments; crisp lettuce; sliced tomatoes; sweet relish; dill pickle slices). Add if your guests love meat - let them pick form one or more of the following: thick smoked bacon, a slice of good quality ham, some deli pastrami, or my personal favorite - an egg fried over medium.

OK, now I know what I am making for dinner tonight!

Answer 4

What a wide-open question. If making it at home, don't mess with the ground beef too much when forming the patties as it makes the beef tough. So...be careful mixing in that blue cheese that makes my favorite burger. When grilled to perfection, top with some mayo and a thick slice of onion.

Answer 5

Pesto Hamburgers
INGREDIENTS
1 1/2 pounds ground beef
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
4 slices mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup prepared pesto
1/3 cup roasted sweet red pepper strips
4 hamburger buns, split and toasted
DIRECTIONS
Shape beef into four 3/4-in.-thick patties. Season with salt and pepper. In a large skillet over medium heat, cook patties for 5 minutes on each side or until meat is no longer pink.
Top each burger with cheese, 2 tablespoons pesto and pepper strips. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 2 minutes or until cheese is melted. Serve on buns.


Delicious Grilled Hamburgers
INGREDIENTS
1 pound lean ground beef
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon liquid smoke flavoring
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon olive oil
seasoned salt to taste
DIRECTIONS
Preheat a grill for high heat.
In a medium bowl, lightly mix together the ground beef, Worcestershire sauce, liquid smoke and garlic powder. Form into 3 patties, handling the meat minimally. Brush both sides of each patty with some oil, and season with seasoned salt.
Place the patties on the grill grate, and cook for about 5 minutes per side, until well done


Bacon Wrapped Hamburgers
INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
1 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese
1 small onion, chopped
1 egg
1 tablespoon ketchup
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1 pound ground beef
6 slices bacon
6 hamburger buns, split
DIRECTIONS
Preheat a grill for high heat.
In a large bowl, mix together the Cheddar cheese, Parmesan cheese, onion, egg, ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper. Crumble in the ground beef, and mix together by hand. Form into 6 patties, and wrap a slice of bacon around each one. Secure bacon with toothpicks.
Place patties on the grill, and cook for 5 minutes per side, or until well done. Remove toothpicks before serving on hamburger buns.

Answer 6

This may not be every ones favorite hamburger. But mine is cheese, tomato, onions, lettuce, mayo and sometimes mustard and dill pickles. I toast my bun first, put all the cheese and everything except mayo wrap in foil stick in oven for 15 minutes. When it is well heated threw i add my mayo. A little messy but Yummy!

Answer 7

Add beer to your mix...

1 1/2 pounds ground chuck
3 tablespoons Guinnesss or Bass Pale Ale beer
1/4 teaspoon worcestershire sauce
salt and pepper

Gently mix using two forks, form into 4 patties and grill to desired doneness.

Answer 8

my most complimented hamburger patties >

2 pounds ground beef
1 large yellow onion (diced small)
salt and black pepper (to taste)
mix just enough to evenly distribute the onions, mixing too much makes them tough, the onions gives moisture and flavor, make into patties about the size of the palm of your hand then flatten out bigger than the size of the bun because they shrink with cooking, cook till done juice runs clear,
then fix burgers with miracle whip / mustard / A-1 steak sauce / ketchup / whatever you prefer / lettuce , sliced onions , pickles , sliced tomatoes, cheese , etc,,, whatever toppings you like..

i never got a complaint yet and i cooked them for many years with husband and houseful of kids,,,

Answer 9

Justin Had a great answer. But Try some Ranch Salad/Seasoning Mix. With a little American/mozzarella grated cheese thrown in with.

Answer 10

make the hamburger and just before it done put a little bit of BBQ sauce on top