I tried a new hamburger recipe


 
@ Tatoosh, I had a friend who used to brush his steaks with bacon fat then on HH for the flare up. He like the sear it made. They were good but not my style.
As far as the fat in a brisket goes that's kind of a tough question given how much you trim. I have taken 2-1/2 to 3 lbs of fat off a 12 lb brisket. That does not take into account the amount of fat in the Point. I gotta think the fat content in the Point has to be in the 20% range.

There is a marinade Broil King advertises in their cook book or used to. It did come with their BBQ's. I'm sure many have seen it. I have used it for years including mixing it with my ground meat. The recipe is a TBSP each of Olive oil, Worchestershire, Soya sauce and Balsamic Vinegar, 1 tsp of Dijon Mustard and two cloves of crush garlic. I've used the garlic powder as well. I have also added onion powder. Lessor amounts mixed in ground meat adds a lot of flavor. I don't think you will notice as much color difference in the patties with this either.
 
Gary S, thank you for the suggestions. I will try your Broil King marinade in the near future and see how it goes. I also very much appreciate the guidance on the brisket/fat question. The Philippine beef tend to be much leaner than North American counterparts, but it gives me some idea what to expect when I find some brisket here.
 
To the original poster, the greatest thing you can do for you ground beef is to form the patties very lightly without packing them too much and to season them RIGHT before you put them onto the grill.

Lightly forming then keeps them from getting tough and also gives the burger more surface area to corm a nice brown crust on the outside. It also provides a lot of pockets within the burger that will hold the fat instead of squeezing it out as the burger contracts from the heat.

Seasoning right before they hit the grill is a big thing too. It keeps the salt from altering the proteins in the meat and keeps them that nice texture that we all look for in a great burger. If you do like to add seasonings within the ground beef, grind your own meat and add it to the chunks before you grind them that way you don't overwork the meat. But I am a firm believer in the salt and peppers method only if you have a good fatty ground beef mixture. Adding anything else is just meatloaf to me, unless it is a source of more animal fat that is. :D
 
Robert
I am on the same page as Gary S. I have addopted the recipe of 2/3 beef to 1/3 pork and seasoning. Fully realise I am enhancing the beef but the burgers that I have made have always been eaten. One thing I started trying recently was making my burgers a little smaller and adding the cheese into the pattie then adding a second pattie so giving me a large burger with cheese in the middle. The melted cheese in the middle of the burger is really nice.
Cheers
Alan
 
Well said RC. They key is animal fat and the flavor it brings does come at a cost. These Blue menu products(not sure if that term is used in the US) lean cuts, lean grinds, have less flavor and the simple reason is less fat. Sausage makers and others have known for years some of the best fat for flavor is pork belly. So it follows that pork would be a great addition to beef for added flavor. That's not to say beef fat does not have great flavor too, the Prime rib, rib-eyes and of course beef ribs are examples but you just don't see people grinding up Prime rib roasts or rib eyes for Hamburg.
 
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Couldn't agree with you more Gary! I have yet to buy pork belly to add to my hamburger grind, but I am able to score pure beef fat trimmings for 99 cents a pound at Whole Foods so that is what I add to my meat when I grind a cut that is leaner. Hell I'll even throw some in my chuck or brisket before I grind it just to crank the fat content up to an obscene amount. I guess I can do that though at my age without much worry, although in a few years I am going to have to stop this or I am going to die of a heart attack by 35. :D LOL, but I run a good bit so I guess it all balances out.
 
A few days ago I took delivery of a new book "Smokin'" by Myron Mixon. He had a winning hamburger recipe so, tonight, I gave it a whirl. It uses a variety of flavorings including dried Ranch Dressing. I pretty much followed the recipe, and ended up with a very good, but not great burger. I am still looking. I believe next I'll try either the sausage mix or the fish sauce - one or the other.

The recipe included Canadian Bacon and I must say Canadian Bacon can't hold a candle to real bacon on a burger...

FWIW
Dale53
 
RC has the right idea. Mix whatever spices, etc. into the meat that you want but do not overwork the meat, it will go tough on you real quick. Don't overpack and don't forget the dimple in the middle.

I like to add a little pork or lamb to get the fat content up. If I'm going to be indirect grilling the burgers, I'll add just a very little bit of Olive oil to the meat.

Russ
 
I tend to stay away from adding any mix ins to ground beef and just let the flavoring be on top of the burger if I want them, but yeah adding in stuff isn't too against what I adhere to as long as there is no salt in them. Here is an article about adding salt to ground beef early on in the forming process. You really need to salt the meat RIGHT before it hits the grille, or at least less that 5 minutes before you grille it. If you don't it turns your hamburger patty into a sausage patty, and charcuterie isn't what your looking for at all. LOL.

Salting Ground Beef
 
A mom & pop super market in a neighboring small town (20 miles away) has been highly touted by my neighbor for the quality of their meat along with their reasonable prices. We had already tried their smoked pork chops (they are dynamite). Today, it was a perfect day for a drive so we drove to the small town, and loaded up on meat.

They are real butchers and will cut anything you want to custom sizes. They had two pans of ground meat - one was labeled "Ground Beef" and one was labeled "Ground Chuck". I asked the butcher which he would choose to grill hamburgers. He stated he preferred the "Ground Beef". It was obviously a bit fatter but both looked good. I had him package several one pound packages of the "Ground Beef".

In the meantime, I had taken delivery of the Groupon Buy Grill Grates (thanks to the gentleman who posted it on here). I was dying to try the Grill Grates.

I lit a full chimney of Kingsford (one layer of new and the rest saved coals) and spread them evenly over the bottom of the 22.5" OTG. I put the Grill Grates on top of the regular wire grill and let it heat for ten minutes (after spraying with Canola Oil for break in). I put the new burgers on (nothing added to the Ground Beef). They were seasoned with Montreal Steak Seasoning on both sides. I grilled them two minutes, turned them ninety degrees with the nifty spatula that came with the Grill Grates. Another two minutes, then flipped them, two minutes, turned them ninety degrees and then took them off. The grill marks were perfect. From the moment I put the burgers on they were sizzling until they came off. The grill did NOT cool down. I did not take pictures as they were "just" burgers.

I want to tell you these were the best burgers I have had in YEARS!

Like Len Dennis stated on the first page, your burgers won't really be better until you get good ground beef. I NOW know where to go.

I'll just take a cooler and get a months supply of meat to make the trip worthwhile.

So, I would encourage any of you who are on a quest like I am for better ground beef. Keep on until you find it, whether it is the meat market down the street or your regular supermarket. Where ever you find it, just patronize them. I know I will.

Thanks to all who offered up suggestions. I appreciate the help, anytime!

Test scores:
1-Good Ground beef (an A+)
2 - Grill Grates (A+) Even with the higher fat content, NO FLAREUPS. However, the grease was burning under the grate and kept a continuous bath of fragrant smoke surrounding my burgers. I am sure that added to the flavor.

Next month I will be traveling to North Carolina to visit my son and his family. I am going to take the Grill Grates and special spatula along to let him try them out in his Performer.

Good food, to everyone!

Dale53
 
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Well said Robert! Do most people cook their burgers with the lid off their grilles here? I am new to charcoal and was wondering how most do it. Thanks!
 
RCBaughn;
I don't know how "most" do it. I have done it with the lid closed when using the standard Weber Grill. However, with the GrillGrate, it seems to hardly be worthwhile to cover it as I am grilling as described (changing meat position every two minutes). Further, with the GrillGrate, there are no flare-ups to fight. On the other hand, your burgers will thank you to cover the last two minutes when you apply cheese for cheeseburgers (helps greatly to melt the cheese).

FWIW
Dale53
 
RCBaughn said:
You really need to salt the meat RIGHT before it hits the grille, or at least less that 5 minutes before you grille it. If you don't it turns your hamburger patty into a sausage patty, and charcuterie isn't what your looking for at all. LOL.
Click to expand...
A few weeks back I grilled some burgers that I'd salted 3 days earlier and while they definitely were sausage-like I didn't find them objectionable, just different.

BurgersSalted3Days201220120910_5.jpg
 
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