Smokey, char-grilled flavor. Why is it missing from my burgers?


 
JimT said:
M Borner,

Just another thought. Are you toasting/grilling your buns? Do your friends do it?

In my experience it adds a whole new dimension to the flavor of a burger. It could be what you're missing.

JimT
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Jim, sometimes I do and sometimes I don't, and although you're right, it does change the taste of a burger, it's not the flavor I'm missing.


Danny B (Albany said:
I hope you find amazingribs.com as helpful as I have.

One more suggestion on the burgers: Publix is now carrying Kobe ground beef and already made up burgers. They are great. Very juicy even when cooked past medium.
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Danny, for the most part we buy our ground beef from Publix. We only buy chubs of ground chuck. I've experimented with many, many, different kinds of beef.
I would like to know how some people are able to throw even cheap "hamburger" meat onto a gas grill and what comes off is this wonderfully smokey, flavorful, char grilled taste. The flavor literally oozes out of the burger.

I'll try to give a good example. I work at a dealership that on Saturdays has a catered BBQ for customers and employees. They grill the cheapest, tiniest, pre-pressed hamburger meat money can buy, and although the burgers aren't that great, they still have that savory smokiness to them.

I'm over at a friend’s house whose Wife is making hamburgers by hand using ground chuck from Publix. The grill is a $99, well seasoned Charbroil. These burgers were probably some of tastiest burgers I've ever had. Extremely bold smokiness and grilled flavor. I raved about them all night. I asked him (and her) what they were doing different to set their burgers apart. They both had big question marks over their head because they do absolutely nothing special, no secrets.

So, why can they get this flavor without doing anything, as a lot of people can, but my burgers, as well as my Mom and Dad's just turn out ho-hum?
 
I think I know exactly what you're talking about, and I think it's more related to the grease content still on the grill than the meat.

A local deli cooks burgers that have the flavor I think you're talking about. They are NOT cooked hot and fast. They even end up tenting some foil over the burgers to help them cook. The grates of their grill look like they haven't been cleaned since they were new. And, FYI, this place is NOT new.

But the flavor. Oh yes, the flavor.

I noticed at some point this summer / fall that I was starting to get a little bit of that flavor in my burgers cooked on my gasser. Then I looked a little closer, and noticed that I had similar greasy grunge building up on the grill. USUALLY I'm a "preheat the grill to just short of the surface of the sun" kind of guy, which burns all of this stuff off. But, between a series of semi-hurried cooks AND a couple rounds of grilled chicken wings, I had some grease buildup....and as that cooked off, it imparted what I believe to be the same flavor you're talking about.
 
I stepped it up to grinding boneless short ribs (chuck does'nt come close) I get at costco ....better fat content and beefier flavor.Kosher salt,oilve oil and grill them over very hot coals on a oiled rack. Contrary to what you may have heard it's okay to give the burgers a light "smash" to get the fat to drip onto the fire creating that flame grilled flavor since you'd be grilling a fattier meat. Buying store ground burger is a fail ...If you don't have a meat grinder get one.
 
Carlos Gregory said:
I stepped it up to grinding boneless short ribs (chuck does'nt come close) I get at costco ....better fat content and beefier flavor.Kosher salt,oilve oil and grill them over very hot coals on a oiled rack. Contrary to what you may have heard it's okay to give the burgers a light "smash" to get the fat to drip onto the fire creating that flame grilled flavor since you'd be grilling a fattier meat. Buying store ground burger is a fail ...If you don't have a meat grinder get one.
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I've had lots of great burgers that were store ground burger. Though, if I had one of you're burgers, I might never eat store ground again. I think you're right, fat content = more flavor. A store bought, 70/30 preformed, ground beef patty seems to get more of a grill flavor, than leaner sirloin or chuck. The fat adds flavor as does the grease dripping in the hot coals. Unfortunately, the actual flavor of the ground beef it self isn't so great. I've been using 80/20 ground chuck or sirloin and reverse searing. I make 3/4"-1" thick patties and cook indirect at 225 with a chunk of oak to 125 degs internal, then sear. The results have been great. Last night I tried a recipe that added 1/4 cup tomato juice, an egg and salt and pepper to 2 lbs. of ground sirloin. I cooked reverse sear with some smoke. The results were very juicy and flavorful.
 
Some of my best burgers where just using the WSM with no water pan in place. You get that nice smokey char grilled flavar with no worries of flare-ups.

Tim
 
I usually sear mine first then slide them over indirect until they are cooked the way I like (which is usually medium rare). But as someone said we are our own worst critics.
 
a couple years before I switched to charcoal I found a small (3" x 5" x 2"H) iron box next to the wood chips at a home depot. You put that over one of your burners (throw some wood chips in it), let the chips start to smolder, and that might get you the taste you're going for.

Might want to mix in some onion/garlic powder & black pepper too, but you don't want to create a meatloaf burger....or maybe you do.

http://www.google.com/search?q=smoke+box+for+gas+grill
 
There is nothing better than a great burger.

My only advise is use the cheapest ground beef you can find. Save ground chuck or sirloin for other recipes. Although beef fat doesn't have the flavor pork fat does, the burgers will be juicier.
 
How about taking some of your ground beef over to your friend's house and grill some burgers at the same time his wife grills some. Side by side. Then do a taste test. You both form the burgers at the same time and grill them at the same time. Might give you the difference you are seeking.

Al
 
I made 4# of burgers last night (birthday party) - they were smokey & delicious. I forgot to add smoke wood so it was just blue bag K, about a chimneys worth that'd been burning previously for 2 hours.

I separated 2# of ground chuck into 8 pieces, minimum manipulation, then sprinkled on garlic powder, black pepper, dried minced onion and pressed them into thin patties...cooked direct. Then I repeated the process after a little while longer.
 
M Borner said:
Why is it some people are able to flatten out ground chuck, throw it onto a grill, and end up with this magnificent, smokey, char-grilled flavor? This is a flavor that I haven't been able to replicate in my 30 years of grilling burgers. I've been through many grills, both charcoal, and gas, but still, my grilled burgers don't have that "flavor". Obviously, they don't taste fried but they sure don't taste like they've been grilled over an open flame. When they're grilling they smell wonderful. As a matter of fact, they should taste like they smell but they just don't. Others can do it without even thinking about it. A friend of mine takes ground chuck (nothing else, not even salt) throws it onto a gas grill and voila, magnificent burger every time. It seems so simple but I can't do it. What is it that makes that flavor? Why can't I get it?

I've tried everything. 90/10 to 70/30. Brisket, chuck, sirloin. I've tried premium beef from a butcher, I've had chuck roast ground fresh right in front of me. Lid up, lid down. Rare, to burnt to a crisp. Slow cooked 45 minutes to blazing hot seer and off the grille in 4 minutes.

30 years and I've never been able to get that flavor, what am I doing wrong?
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I have followed your post with some interest, I admire your persistance in trying to reach your ultimate goal. I was amazed at the answers you received, with members sharing all their sectrets and comments. I am sure that in 30 years of trying that you have done everything that has been suggested. Taste is subjective and flavour profiles are so hard to put into words. So how do you get that taste, what are you doing different, what is the common factor that you have overlooked.
Could it possibly be Salt?
Salt the burger before cooking it - the salt brings out/enhances the flavour - this is something I have proved many times when I was demonstrating cooking for Weber Australia and is the No 1 factor in taste difference between identical pieces of meat

Other considerations which you probably already tried/do
Don't overwork the meat
don't have the BBQ too hot - nor have it too cold.
don't flip the burgers too much
rest them for a couple of minutes before serving.
Don't use OO, use a neutral oil with a high smoke point.
Go back to basics and start from there.

Good Luck
 
Thank you all for taking the time to reply. I'm still battling with this and I've got a story that will make all of you think I'm just nuts.

My Brother is visiting from out of town and I thought I'd take him to one of my favorite burger joints, here, in Fort Lauderdale. They have amazing burgers and the smokey, char-grilled flavor of these burgers is off the hook. I couldn't wait for my Brother to give these a try. Just as I had hoped, he thought the grilled flavor was incredible. He said it was like having one of the best grilled backyard burgers he's ever had.

Now for the crazy part.

I told him that my burger tasted nothing like what he was describing and that he probably didn't really understand what "char-grilled flavor" I was talking about. My burger, although tasty, had almost no grilled flavor to it at all, which was strange because the burgers at this place are usually outstanding.
My brother insisted that he knew what flavor I was talking about and that his burger delivered it in spades.

Skeptical, he took a piece of meat out of his burger and put it on my plate, I did the same.

Shocking results:

He was right!! His burger meat was absolutely amazing. He also admitted that my burger was lacking. ????

So, here we are; 2 burgers at the same restaurant, same burger, same doneness, same grill, probably the same cook, grilled at the exact same time. WHAT ON EARTH IS GOING ON??

I'm beginning to think the only possible explanation is what Phil Hartcher touched on, that maybe one burger was salted more liberally than the other. Or, I really am just crazy.
 
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M Borner said:
I'm beginning to think the only possible explanation is what Phil Hartcher touched on, that maybe one burger was salted more liberally than the other. Or, I really am just crazy.
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I just read through this whole thread and the whole time I'm thinking "it's salt".

The biggest difference between a truly flavorful burger and a so-so one is proper seasoning. I've learned not to salt too early (it changes the texture of the burger... definitely don't put salt IN the burger), but I've also learned to salt liberally (with kosher salt) right before dropping onto the grill. Copious salt pulls moisture out of the burger, concentrating the flavor. But the added surface moisture also grabs onto smoke flavor more readily. With all the fat drippings, you won't end up with a too-salty burger, so go ahead and apply more than you usually would and let us know how it goes!

Fascinating thread.
 
M Borner said:
Thank you all for taking the time to reply. I'm still battling with this and I've got a story that will make all of you think I'm just nuts.

My Brother is visiting from out of town and I thought I'd take him to one of my favorite burger joints, here, in Fort Lauderdale. They have amazing burgers and the smokey, char-grilled flavor of these burgers is off the hook. I couldn't wait for my Brother to give these a try. Just as I had hoped, he thought the grilled flavor was incredible. He said it was like having one of the best grilled backyard burgers he's ever had.

Now for the crazy part.

I told him that my burger tasted nothing like what he was describing and that he probably didn't really understand what "char-grilled flavor" I was talking about. My burger, although tasty, had almost no grilled flavor to it at all, which was strange because the burgers at this place are usually outstanding.
My brother insisted that he knew what flavor I was talking about and that his burger delivered it in spades.

Skeptical, he took a piece of meat out of his burger and put it on my plate, I did the same.

Shocking results:

He was right!! His burger meat was absolutely amazing. He also admitted that my burger was lacking. ????

So, here we are; 2 burgers at the same restaurant, same burger, same doneness, same grill, probably the same cook, grilled at the exact same time. WHAT ON EARTH IS GOING ON??

I'm beginning to think the only possible explanation is what Phil Hartcher touched on, that maybe one burger was salted more liberally than the other. Or, I really am just crazy.
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Alright, the grill was the same, the meat was most likely the same which means the fat content was most likely the same, whatever was used to grease the cooking surface was the same, I'll assume the toppings were the same on each burger, and your expectations were good because you knew that they came out smoky usually, so the only thing that I can think of is the level of doneness on eat patty and the actual level of charring.

Beef fat renders are a specific temp and medium rare is the perfect level that it's mostly rendered but still present in the grind since it isn't squeezed out from the protein binding up so tight. Any rarer and it won't render and will not provide a good amount of flavor nor smoke from the small amount of dripping fat, and any more and it will be squeezed out and turn to just pure smoke on the grills charcoal or flavorizer bars at which point the beef flavor will be lost and not much flavor of anything will get through but dried out nothingness. Maybe his was hit on the hotter side of the grill and got a better char too, no idea without a picture of each patty on the outside and inside really. I'd go back and do the same experiment again.

The only other thing I can think of is salting, but that depends on what kind of place you went to. I know that high end places are always going to salt their meat pretty well right before it hits the grill, but a local greasy burger joint is probably just going to have it already in the meat or just let it pick up from the griddle fat from previous burgers since they are slinging so many. Like a lot of people have said, little of any kind of flavor flavor comes through to your tongue without some salt to cause the reaction on it. So that may mean that yours wasn't salted as well maybe.

I have never had trouble with grilling burgers and getting them smokey. If I want them super smokey I'll resort to smoked salt which may be something you need to purchase. Even if it is cheating a bit (although it is literally just smoke on salt, nothing fake at all) it gives a good profile without covering up the beef like spices do. I love it for pan griddled burgers, but if you really feel you need more from your gasser that may be an option. I'd just go buy a Smokey Joe for $30 and see if it's charcoal that your missing from the equation. You may be the type of guy that gets better burger results from that. I know that my early childhood burgers were cooked on charcoal that was lit with copious amounts of lighter fluid. That may be the flavor your missing too, although it isn't exactly gourmet or smiled upon in the community. I don't prefer it now, but as a kid that was what a backyard burger should've tasted like in my memory.

I am almost at a loss though, smokey is pretty easy to come by around my grill and always has been so I am just lost as to why it is for you. Never had a problem on any Weber that's for sure, and I've been grilling my fam's meals and learning since I was about 13.
 
Dave_S said:
I just read through this whole thread and the whole time I'm thinking "it's salt".

The biggest difference between a truly flavorful burger and a so-so one is proper seasoning. I've learned not to salt too early (it changes the texture of the burger... definitely don't put salt IN the burger), but I've also learned to salt liberally (with kosher salt) right before dropping onto the grill. Copious salt pulls moisture out of the burger, concentrating the flavor. But the added surface moisture also grabs onto smoke flavor more readily. With all the fat drippings, you won't end up with a too-salty burger, so go ahead and apply more than you usually would and let us know how it goes!

Fascinating thread.
Click to expand...
Thanks, Dave. I think I'm finally getting somewhere! The other night I grabbed a pound of ground chuck and formed 2, 1/2 pound patties. Just before throwing them on a searing hot grill, I liberally salted them with kosher salt. I actually salted them too much as the burgers were clearly salty to the taste, but here's the good news: As salty as they were, they had that magnificent smokey, char-grilled flavor.:p I'm still experimenting and will keep you guys posted on how things are going. Thanks again to every one of you for your tips and suggestions, they helped a lot! :cool:
 
Just as a question, did you ask your friends and all that did manage to make the smokey flavoured burgers to flip a burger on your grill, just to rule out a difference of grill? (And ofcourse, try to see what his process is and what's so different about yours).

Ofcourse, this might be a moot point, now that it seems that the salting might have been the issue. I'm just curious :D Couldn't quite make it out of the various posts.
 
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