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When you make Hamburgers at home in the Summertime, what are the ingredients that you put in yours? Frozen hamburger patties or fresh; additions to the ground meat or, plain beef? Barbecue Sauce or plain? Buns - what kind; warmed or room temperature?
What should never be done to a hamburger that you see people do all the time?
If you could put only ONE ingredient other than the bun, what would it be? Do you use charcoal or propane or add something to the charcoal? Do they taste better if YOU make them, or if someone else makes them for you? What goes 'along with' the hamburgers?
I can't wait for the responses from Britain; and Norway.
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Posted: |
May 22, 2014 - 3:47 PM
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By: |
mastadge
(Member)
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1) A hamburger is ground beef. You can put things on it, but if you start mixing things into it it's meatloaf.
2) Please don't make your burgers from lean beef. The fat's what give it the flavor. If you're trying to eat healthy skip the burger.
3) Don't cook it well-done. Unlike steaks, it's acceptable to take a burger to medium, but don't cook it to shoe leather.
Buns are optional and to preference. I am not dogmatic about them.
If only one ingredient besides the bun, probably cheese. Not american. Depending on the mood possibly jarlsberg or bleu.
Other condiments -- go crazy. BBQ sauce, mayo, ketchup, mustard, chili, relish, cole slaw, hoisin sauce, teriyaki glaze -- the burger is versatile.The same goes for sides and beverages. Burgers go well with fruit, with salad, with beans, bbq, beer, wine, pretty much anything.
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Wow, Erik!
That seems to be a recent craze. We've got a couple of restaurants around my area that are serving gargantuan burgers.
My grilled burgers are always made from fresh ground beef. Sometimes I add only salt and pepper to the beef, and sometimes I add other flavorings. McCormick's used to make a sausage flavored seasoning powder to add to ground beef. That was a BIG favorite with my friends. But, they don't make it anymore. I like to add garlic powder, and sometimes minced onion into the beef. Sometimes I mix ground beef with ground sage sausage. That makes a very tasty burger. Most people like a cheese topping melted on the burger. My favorite is swiss or cheddar.
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mastadge: re: 1) A hamburger is ground beef. You can put things on it, but if you start mixing things into it it's meatloaf.
2) Please don't make your burgers from lean beef. The fat's what give it the flavor. If you're trying to eat healthy skip the burger.
3) Don't cook it well-done. Unlike steaks, it's acceptable to take a burger to medium, but don't cook it to shoe leather.
Buns are optional and to preference. I am not dogmatic about them.
If only one ingredient besides the bun, probably cheese. Not american. Depending on the mood possibly jarlsberg or bleu.
Other condiments -- go crazy. BBQ sauce, mayo, ketchup, mustard, chili, relish, cole slaw, hoisin sauce, teriyaki glaze -- the burger is versatile.The same goes for sides and beverages. Burgers go well with fruit, with salad, with beans, bbq, beer, wine, pretty much anything.
mastadge: Just yesterday, in the "Burger King's 'HAVE IT YOUR WAY (no more)' " posting I detailed my way of making my own hamburgers -- and to Montana Dave, who also started this one. But something you wrote about having lots of fan on the meat seemed to stick in my craw.
As I explained at the BK posting, I start with the very leanest ground beef, sometimes even ground sirloin, so with your "Please don't make your burgers from lean beef" you and I totally disagree -- I even squeeze out just about every drop of fat I can get out of the meat, and, believe me, the meat is soooooooooooooooo delicious! On large sesame seed buns I put ketchup and mustard, thin slices of yellow or red onion, slices of sweet pickles, slices of tomato, served with Lay's barbecue potato chips and lots of very cold 1% or fat free milk. To me it's delicious, and those I've made it for also assured me that it was delicious ... despite not having much fat in the meat! I personally don't care for cheese on my hamburger (not a cheeseburger lover), nor do I care that much for lettuce, although I provide the lettuce for friends who want it. I've told people that if I had to choose a "last meal," it would probably be one of my own very special home made hamburgers!
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I heard somewhere that if you put a lettuce on the bottom bun and then the meat, it makes the hamburger less soggy. I don't care for lettuce in my burger though. I wish there were hamburger buns you could buy that don't disintegrate on you when you're not even half-way through eating your burger. It's usually the bottom bun, but frequently both parts. Even when I seemingly buy the 'best' I can afford at the store, they don't hold up too well.
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Montana Dave: Re: I heard somewhere that if you put a lettuce on the bottom bun and then the meat, it makes the hamburger less soggy. I don't care for lettuce in my burger though. I wish there were hamburger buns you could buy that don't disintegrate on you when you're not even half-way through eating your burger. It's usually the bottom bun, but frequently both parts. Even when I seemingly buy the 'best' I can afford at the store, they don't hold up too well.
That's why I try to buy the largest sesame seed buns I can find, which can hold a huge piece of fresh meat and all the fixings that I described earlier and still not fall apart. Interesting that you too don't usually care for lettuce -- thought it was just me. As for making the hamburger less soggy, the fact that I prefer very lean beef, even ground sirloin, AND squeeze most of the liquid out (which mastadge apparently doesn't seem to like), MY hamburgers are never soggy in the least, which is probably why my higher quality large sesame seed buns usually don't disintegrate. I think, at this point in my life, I've learned how to cook a burger that's perfect for me. Makes me hungry just thinking about it!
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For my burgers, I usually use ground turkey or ground bison. I form my own patties, and while forming them, I will mix the meat with some dry seasoning like cayenne pepper or paprika, and a shake or two of dried herb mixes like Trader Joe's 21 Seasoning Salute. Sometimes I will add finely diced raw garlic to the meat as well. Once the patties are formed, I will season the patty with sea salt and freshly cracked pepper. I grill the burgers on a propane grill. I toast the buns on the grill, throwing them on for minute or so right before I am about to remove the burger. If I use cheese, it is either sharp cheddar or pepper jack.
Once the burgers are cooked, I use a spicy brown or dijon mustard and dill pickle relish.
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Michael: Sounds very tasty (except for the cheese, which you can serve on the side for me!). I'll be right over.
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