The ultimate burger recipe! Hows yours?

So with all this talk about Rachels burgers and White Castle sliders, lets have the ultimate Beef Burger recipe (not including the toppings).
My standard burger includes medium ground chuck, onion powder, garlic, thyme, BBQ sauce/or HP, s`n p, eggs, pinch dry chillies,worcester, tobasco, few breadcrumbs etc.
How does yours match up? Remember the fun we had with the meatloaf recipe a while back?!!

OK, this is the burger I like to make and eat most; it's not my wife's favorite but for some reason, hers seems to be the one we actually prepare more often.

Jeff's County Line Burger

The patty
Ground Chuck, good and fatty , 1/3 lb per burger
finely diced garlic, onion, browned in grapeseed oil
finely, freshly cracked white pepper
finely diced smoked pork or ham, 1 oz minimum per burger (notice no other salt added, here it is)

The topping
grilled, chopped anaheim chile pepper
grated jack cheese or sliced white cheddar
thinly sliced home grown tomato
homemade mayo
yellow mustard
butter lettuce leaf, large

The roll
- anything, whatever looks fresh and good from the market that day; it's not about the bun
- toasted on the grill, no butter slathering - if desired

Grill over mesquite (wood or charcoal) to desired doneness; this is the key element to me
Yummmmm

My idea of perfection in a hamburger lies in its simplicity.

I use ground beef chuck, formed into 6 oz patties (8 oz max) about 5" in diameter and 1/2" thick
The patties must be formed with minimal handling pressure - I usually place the meat on a cutting board, encircle it with my hands and push it into
shape, then I simply pat down and push in until I have it where I want it

I prefer my burgers grilled over direct flame. I salt and pepper them while they are on the grill. I like when they get a slightly charred crust. Once the burger hits the grill, I let it sit for two minutes, then rotate a quarter turn. I let it sit until the blood drops start to form on the surface. That's when I flip. I never cook them past medium rare. If I want a cheeseburger, I'll add a slice when I flip them. I still like Kraft American cheese - not the kind wrapped individually, but the deluxe slices, which ARE real cheese. We've been known to top with more exotic cheeses on occasion.

In assembling, I use a lightly toasted potato bun, which holds together well. I will top the burger with lettuce and a slice of tomato. Sometimes, I'll add grilled onions, sometimes not.
That's my version of juicy, beefy pleasure on a bun.

John raises a good point, minimum handling is required.
Most restaurants make the mix in large quantity and beat the hell out of the mix as they add ingredients.
Which seasonings do we all put in our mix?

What I like least about burgers is the pounding of them by those Lions guys at public events. They pound them from the time they slap them on the grill until they come off; usaully overdone.

On a positive note, no matter what you mix inside, try adding to the salt and pepper on top a sprinkling of ground fennel. It gives a very nice added lift to the burgers.

Ground fennel sounds like a great idea. Maybe a pinch of cumin and coriander too?

[Robin Garr]

Stealing an idea from a great (and sadly recently departed, a victim of the economy) local restaurant, I love to re-shape Italian veal mini-meatballs (polpette) as a hamburger.

Here's a FoodLetter report on the polpette - it should be a trivial matter to shape the meat burger-size and perch them on burger buns rather than pasta with wild-mushroom cream sauce.

http://www.wineloverspage.com/wineadvis ... 1020.phtml

Ground brisket. Don't do a damn thing to it except salt and pepper.

A good ground beef, 85/15....with fresh, minced garlic, Maldon sea salt crystals, freshly gr. pepper, grilled to medium rare.
Topped off with one large garden tomato, the same size as the burger patty, one butter lettuce leaf, grill warmed potato bun, with Gulden's mustard and Heinz Ketchup.

My favorite turkey burger, has lean gr. turkey, fresh lemon juice and zest, thyme, fresh bread crumbs, s & p, grilled, served on an onion bun, with garden tomato, and butter lettuce. On the bun, I put a Cranberry Horseradish Sauce from Stonewall Kitchen.
Hmmm.....just had breakfast, now I want a burger!

For burgers, I do a simple ground meat (beef or bison), crushed garlic, white pepper, breadcrumbs, and soy sauce.

For meatballs, it's also simple but different:

Ground meat (veal and pork--never beef), crushed garlic, crushed black pepper, parsley, egg, breadcrumb.

[Jenise]

Simple but fussy, always ground chuck or ground rib eye pan-fried on cast iron to medium rare inside and thick crust on the outside, with salt on the outside as it goes in the pan. Buns always grilled. The accoutrements in the more standard version will be: standard ingredients of sliced onion, tomato, and ice cold green lettuce either iceberg, romaine or green leaf but interior leaves only on the last two because it should be crunchy. Cheese will be the same Kraft Deli Deluxe that John Tomasso favors. No sauce. The second way will involve marinating sliced red onions in oil, vinegar and salt--that step is the first step undertaken when making the burgers. That accoutrement will be joined by roasted Hatch green chiles, Kraft cheese, and arugula. Again, no sauce.

I always just use ground chuck with S&P. However, my dad always made burgers in a similar manner to meat loaf, with bread crumbs, onion and green peppers, etc. and I liked them. So, now I'm wondering how a burger would be using Jenise's "Best Ever Meat Loaf" recipe. Hmmm.

Jenise,

Kraft Deli Deluxe cheese ? Mallo cups ? Mothers cookies ? Whoa, I thought three strikes and you're out.
Umm, I think we use that cheese for sunfish bait; please tell me that you use a different product than that.

On the other hand, I do admit to an occasional yearning for hamburgers with an old favorite, a cold glass of PBR.

Chef wrote:
Ground brisket. Don't do a damn thing to it except salt and pepper.

Now there is the best idea I've read so far. I had never before considered Brisket as a source for hamburger. The whole BBQ thing...

Gotta fire up the grill now.

Richard

Kraft Deli Deluxe cheese ?
On the other hand, I do admit to an occasional yearning for hamburgers with an old favorite, a cold glass of PBR.

You've got it right. Jenise and I agreed a while back that we both like the taste of this cheese, for certain applications, hamburgers being one.
And if you're drinking Pabst, you can't point fingers.......

John,

So, this cool. We'll have to try this Krap(ht) - oops - Kraft cheese on a burger here soon, I am ready to be shocked yet again. Thanks.

As for actually drinking a PBR, ummm, kinda haven't gone that far off track for a long time. It's Sierra Nevada lately for me, but I suppose I yearn for Pabst with a burger nostalgically; it was a beer I recall having at home when my Dad grilled burgers. He said Pabst (and Schlitz, Olympia, and Schmidts of Philadelphia) all used to be pretty good. Hoo-wah !

...Schmidts of Philadelphia..

My Dad used to drink Schmidts Tiger Head Ale. He'd buy cases of quarts.

[Jenise]

Kraft Deli Deluxe cheese ?

Yes, it tastes good, and I like the way it melts. Like John said, it's actually real cheese. And it's about texture for me--most regular eating-type cheeses, if they're sharp enough to have a good cheesy flavor they melt into something akin to a rubber bath mat.

Mallo cups?

I have actually never eaten a Mallo Cup. I presume it's filled with marshmallow? I despise that marshmallow and always have. But the vehicle wasn't the point--it was the consolation value. IOW, the more outrageous the consolation, the easier it might be to forget the stock market. Not that anything's worked....

On the other hand, I do admit to an occasional yearning for hamburgers with an old favorite, a cold glass of PBR.

And you dare make fun of my cheese!

He said Pabst (and Schlitz, Olympia, and Schmidts of Philadelphia) all used to be pretty good.

I drank 'em all, except for Olympia. I used to sell Schmidt's in our grocery store for .99 a six pack. We couldn't keep the stuff in stock - it flew off the shelf.
Schlitz was a bit more upscale, probably 1.79 for a sixer. Pabst too.

Then there was Rheingold, Schaefer, and Ballantine.

I was about ten or twelve at the time, sneaking them in the cellar. They all tasted the same to me.

Ground brisket. Don't do a damn thing to it except salt and pepper.

Now that is a lean burger! But, I bet it is good. I haven't done a brisket on Hot Mama is a while but next time I have 4-5 hours to kill I will give it a try again. Question is whether to do a flat only or do the whole packers cut...might just do the latter. I am thinking you grind your brisket yourself, but to what grind?

Then there was Rheingold,..

Wasn't there a Miss Rheingold contest..paper ballots and all.? I seem to remember tagging along with the old man and my uncles to neighborhood bars and casting votes for my favorite babes...of course, I was only 10 or so.
Ballantine was verboten in our house since they sponsored the F&*king Yankees.
BP

I'm with John and Jenise on the burger thing. Basic ground chuck, cooked on a hot pan with S&P. I will admit that I usually go for sharp cheddar over the Kraft American, though.

Ultimate, best ever... I don't know, but I like to add minced onion and celery to my ground chuck along with a little Worcestershire. S&P of course. Leave a little dimple in the middle which fills out while it cooks on the grill. Plain old store-bought sandwich bun get slathered with butter and sprinkled with garlic powder and gets toasted on the grill too. Ketchup and a thin slice of red onion, or mayo and onion finish it off.

He said Pabst (and Schlitz, Olympia, and Schmidts of Philadelphia) all used to be pretty good. Hoo-wah !

Jeff,

Don't ask me how I know this (Celia, please keep your Laverne and Shirley cracks to yourself), but Schlitz recently started producing their original recipe beer and selling it in bottles. I tried it and it tastes like, well, Schlitz.