Kevin's Watch

I'm more about what goes IN the burger. I like to mix my burger meat with soy sauce, finely diced onions and mushrooms and blue cheese, then grill and top with ketchup, mayo, jack and cheddar cheese, lettuce and tomato.

Oh yeah, baby.
Sometimes a burger with dry onion soup mix in it really hits the spot. Other times it's worcestershire and granulated garlic.

And then there are times when pure unadulterated ground round is all I'm craving, with the various toppings I listed.

I guess I should say that I have a meat grinder attachment for my KA, and I do grind round roasts for burgers myself when I make them at home. I will buy ground round for things like spaghetti sauce and chili, but here burgers are always ground fresh...

I seem to recall my mom mixing damp bread, an egg, minced onion, and Lawry's seasoned salt into hamburger before shaping and cooking the patties. I s'pose the egg served to keep the patty from falling apart while cooking.

I've done that a couple of times (minus the egg). But usually I just use 90%/10% ground beef. Except I don't cook ground beef anymore because of Magickmaker's aversion to red meat, so lately our "hamburgers" have been Jennie-O pre-formed lean turkey patties.

You can get the ground turkey bulk and add stuff.

Yeah, but that takes more time, and when I get home at 7pm I'm *hungry*.

And if you have your own grinder, turkey parts are great to grind for patties. I like to mix the white and dark meat; the resultant patties are far moister than all white meat patties.

I really need to get the sausage stuffer attachment. I want to try to emulate BGB's chicken sausages...

I'm damn proud of my burgers. Best I've eaten anywhere, period.

Here's the secret to a perfect burger: Angus ground chuck. The full fat stuff. Buy it at a store that has decent meat. Kroger will do, but if it's from Walmart--even their Angus--it's going to be horrible. With the full fat ground chuck, you can cook it medium well and it's still going to be juicy enough to run down your arms. I don't eat rare ground beef. (That's for steak.)

Now, pat out your patties without pressing the meat together too hard. Use just enough force to make it stick together and retain a patty shape. If you're worried that it might fall apart, you're probably right on track. This will make burger that's not only juicy (due to the fat), but tender, too.

Next: top with only salt and ground black pepper, with an emphasis on the salt. That's it. No need for any soy or worscheshire sauce. Yuck! I like to taste the meat.

Now, grill it on a charcoal grill. You've got to have that smoke. A gas grill will not be the same. Cook medium-medium well without pressing it with the spatula. Flip only once.

As for condiments, I prefer the works--mustard, ketchup, mayo, lettuce, tomato, onion, pickle. No cheese. However, this burger will be good enough with just a bun and nothing else. I'm serious.

I like whole wheat buns, a bun that actually tastes like it was made from grain. You know, bread. Although a kaiser bun isn't bad in a pinch.

I like a bit of cheese, either lots of fried onions or just a few raw, and maybe some sliced tomato.

Nothing too strong though, I want to know I'm eating a burger, not a cheese and salad sandwich!

Cameraman Jenn wrote:I'm more about what goes IN the burger. I like to mix my burger meat with soy sauce, finely diced onions and mushrooms and blue cheese, then grill and top with ketchup, mayo, jack and cheddar cheese, lettuce and tomato.

Not such a concern for me. None of my attempts to make burger have succeeded.

avacado, tomato, onion, turkey bacon on a turkey burger.

Say what sarge? Have you started eating animals???

(The Danish "Sausage van" burger variety is: Ketchup, mustard, sauteed onions and Remoulade (a fine rellish/mayo combo with a touch of curry))

A Copenhagen Sausage Van (Pølsevogn):

Prebe wrote:Say what sarge? Have you started eating animals???

(The Danish "Saussage van" burger variety is: Ketchup, mustard, sauteed onions and Remoulade (a fine rellish/mayo combo with a touch of curry))

fish and fowl. no mammals, sharks or octopi.

What's your problem with molluscs and elasmobranchs, sarge?

I am a fussy eater so just the burger, cheese and a bit of ketchup,dont like salad and especially dont like mayo.Might be tempted at times to put on some bacon.