How do you prep your burgers for the grill?

[lovemachine]

Also - unless y'all grind the beef yourself, it's always the best bet (from a microbiological standpoint) to cook ground beef patties until they're DONE.

Not a medium well done fan?

 

[CindyE]

Depends on the mood, and what i have on hand, but always ground pepper, sea salt, and garlic. Recently I've been researching burgers, because my husband loves them, and though I'm a real good cook, i always feel that mine are missing something. Usually use grass-fed beef, although I do think more fat makes better burgers. From what I've been reading, you don't want to compress the burgers any more than what you have to. Remember those patty makers sold by Tupperware, etc.? That's probably a no-no.
Some of the leaner beef doesn't want to hold together real well. Had the same problem with some lean ground pork i used. Would it be shameful to try the egg in the mix? We have lots of eggs!

 

[CountryBoy19]

IMHO, beef has a pleasant enough flavor, whether it's steak, brisket, or hamburgers that I do not wish to cover it up with overdone seasoning. I use nothing except fresh-ground black pepper and lowry's seasoned salt. The critical step is to put the salt on AT LEAST 3 hours in advance of grilling. This gives the salt time to draw into the meat, which retains more juices, which is where a lot of the flavor resides.

 

[CampingJosh]

Not a medium well done fan?

Taste? Even medium is overdone for my preference.

But the process of grinding meat puts a lot of bacteria into the meat, and so cooking fully is probably the right choice. Because food poisoning is terrible. Which is why I don't eat a lot of burgers.

 

[indiucky]

I'll mix in a little olive oil and some Stubb's BBQ rub.......

 

[Tactically Fat]

Taste? Even medium is overdone for my preference.

But the process of grinding meat puts a lot of bacteria into the meat, and so cooking fully is probably the right choice. Because food poisoning is terrible. Which is why I don't eat a lot of burgers.

If the burger is ground on-site from whole chunks of fresh meat that haven't been in contact with other pre-ground meat... Then sure. I AM a fan of medium.

But Josh is correct. The kind of bugs you can potentially get from undercooked ground beef are no joke.

 

[indiucky]

But Josh is correct. The kind of bugs you can potentially get from undercooked ground beef are no joke.

I got giardia one time from bad water....Lost nearly twenty pounds in a week...It's no laughing matter...

I cringe every time Kirk talks about eating Sushi...He violates the Four Rules of Food Consumption...

Cook it, Cook it, Cook it, and then Cook it a little more.....

 

[chezuki]

Start with good meat and all it needs is salt and pepper.

 

[chezuki]

Weber steak and chop seasoning is pretty good though.

 

[nakinate]

I got giardia one time from bad water....Lost nearly twenty pounds in a week...It's no laughing matter...

I cringe every time Kirk talks about eating Sushi...He violates the Four Rules of Food Consumption...

Cook it, Cook it, Cook it, and then Cook it a little more.....

...sushi...

 

[CindyE]

I like mine medium/medium-well. I had food poisoning a long time ago, from roast beef that was catered at our company Christmas dinner. That was not fun.

 

[indiucky]

...sushi...

Yep...Laying down and throwing up is how I see Sushi....

 

[JettaKnight]

I got giardia one time from bad water....Lost nearly twenty pounds in a week...It's no laughing matter...

I cringe every time Kirk talks about eating Sushi...He violates the Four Rules of Food Consumption...

Cook it, Cook it, Cook it, and then Cook it a little more.....

Is rule #1, "All food is always uncooked."?

 

[indiucky]

Is rule #1, "All food is always uncooked."?

Yes...And no reason to coon finger the burger after the initial patty has been made and the thumbprint put in the middle...

AND FOR PETE"S SAKE LEAVE THE HAMBURGER IN THE BUN WHEN GOING TO THE BATHROOM!!!!! Just place it on the plate on the sink...No need to handle it outside of it's bun.....

Oh and Mods Jetta is poking me in the eye with a stick again!!!!!!

 

[JollyMon]

Dale's

 

[SMiller]

Dale's

Once you go Dale's you never go back to plain old Worcestershire.

 

[bwframe]

I stocked up on ground chuck last year on the weeks of the summer holidays. Marsh (maybe Kroger too?) ran ground chuck at crazy cheap pricing, $1.59/$1.69 a pound I believe.

Bought 40 pounds and a couple of burger presses from Amazon.



Foodsaver sealed them all. 30 seconds on each side in the microwave and ready for the grill.

I just season with fresh ground pepper and pink salt. Often sprinkle on some ghost pepper flakes. There is no such thing as a burger without cheese.

My favorite cheeseburger topping is my own homemade corn relish.




I'm certainly going to explore a lot of the suggestions above though. Think I'll skip the giardia.

 

[tmschuller]

I have mixed in onion and depending on the amount of burger.. hot sauce.. any brand. after it cooks no real heat just a smoky spicy flavor..
Juicy lucy?? - Velveeta cheese inside the burger and cook it until it bleeds cheese.. topped by seasoned salt and fresh ground pepper.!! Now im hungry!

 

[Timjoebillybob]

Depends on the mood, and what i have on hand, but always ground pepper, sea salt, and garlic. Recently I've been researching burgers, because my husband loves them, and though I'm a real good cook, i always feel that mine are missing something. Usually use grass-fed beef, although I do think more fat makes better burgers. From what I've been reading, you don't want to compress the burgers any more than what you have to. Remember those patty makers sold by Tupperware, etc.? That's probably a no-no.
Some of the leaner beef doesn't want to hold together real well. Had the same problem with some lean ground pork i used. Would it be shameful to try the egg in the mix? We have lots of eggs!

Too much handling/compressing can make the burgers "tougher" at least in my experience and from what I've heard. But I like a bit of chew compared to dissolve in the mouth for my burgers. And while you can use an egg, I would recommend something that would add a bit more flavor if you would like, herbed butter, diced bacon, goat cheese, as I mentioned above. For the bacon only if you are going to cook medium well or better, or get/make trichinosis free bacon. Or heck just a bit of lard mixed in...

IMHO, beef has a pleasant enough flavor, whether it's steak, brisket, or hamburgers that I do not wish to cover it up with overdone seasoning. I use nothing except fresh-ground black pepper and lowry's seasoned salt. The critical step is to put the salt on AT LEAST 3 hours in advance of grilling. This gives the salt time to draw into the meat, which retains more juices, which is where a lot of the flavor resides.

I agree for the most part, but I like it both ways... Plain with just a bit of salt and pepper, or a bit more seasoned. Not enough to cover up the taste though.

If the burger is ground on-site from whole chunks of fresh meat that haven't been in contact with other pre-ground meat... Then sure. I AM a fan of medium.

But Josh is correct. The kind of bugs you can potentially get from undercooked ground beef are no joke.

Well if you want to get all technical an stuff, unless you process it entirely by yourself you risk it with whole cuts of meat. A little slip of the knife and bacteria can get transferred from the surface to the inside and you would never know... But I've been known to eat supermarket sushi so...

I cringe every time Kirk talks about eating Sushi...He violates the Four Rules of Food Consumption...

I remember a thread a while back where Kirk was going off on the dangers of raw milk and everything you could catch from it. I asked him if he would like me to bring up the dangers of eating raw fish... IIRC His answer was something along the lines of "Please for the love of God and all that is Holy, please no I beg of you." That is paraphrasing of course, but I think I got the gist of it correct.

Start with good meat and all it needs is salt and pepper.

Agreed, but variety is the spice of life. And spices and seasonings are the variety of the burger.

Dale's

Once you go Dale's you never go back to plain old Worcestershire.

I've heard good things about Dale's, but not sure if I want to turn my back on Lea & Perrin's... Is it really that good?

 

[JeremiahJohnson]

First:

Then field dress:

Then we butcher:

Then we grind:

Roll into patties with a little onion soup mix and some A1:

Grill over charcoal, medium heat, a little au jus...

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Yeah, I know that's steak and asparagus, but you get the idea.