Thank you. I’d be pleased to if you and your family are ever up in this neck of the woods.
Every now and again I run across a trick that really impresses me. So it was with the olive oil. I agree with pulykamell that you can make a fabulous burger with enough fat in it. But for me, the threshold of actual beef fat is 20%. More than that, and the burger crosses from “juicy” into “greasy.” The olive oil makes up the difference without adding that “greasy” component. I was also amazed at the difference it made in keeping the burger in one piece while it cooks on the grill or in the pan.
Obviously the term, “good hamburger” is subjective, so I’m not surprised there are so many very strongly-held views! I’m a big fan of the flavors you can only get from charcoal grilling, so that’s my preference. I apologize to the OP, though. I should have considered she doesn’t have a grill handy.
My grill has collected dust, because I use the George Foreman grill. Too easy.
I buy a four-pack of premade 1/4 lb patties, brush some onion sauce on the tops, and put in the GFG for 8 minutes to get to Medium. If you want Rare, 4-6 minutes. Turn the GFG off, top with slices of cheese, and let them melt. Burgers have been cooked on both sides, and the grease has drained out. Result, deliciousness.
It depends on if he covers them or not. You’ll get surrounding heat if you do. When I cook on the grill, I generally do start out with it covered.
Anyhow, I’ll do flattop on the grill to keep my wife happy. Clean kitchen, house doesn’t smell of fat and beef, and, particularly in the summer, it keeps the temps inside down, as well.
I’m a big fan of an 80/20 ratio of ground chuck if it’s available. In the last few years, I’ve learned to handle the ground meat as little as possible – to the point of breaking off a third of a pound (quarter pounders just aren’t big enough) out of a one-pound package, and very lightly flattening it and not worrying about whether it’s close to round. Mixing in other ingredients, because it compacts the meat, doesn’t do anything good in my view. Dust with Montreal steak seasoning or salt and pepper, and throw it on the grill for 4-5 minutes a side.
It sounds like you have a heat problem. A relatively easy way to cook a burger just right on a gas grill is:
Get grill really hot
Put burgers on grill between burners to avoid flare ups. Close lid
Once that side has a good char (varies based on grill. Maybe 3-4 minutes?), flip burgers over and set on top of burners and turn off grill. Close lid.
Check burgers every couple of minutes. At first you’ll see red juices flowing out the top. When those juices are clear, the burgers are done.
This way uses the residual heat to cook the 2nd side. You’ll get a good char on it and it will slowly cook the inside. You’ll end up with a moist burger with a slightly pink center. You can tweak how pink the center is by watching the color of the juices. The clearer the juices, the less pink the center will be.
You can also do this with a cast iron. Hot cast iron for one side, flip, and take pan off the heat.
Many meats will benefit with this type of grilling. Really hot initial sear on the outside, but use a lower heat to cook the inside.
But with the grill covered it acts a bit like an oven. Plus if I cook outside the dog gets to lay in the grass next to me and she gets little bits of meat every so often (after I’m sure it’s cooled down).
Hmmm…I do have a George Foreman grill so I may have to try this. Pre-made might be the way to go because I probably do work the meat too much trying to make the patty by hand. Wax paper plus plate go smush is something I will need to try.
Start by buying good, fresh burger meat. Hamburger doesn’t keep nearly as well as whole cuts. Frozen burger is significantly lower in quality than fresh. It’s best to get meat ground today. 20% fat is tastier than 15%, but 15% is fine.
Break the meat into pieces of about 1/4 to 1/3 pound. Gently form each piece into a burger shape, perhaps 3/4 inch thick. Handle it as little as possible. Handling it too much makes the meat tougher.
Whatever you do, don’t add onion. Onion is the magic ingredient that makes your buffer taste like crappy fast food instead of fresh, homemade burger. Or add onion if you like crappy fast food, I guess. But don’t serve it to me. I add nothing.
Heat a cast iron skillet until a drop of water bounces around. Sprinkle the hot pan heavily with salt. This will concentrate the salt on the outside, where it gives the most flavor, and prevents the salt from mixing with the meat and making it tough. Immediately before placing the burgers on the pan, sprinkle with some freshly ground black pepper. (Otherwise it will burn.)
Place the patties on the pan. Allow to sear on high heat. Flip over to a slightly different part of the pan if possible (still hot), and then turn the heat down to medium. Continue cooking until done.
Remove from heat and fry onions, if desired, in residual fat. Serve on a lightly toasted bun, or just on their own.
You might be better off with a higher-temp oil than olive oil. Depending on the quality, the smoke point is in the 325-375°F range, which you’ll easily exceed on a hot pan. If the oil exceeds the smoke point, it can create some off flavors, in addition to some nasty smoke.
Given that the oil is mixed in with the meat so only a tiny amount will actually exceed the smoke point, it’s not a big deal. But you’re not getting any better flavors in a burger from olive oil compared to something else, so you might as well avoid any potential issue.
I don’t really understand the problem with burgers breaking up on the grill. I don’t add anything to them, and they hold shape fine. Just make sure the grill (or burger itself) is well oiled, and you shouldn’t have any issue with it falling apart. I make burgers once every week to two weeks, and I don’t have them falling apart on me.
Reporting back. I had bacon and bleu cheese I needed to use up, so I took a baby step designed to protect me from previous pitfalls. I bought the preformed patties, 85/15, which looked like they were loosely formed and then flattened. I put them in the George Foreman grill two at a time.
They came out good! I cooked them well just to be safe but they remain pretty juicy. Hamburger, cheese, bacon, Hellmann’s on a seame seed bun. Yummy!
You haven’t lived until you’ve had a “Juicy Lucy.” You wouldn’t think the cheese being inside instead of on top would make such a difference, but boy does it ever. I just ate, and I’m getting hungry again just thinking about it.
We have tried everything imaginable in order to get ‘the perfect burger’. Including buying a grinder to grind up sirloin, or chuck roast, or whatever. Adding a bit of oil. Or tomato juice, an egg, and salt and pepper. On the George Foreman grill. In a non-stick pan. On a gas grill, charcoal grill, under the broiler. … I press the meat gently in a metal burger press, brush lightly with hot sauce (or bbq sauce), salt, pepper, garlic powder, oregano, and fry for a minute in a hot non-stick pan. Flip, turn down the heat a bit and cover, let simmer in its own grease , testing for stuff to come leaking out when pressed. As long as one side is crispy brown, that’s good. I make them on the thin side. If they are too thick or too well done at the end, I stab them all over with a fork (we have bad teeth here). Toast a hamburg roll, slice of 'Murican cheese and ketchup, and thar ya go. I have to say they come out pretty well most of the time this way, but we aren’t goor-mays. (and I have to say, too, I wish I had a dollar for every burger I’ve cooked in my life.) To me, every single burger tastes about the same to me, I am not fond of hamburger. A charbroiled one is good, though, and spicy Stonewall Kitchen Country Ketchup is the best!
