The idea for this thread came from reading this thread, specifically, this post. Anyway, it got me to wondering what some of you consider to be your ultimate make-at-home burgers. As for me, well, my recipe for the Ultimate Burger is really Alton Brown’s Burger of the Gods recipe. What this written recipe leaves out (but what the original airing of this recipe on Good Eats left in) is the best part: schmearing the bottom of each bun with a thin, even layer of good mayo, and then anointing said bottom buns with a healthy grind of black pepper. When you place each burger on each bun heel (after letting it rest about ten minutes), the juices from each perfectly-cooked-to-medium-rare patty will mix with the mayo and black pepper and concoct a singularly heavenly sauce, to which little if anything needs to be added (on mine I put a slice of ripe homegrown tomato [in season] and a thick-ish slice of raw onion and that’s it).
So, there’s my idea of the ideal hamburger, courtesy of A.B. What’s yours?
A burger should have nothing added to the meat. Period. All add-ons go on the burger, not in it.
That said, I prefer a 75% ground chuck/25% hot Italian sausage burger with grilled onions and mustard. Cooked medium to medium well. Rare ground meat is not to my taste at all.
Bison burger, about 1/2 lb. Sprinkle each side with Montreal Steak seasoning, cook it rare to medium-rare. Top with blue cheese, crispy bacon slices, and sauteed mushrooms. Grill inside of bun in butter like it’s a grilled cheese sandwich.
80-20 (or slightly fatter) beef.
Pillowy-type bun (nothing overly dense)
Onions, pickle, mustard, dab of ketchup.
Cheddar cheese.
That’s it. Maybe a fried egg on top from time to time.
My preference is to 1/4 pounders. In that case I skip the egg. If I get a 1/2 pounder, it’s medium rare, with a fried egg (runny yolk) if offered. I don’t like bacon on my burgers. I don’t generally like lettuce or tomatoes on my burgers, unless they’re fresh and flavorful. I have been known to substitute pickled beets for the pickles from time to time, too. I don’t mind if thin burgers (1/4 pound or less) are done medium-well or well, but anything bigger must be towards the rare side of things.
Medium-rare patty at least one inch thick, toasted whole-wheat or multigrain bun, extra-sharp cheddar cheese, spicy mustard, ketchup, lots of dill pickle chips, lettuce, tomato, salt, pepper, extra napkins to absorb the grease and red juice. I’ll be in my bunk . . .
For the burger, 75-25 (80-20 at the leanest) ground. Salt it, fry until medium or medium-rare. Add pepper and other condiments of choice on a fluffy bun (if you can find one). I don’t like bacon or other flavor-altering toppings on the patty: I eat burgers for the carmelized beef flavor. Also, no cheese. It adds little to the taste unless you’re using some sort of bleu or other stinky cheese, and then we’re back to flavor killers.
I can only quote Jack Nicholson (as Jimmie Tulips) when he was served a hamburger with mayonnaise on it (apparently something that’s common in Canada) in “the whole nine yards”…
"I’m gonna keep the coke and the fries but I’m gonna send this burger back. And if you put any mayonnaise on it, I’m gonna come over to your house, I’ll chop your legs off, set fire to your house, and watch as you drag your bloody stumps out the door. "
i’m guessing you’re talking to assholes like me that sometimes like to fold in bits of cheese into the patty, but i guess i’ll lacklusterly point out that there are spices/seasonings in that sausage so… that counts as things IN the meat, no?
i’m pretty easily placated with burgers and even steaks. even if it’s not cooked to preference, it’s still pretty darn good. mayo and all.
i DO hate pickles in the burger though. a good spear on the side, but IN the burger just muddles everything up.
I use the smash technique. It maximizes the amount of delicious browned crusty outside that gives a burger most of its flavor. Or at least the flavor I like best. I use 80/20 ground beef with a light outside coating of salt and pepper. You do have to be careful, the burgers are so thin it’s really easy to overcook them. Done right it’s the best hamburger ever, although I suppose a case can be made for the smoky taste of burgers grilled with charcoal and wood chips.
For toppings, I usually like to stick with the classic burger toppings, lettuce, tomato, mustard, cheese, and pickles. If you want more just toss it on. Bacon, avocado, mushrooms, fried egg, onion, any other crazy thing you like, it’s all good.
I mean, yeah, if what you’re going for is a thin, well done patty (and those can be done right; see here; but the margin for error is pretty high, if you ask me).
Ok I have a side question. Maybe it will need to go to a separate thread.
I can make my own burgers - and do - but I just love what they put with any burger bought in Macdonalds. It’s that mild slight tangy sweet sauce/mustard/mayonaise ? - or something. I asked once they looked at me in a funny way - they clearly hadn’t a clue either.
It’s not quite any standard mayoniase, or mild mustard that I can so far identify or have tried in the supermarket (I’m in the UK)
Maybe it’s a special recipe but I’m assuming Macs are pretty much made the same in the US so anyone help me narrow the ingredients down or a source?.
Maybe not. A classic McDonald’s Big Mac ad from the 1970’s runs down the ingredients. The “special sauce” in question seems to be Thousand Island dressing, which doesn’t have any mustard in it. And offhand, I can’t think of any other Mickey D’s burgers here in America that might contain the sauce you speak of. The Quarter Pounder with Cheese, for instance, does have mustard on it, but it’s just your standard yellow, or “ballpark”, mustard.
Ok, I’ll come in here and get lambasted for adding stuff to the meat itself.
To one pound of ground chuck, I add:
1/2 envelope of Lipton Onion Soup Mix (very salty)
several dashes of Worcestershire
a drop or two of liquid smoke
several grinds of freshly ground pepper
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
Mix well but gently, (don’t compact the meat) and form three patties with a dent in the center. When they puff up, it will be a normal looking patty. Grill outdoors if possible.
