[Beer Monger]

May is, among many other things, National Hamburger Month.  Who's got an amazing burger recipe?  I'll have to get creative & see what I can come up with.  


P.S.  May is also National Strawberry Month - so I guess it's time to start enjoying my Strawberry Cider.    

[gordonstrong]

Ground chuck, salt, pepper.  Cast iron pan or grill.  Cook to medium at most.  Sharp cheddar.  Soft bun.  Condiments of choice.

Do that right, and it's amazing.  Honest food, there.

Favorite variation is to add fire-roasted poblanos, chopped up so they aren't stringy.

[tumarkin]

next Sunday, May 8th, is National Outdoor Intercourse Day, so grill up some burgers for your sweetie and then....

+1 to Gordon's suggestions, though I'd probably use blue cheese. Couple of keys to good burgers...... use top quality ground meat (beef or other, be creative), spice the meat before making the patties, don't over-handle the meat when making the patties, don't overcook. go wild with the toppings, your choice.

[gordonstrong]

If your burgers look like ovals in cross-section, then make a little depression in the center of the patties.  When it cooks, it will tend to flatten out.

Don't every press down hard on the burger with a spatula, unless you like dry burgers.

Resting them a few minutes before serving helps as well.  Tent with foil.

I like blue cheese (and bacon as well), but they can also stomp on the flavor of the meat if you use too much.  I know, I just implied there's such as thing as too much bacon...

[SpanishCastleAle]

Everybody has their way but for me it's the basics, plain and simple...but the devil is in the details.

Even the order in which you stack it makes a huge difference for me (I like a very light layer of mayo, shredded lettuce, and thin-sliced tomato all UNDER the patty, there are good reasons for this).

Things that completely ruin a burger for me:
Buns that are too hard or chewy and cause the patty to go squirting out the back of the burger...get yer foo-foo buns outta here.
Overworking the meat or using too lean meat...80/20 chuck is my favorite.  85/15 is borderline too lean (esp if grilling, OK for skillet).
Making meatloaf burgers...just a minimally worked beef patty cooked right with S&P is best for me.
A burger so tall you can't get your mouth around it.  I prefer a patty less than 8 oz, 6-7 oz is about perfect for me.
And this doesn't really ruin it but I don't want liquified cheese on my burger, just barely softened (it won't even really look melted).  I see a lot of people really melt the s*** out of the cheese and it's just not as good imo.  I cheeze it right as it comes off the grill/skillet.

Simlar to pizzas, if a simple burger has all the details right you don't need many 'toppings'.

[johnf]

I find grinding the meat immediately before cooking is worth it.

You can also buy lean meat (sirloin) and use bacon to get your fat up to 20% if you grind your own. Speaking of too much bacon.

[SpanishCastleAle]

...spice the meat before making the patties...

I thought per the Burger Lab this was a no-no with burgers?  That's my recollection but it's blocked at work and cannot verify.  Anybody?

[maxieboy]

Chuck. Check.
No more than medium. Check.
From the bottom up: bun, burger, cheese, fixins and condiments. Condiments and/or fixins on both sides of the burger = fail.

[tumarkin]

...spice the meat before making the patties...

I thought per the Burger Lab this was a no-no with burgers?  That's my recollection but it's blocked at work and cannot verify.  Anybody?

damn, don't know what Burger Lab recommends but I've done that for a long time and it works well for me. It's not a big deal but it makes it easier to form the patties without overworking them too much. I've seen so many people that squeeze, form, slap, squash the patties way too much.

[corkybstewart]

Green chiles, grilled bacon, cheddar(or Swiss) and tomatoes are all the toppings a great burger needs.  My daughter likes grilled portabellos also, but with the green chilies that's wasted.Homemade fries are the only side dish needed.

[blatz]

grapeseed oil in the skillet and on high or canola and on medium?  what's your preference?  I'm still on the fence here 

I've come to prefer the skillet as well, but I do still like the ambiance on being outside on the grill with a pint in one hand and long handled spatula in the other. 

[weazletoe]

I plan on doing the 50/50 burger here real quick. One ppund of burger, and one pound of bacon, fried, crumbled, and mixed with the burger to make patties. Topped with bacon, and thick slices of cheddar.
   Otherwise, I use 60/40 burger, a couple eggs, bbq sauce, wosterchire, garlic powder, onion powder, fresh cracked pepper, kosher salt, and some red pepper flakes. Good stuff! 

[Beer Monger]

Interesting that most of you are using cheddar.  I find that cheddar doesn't melt evenly.  I use muenster or bleu chese or swiss or, in a pinch, american.  They all melt more smoothly & evenly than cheddar does. 

[weazletoe]

A taco burger is pretty good too. Have to use ground turkey for it though. Beef just does not taste the same. Mix your turkey with a packet of taco seasonig, a little garlic powder, and some good salsa. Top with pepper jack cheese, salsa, a good hot sauce, and Holly like avacado on hers.

[SpanishCastleAle]

grapeseed oil in the skillet and on high or canola and on medium?  what's your preference?  I'm still on the fence here 

I've come to prefer the skillet as well, but I do still like the ambiance on being outside on the grill with a pint in one hand and long handled spatula in the other. 

I don't use any oil, cast iron skillet on medium-high.  I agree about the grill, esp this time of year.

Off-topic: I knew I recognized the name Paul Blatz on my Hurricane Blowoff scoresheet.  You judged one of my two entries, either a Strong Scotch or a Vienna lager (both won gold!).  But as usual Josh and Ray stole the show for CFHB (Josh is sick good!).  Great feedback on my scoresheets, thanks!