So, what do you like on your burger?

I usually go for bacon, diced onions, pickles, mustard and ketchup. Or sometimes BBQ sauce instead. Lately I've been changing it up and swapping the raw onions for those crispy fried onions that come in a can for old granny green bean cassarole. Gives it a yummy crunch.

Try these other favorites!

Enchilada burger - mix a packet of taco seasoning into your beef and top it topped with enchilada sauce, pico de gallo and cheddar cheese

Meatball burger - mix 1 pound of ground beef with 1 egg, about 1/4 cup of bread crumbs, 1/4 of parmasean cheese, 2 cloves of garlic diced up, salt, peper and parsley. Grill the burgers up good and top with tomato sauce and melty mozarella cheese


Recently on TV I saw a place that makes a 50/50 burger.. half ground beef and half ground bacon. If I ever get myself a meat grinder, I know what I'm making first....

While I don't do it often, bacon, crispy onions, bleu cheese, and bbq sauce. NOM NOM NOM.

I want to experiment with making some where you have the cheese backed into the burger, or other things. I will probably try the Meatball Burger as it sounds tasty.

The Garbage Burger:

I like bacon, cheese, ketchup, and a little mustard.

Depends on where I get my burger from... If I cook it at home, I tend to go with ground turkey instead of beef (heresy I know!)

But if I get it from somewhere else I try to get the following:
Bacon
Grilled onions
mushrooms
sauce (generally bbq sauce, though I won't say no to anything else)
cheese, anything but american if I can get it.
Fried egg if I can get it.

My favorite burger I've cooked at home was a jalepeno popper burger. It was ground meat (used beef and turkey before), diced cream cheese (like finely diced), diced jalapenos, a little salt and pepper, and some finely diced onions.

Also anything from Michael Symon's B Spot, a bar and burger joint in Cleveland.

Fuddruckers makes the worlds greatest hamburgers.

When I don't make really really spicy burgers I make chicken burgers with cheese. Soaked in sweet and sour sauce.

My homemade burger is simple: Montreal steak seasoning, Worcestershire sauce, minced onion, burger meat (beef or turkey, personal preference). Follow it up with bacon, lettuce, tomato, onion, buffalo sauce and BBQ (or A1) sauce. If I go out, it's the same damn thing, only I don't make the burger. Lol. Pickles and fried onions occasionally, if I don't already have an issue fitting it in my mouth.

Barbecued pineapple, baby spinach and Monterey Jack cheese.

It's hard to go wrong with a good burger. Generally, I dislike the salad stuff (lettuce/tomato/onions) on them, but it works for some combos.

Bacon cheddar burgers are one of my favorites. Sometimes I'll just go with ketchup and relish if nothing else is available. The Moz/pizza burger is one I used to enjoy, haven't had one in years.

Last cookout I had I made stuffed hamburgers. 3 different kinds. Mushroom/swiss, cheddar/bacon, and bacon/blue cheese. Indistinguishable from the outside, but all good. Nobody complained. If there weren't children present, I think I might have done a single jalapieno/cheddar burger as a "gotcha!" russian roulette ringer.

Another fun option is to take BBQ pulled pork, and mix it with ground beef into patties and grill. Mmmm.

For some reason I just can't make stuffed burgers work. I try and try, and every time the stuffing ends up oozing out while I cook, or I flip it 1 too many times and it falls apart :(

I flip too much. I know you're not supposed to, but I can't help playing with my food.

 pities2004 wrote:
Fuddruckers makes the worlds greatest hamburgers.

Have an Exalt my friend... Been stationed around the Country and world, and it is always a highlight of any visit to the parents when we go to Fuddruckers (though, they have recently switched to a small mom/pop type joint called Wow Burger... its like Chipotle, but burgers)

Any burger with blue cheese and onion strings.

I miss that carls jr bourbon burger.

Burger toppings depend on where the burger is from.

Standard I go for is bacon, pepperjack, fried egg (over easy), and french fried onion.

There is a place about 30 minutes here that does just about anything on a topping on a burger. Favorite there is peanut butter.


For at home I am simple. Bacon and cheese. Only use salt and pepper for seasoning. I keep it simple. I do want to try some variety, but I don't have money for ground beef anymore.

 Necros wrote:
For some reason I just can't make stuffed burgers work. I try and try, and every time the stuffing ends up oozing out while I cook, or I flip it 1 too many times and it falls apart :(

I flip too much. I know you're not supposed to, but I can't help playing with my food.

Flipping too much is what ruined far too many burgers for me. The best way to do it is to just set a timer and walk away, come back and flip, and walk away for that same time again.
Turkey burgers are 5 minutes a side, beef is closer to 7.

Note: I don't actually walk away, but until you get use to letting the burger sit, the best advice is to not be near it.

Wild Boar burgers>anything.

Its like bacon+pork²

Beef burger: cheese and crispy smoked pancetta; I'd also go plain with onions.

Turkey burger: just lettuce.

Usually lettice, tomato, onion, bacon and mustard. If its available I put some pulled pork on top as well.

Onion rings and barbecue sauce, with maybe cheddar cheese.
or
Bacon and egg sunny side up

Suppose its about time for me to answer... instead of just a response


For me, its got to be the basics: Meat, or Double Meat, cheese of some non-veiny variety, bacon, and the occasional Fried Egg, with your breaded finger de-greasers


All that lettuce/onion salad crap can go on the side... if I wanted to eat rabbit food, I'll eat it as such, not on a burger

Never tried an egg on a burger.. i keep seeing it on TV a lot.. is it really that yummy? To me eggs have always been breakfast food so I never think of them for burgers that are (usually) lunch and dinner for me.

I use horse meat, mixed in with Montreal steak seasoning, and onion soup powdered mix.

While the patties are cooking, I butter the buns, give them a quick shot at the grill, and then slatter blue cheese on the bottom half.

Fresh tomatoes, lettuce and red onion slices on top. My fiancee will sometimes add ketchup, but I don't hold it against her, I play with toy soldiers after all. Or we brown mushrooms in a little bit of BBQ sauce.

I like to have sweet potato fries on the side.

That's interesting. What does horse taste like. I remember the news talking about selling it in the us until some people started freaking out. Is it have a similar flavor to beef or stronger flavor like lamb?

 Necros wrote:
Never tried an egg on a burger.. i keep seeing it on TV a lot.. is it really that yummy? To me eggs have always been breakfast food so I never think of them for burgers that are (usually) lunch and dinner for me.

Well a burger with bacon and egg is known as a breakfast burger Honestly, try it, It is delicious

lettuce, tomato, bacon, cheese, BBQ sauce, hot sauce

Chicken fillet and bacon are must-haves for me.

Lettuce, tomato, cheddar cheese, fried onions, pickles and a giant all beef patty. Katsup, and a little mustard and mayo. Mmmm.

The greatest fast food burger ever made is the glory of In N Out (Double double, animal style) and 5 Guys is a close second. Especially with their Cajun fries.

 KalashnikovMarine wrote:
The greatest fast food burger ever made is the glory of In N Out (Double double, animal style) and 5 Guys is a close second. Especially with their Cajun fries.

Don't burn me at the stake for heresy, but I honestly felt that Five Guys fries are better than their burgers. There is a local run bar near here that does the best burgers that I have ever tasted, they're so good I haven't had a burger since I was last there

These are the best burgers I've ever had, bar none.

http://www.therockstone.co.uk/index.php/burgers.html

I like mine made with Chicken over beef. Then load them up with thinly sliced cheese, BBQ Sauce, Onion Rings, and bacon.

Failing that, the local butty shop sells a Belly Buster which has all o everything. Can't remember all the ingredients though.

 wowsmash wrote:
That's interesting. What does horse taste like. I remember the news talking about selling it in the us until some people started freaking out. Is it have a similar flavor to beef or stronger flavor like lamb?

It does have a bit of a strong flavor. Although the only horse I had was sausage in Kazakhstan so it was probably old horse.

I personally don't know why there's such a big uproar over horse slaughtering in the US. How is it any different from cows or pigs? It wouldn't even be primarily for human consumption anyway, mostly animal food.

If I'm buying one from somewhere, generally a bacon double cheeseburger.

If I'm making my own, from scratch, I almost always go for a double quarter pounder, with a layer of Chorizo, a bacon weave, and two layers of extra mature cheddar, with a side of cheesy fries.

Because who needs to eat healthily?

 Grey Templar wrote:

 wowsmash wrote:
That's interesting. What does horse taste like. I remember the news talking about selling it in the us until some people started freaking out. Is it have a similar flavor to beef or stronger flavor like lamb?

It does have a bit of a strong flavor. Although the only horse I had was sausage in Kazakhstan so it was probably old horse.

I personally don't know why there's such a big uproar over horse slaughtering in the US. How is it any different from cows or pigs? It wouldn't even be primarily for human consumption anyway, mostly animal food.

I've eaten horse a few times, I'd compare it to fusion of well aged beef and mutton.

 Dreadclaw69 wrote:

 KalashnikovMarine wrote:
The greatest fast food burger ever made is the glory of In N Out (Double double, animal style) and 5 Guys is a close second. Especially with their Cajun fries.

Don't burn me at the stake for heresy, but I honestly felt that Five Guys fries are better than their burgers. There is a local run bar near here that does the best burgers that I have ever tasted, they're so good I haven't had a burger since I was last there

A Five guys burger is dependent on two things1.) Toppings 2.) location.

1.) The Toppings make the burger at Five guys, the toppings add a lot to any burger but at Five guys they determine it's greatness

2.) I spent the later part of my teen years in Arlington, VA so I went to their first resturants pretty often, now when the franchise expanded and they went from the first 5 to across the dam country overnight the quality of the burger varied from location to location but the Fries always stayed the same.

But this thread is about Burgers

The best burger i've had in a while has to be the Royal Red Robin burger (That fried egg yummmmmm!)

 Necros wrote:
Never tried an egg on a burger.. i keep seeing it on TV a lot.. is it really that yummy? To me eggs have always been breakfast food so I never think of them for burgers that are (usually) lunch and dinner for me.

The fried egg adds SO MUCH flavor to the burger and if people on this site haven't had a burger with a Fried egg on it, you need to try it

Actually I just remembered one of my all time favorites was fathers burger from fathers office.

the 5 guys I used to go to was always pretty good.. but ever since I started watching Diners, Driveins & Dives I've been really, really bummed that there's just nowhere good near me :( the places they have on that show are super awesome and around here all we get are chains and the same old carbon copy pizza & chinese places. If I was rich I'd open the bestest burger joint ever.

I guess I'm gonna have to try this egg-on-a-burger thing one of these days

 Necros wrote:
the 5 guys I used to go to was always pretty good.. but ever since I started watching Diners, Driveins & Dives I've been really, really bummed that there's just nowhere good near me :( the places they have on that show are super awesome and around here all we get are chains and the same old carbon copy pizza & chinese places. If I was rich I'd open the bestest burger joint ever.

I guess I'm gonna have to try this egg-on-a-burger thing one of these days

You're half an hour from Philly... there's like 12 places that were featured on Triple-D.
http://www.flavortownusa.com/
run a search on your city you'll get some places.

Yeah, but they're all *in* philly. Yuck. I'd rather sit home in the burbs and complain about not having any good restaurants, then go to a good restaurant downtown. I hates it.

You also assume you'd have to be rich to open a burger joint. Really all you'd need is good credit, and of course a solid business plan and killer food.

Grey Templar wrote:

 wowsmash wrote:
That's interesting. What does horse taste like. I remember the news talking about selling it in the us until some people started freaking out. Is it have a similar flavor to beef or stronger flavor like lamb?

It does have a bit of a strong flavor. Although the only horse I had was sausage in Kazakhstan so it was probably old horse.

I personally don't know why there's such a big uproar over horse slaughtering in the US. How is it any different from cows or pigs? It wouldn't even be primarily for human consumption anyway, mostly animal food.

It is because we generally see them as pets and not as a food source. If they were a food source it would be different. Also they make a horrible food source (even for animal food) because they are much more expensive to feed and raise. Even though hay is used to feed both, horses need it dried, while cows are fed silage, which is fermented. Fermented grass will kill a horse.

My girlfriend is a big horse person (what with her fancy degree) and big into animal welfare, but even she is all for slaughter plants and for trying horse meat. It is on our list of things to try sometime.

Necros wrote:the 5 guys I used to go to was always pretty good.. but ever since I started watching Diners, Driveins & Dives I've been really, really bummed that there's just nowhere good near me :( the places they have on that show are super awesome and around here all we get are chains and the same old carbon copy pizza & chinese places. If I was rich I'd open the bestest burger joint ever.

I guess I'm gonna have to try this egg-on-a-burger thing one of these days

I am lucky in that 2 of the best burger places they have ever been to are only like 20 minutes away (I am biased). They have been to a bunch of other restaurants in the area too.

We are also the birthplace of the Jucy (or Juicy) Lucy. Lots of good places around here that make their own variety (the Nook being the best in my book)

 Mathieu Raymond wrote:
I use horse meat, mixed in with Montreal steak seasoning, and onion soup powdered mix.

Do they ration beef up in Canada as well!? remind me to never head that far north

I would pass on eating horse. Too close to them for too long. Funnily I've eaten dog and I suppose that wasn't too bad.

I have to admit I like the California burger with avocado and just about any cheese(prefer gouda though)

As for the fried egg burger. We have many awesome food joints in Baltimore, and I decided to try the fried egg burger at one of my favs. The egg was over medium which I love, but it just didn't taste right to me on a burger. It took too much away from the gourmet burger experience for me. It wasn't "bad" per se, just not the way I like my burgers.

GG

Horse is a bit more gamey than beef, for sure. But it is also a lot less fat. I don't know about price, I guess it varies locally, because here horse is just a bit less expensive, or around the same price as beef. I love horse meat in my meat loaf, burgers, pate chinois, anywhere really. A nice horse bavette (flank?) is also delicious on its own. And they are usually older horses indeed, no joke.

Even leaner is bison. But that almost tastes like deer or caribou.

I have to say I love my burgers spicy. Typically pepperjack, sriracha, Grilled jelepenos(Grill those puppies in butter and they get fiery) Grilled onions.
I also iscovered something amazing, Coleslaw on a burger

Apparently that is the rage at the moment, yes.

I'd insist on homemade slaw though. The stuff at the store is probably too soggy.

I like to make my burgers with lots of onion and garlic, with a bit of soy sauce.

Then have them on naan bread with lots of home-made red pepper aioli (made with lots of black pepper and sriracha sauce), chedder, lettuce, and bean sprouts.

It's almost euphoric.

 Mathieu Raymond wrote:
Horse is a bit more gamey than beef, for sure. But it is also a lot less fat. I don't know about price, I guess it varies locally, because here horse is just a bit less expensive, or around the same price as beef. I love horse meat in my meat loaf, burgers, pate chinois, anywhere really. A nice horse bavette (flank?) is also delicious on its own. And they are usually older horses indeed, no joke.

Even leaner is bison. But that almost tastes like deer or caribou.

Can you just buy horse at any grocery store? Or do you have to go to special stores for that? Doesn't seem like something you'd just get off the shelf.

From south to north: 1/2 kaiser, lightly seasoned homemade patty, ketchup, cheddar, tomato, lettuce, mayo, 1/2 kaiser.

 KalashnikovMarine wrote:
Lettuce, tomato, cheddar cheese, fried onions, pickles and a giant all beef patty. Katsup, and a little mustard and mayo. Mmmm.

The greatest fast food burger ever made is the glory of In N Out (Double double, animal style) and 5 Guys is a close second. Especially with their Cajun fries.

I actually think Five Guys is a step above In N Out, though I hear In N Out is better in Cali, than the ones in Texas.

I'm going to be having a Five Guys Burger this Friday for my "Cheat" meal. Can't wait!

 Sasori wrote:

 KalashnikovMarine wrote:
Lettuce, tomato, cheddar cheese, fried onions, pickles and a giant all beef patty. Katsup, and a little mustard and mayo. Mmmm.

The greatest fast food burger ever made is the glory of In N Out (Double double, animal style) and 5 Guys is a close second. Especially with their Cajun fries.

I actually think Five Guys is a step above In N Out, though I hear In N Out is better in Cali, than the ones in Texas.

I'm going to be having a Five Guys Burger this Friday for my "Cheat" meal. Can't wait!

Maybe its just the one where I'm at, but if I am going to pay as much for a full meal as I do at 5 guys, there are a bunch of restaurants I'd rather go to to get it than there. I seriously wish there was a Red Robin near me, but Tennessee sucks as a state and doesnt have any

 Fafnir wrote:
I like to make my burgers with lots of onion and garlic, with a bit of soy sauce.

Then have them on naan bread with lots of home-made red pepper aioli (made with lots of black pepper and sriracha sauce), chedder, lettuce, and bean sprouts.

It's almost euphoric.

 Mathieu Raymond wrote:
Horse is a bit more gamey than beef, for sure. But it is also a lot less fat. I don't know about price, I guess it varies locally, because here horse is just a bit less expensive, or around the same price as beef. I love horse meat in my meat loaf, burgers, pate chinois, anywhere really. A nice horse bavette (flank?) is also delicious on its own. And they are usually older horses indeed, no joke.

Even leaner is bison. But that almost tastes like deer or caribou.

Can you just buy horse at any grocery store? Or do you have to go to special stores for that? Doesn't seem like something you'd just get off the shelf.

You can do both. But even the vacuum-packed horse meat at the grocery is pretty awesome. Any butcher will have horse on hand, though.

 Mathieu Raymond wrote:
Horse is a bit more gamey than beef, for sure. But it is also a lot less fat. I don't know about price, I guess it varies locally, because here horse is just a bit less expensive, or around the same price as beef. I love horse meat in my meat loaf, burgers, pate chinois, anywhere really. A nice horse bavette (flank?) is also delicious on its own. And they are usually older horses indeed, no joke.

Even leaner is bison. But that almost tastes like deer or caribou.

I never liked horse personally. It seems to taste off to me.

Standard Aussie burger with bacon, without the fried egg.

Its heaven

http://www.blazingonion.com/menu?menu_page_id=Gourmet Burgers and Chicken

I cooked up pork belly burgers one time, on sourdough bun with some tomato relish, one of the best things I've ever eaten, but maybe it doesn't really count as a burger because you had to eat it with a knife and fork.


In terms of burgers you can eat like burgers need to be eaten, I don't think I've ever made the same burger twice Basically they always work out pretty good as long as you've got decent meat and a good bun, and from there you either go as salty and greasy as possible (some combination of bacon, cheese, egg, fried onions, jalapenos, and then you put on every condiment you have in the house) or light (some combination of lettuce, tomato, pineapple, beetroot, topped with tomato relish or possibly ketchup and mayo).

When I grill burgers I do a combo of ground Bison meat and 80% lean ground beef. Awesome

Lets see... if we're talking a standard burger I like lettuce, some onion, mustard, and mayo.

I am a fan of "western" burgers, with some onion strings and bbq sauce on them.

And I'll never turn down bacon on a burger.

As for the horse thing floating around, I've only had horse once. It was raw, served at a sushi bar. I had mistaken it for tuna (deep red color). I don't exactly recall what the flavor was like, but at the same time I was a bit mortified at what I had just done. Horses are a pet animal to me, and as such they are not to be consumed. I understand their value as food to other cultures, and don't begrudge that, but I just make the personal decision to not eat them, unless absolutely necessary.

 Mathieu Raymond wrote:

 Fafnir wrote:
I like to make my burgers with lots of onion and garlic, with a bit of soy sauce.

Then have them on naan bread with lots of home-made red pepper aioli (made with lots of black pepper and sriracha sauce), chedder, lettuce, and bean sprouts.

It's almost euphoric.

 Mathieu Raymond wrote:
Horse is a bit more gamey than beef, for sure. But it is also a lot less fat. I don't know about price, I guess it varies locally, because here horse is just a bit less expensive, or around the same price as beef. I love horse meat in my meat loaf, burgers, pate chinois, anywhere really. A nice horse bavette (flank?) is also delicious on its own. And they are usually older horses indeed, no joke.

Even leaner is bison. But that almost tastes like deer or caribou.

Can you just buy horse at any grocery store? Or do you have to go to special stores for that? Doesn't seem like something you'd just get off the shelf.

You can do both. But even the vacuum-packed horse meat at the grocery is pretty awesome. Any butcher will have horse on hand, though.

You'd probably have a better chance of finding something really weird, like Snake or Guinea Pig, than Horse in the US though. Stupid laws and stuff.

If I had to I could probably find any number of exotic meats fairly easily, but I wouldn't have the foggiest idea where to start looking for Horse.

Ostrich burgers are good, Bison was too lean for me.
Venison makes a good burger.

My favourite burger locally - we have an american diner not too far away. Unfortunately, we have the english version of an american diner (service takes forever, £10 for burger and chips, served by a grumpy waiter)
But the burgers are good - Cheese, Bacon, mushrooms, onion rings, bit of bbq sauce and 1/4 pound of fairly lean burger.
We have another american diner much nearer - the staff are all a lot happier, the food is cheaper and they do better milkshakes. I love bakewell tart milkshake. But the food is pretty much deathburgers (burgers served from a van at 4.30am outside a club...

Ostrich and Bison burgers are good but I prefer the classic beef patty. For home grilled I go for avocado and cheddar at minimum, with extras depending on mood. For commercial burgers I have to go with In-N-Out burger most definitely (California/Nevada/Utah/Arizona burger chain, voted best burger chain in the US)

I enjoy an ostrich burger. Tonight it's home made venison burger - my first attempt with deer so I'm keeping things fairly simple with onion, garlic, a little sage and seasoning. If it turns to be too lean then I'll experiment with adding either beef, pork, or possibly even turkey for future patties.

Back in Japan it was possible to find some places that served whale burgers. I never got to one, but that's something I would have liked to have tried.

Bun-mayo-meat like thing-ketchup-bun.

That is all a burger requires for my enjoyment.

For my home made burgers I do a beef BBQ jalapeno burger that has actually been FOUGHT over at one of my BBQs last summer, and my other popular recipe is my turkey burgers. They're delicious but are actively tastier when you cook them in a pan in a little olive oil instead of grilling them. Not sure why. I think it has to do with how the ground turkey retains the juices.

One of my favourites is the 'all day breakfast burger'
Standard half pounder
fried egg
bacon (crispy)
large flat (portobello?) grilled mushroom
hash brown/potato rosti

Seeing the above made me think of mushroom burgers - 1 big mushroom in a bun. Nowadays, I look at that and think...needs more meat.

When I was vegetarian, I just used to go to burger vans and ask for onions in a bun.

Got funny looks for that...

I came home last night to burgers. They were chicken burgers made from ground chicken, salt, pepper, cumin, cardimum (apparently?), and smoked paprika.

Served on a slightly toasted and buttered bun with Munster cheese, a little bbq sauce, red onion, and some spinach.

Damn tasty

 Necros wrote:



Recently on TV I saw a place that makes a 50/50 burger.. half ground beef and half ground bacon. If I ever get myself a meat grinder, I know what I'm making first....

You mean you don't have bacon in your burgers as a matter of course?

I make my own burger patties (yes, I have a mincer). Usually mix something like turkey or chicken with the beef to lighten the texture, and add bacon to the mix. Salt, other seasoning, egg all added to the mix. Pretty much the same mix as for my rissoles. Learned about adding the bacon to the mix from my dad. He was a fan of bacon.

For me, it's not a burger without beetroot. It's an aussie thing, I think.

So, meat, onion (cooked), some greens, a slice of cheese (usually something like edam. I don't want it competing with the bacon), bbq sauce.
I'm not a fan of tomato on burgers - I can't eat partially cooked tomato (if I can tell what it is, it isn't cooked enough) - it's one of those enzyme/protein things. Gives me really bad explosive gas. You don't want that. Neither do I.

If I am in the mood for fancy, I like a good juicy lucy. Worcestershire sauce and onions in the beef, sharp cheddar inside, feta on top with raw onions, bacon, and a little mayo.

PredaKhaine wrote:Seeing the above made me think of mushroom burgers - 1 big mushroom in a bun. Nowadays, I look at that and think...needs more meat.

When I was vegetarian, I just used to go to burger vans and ask for onions in a bun.

Got funny looks for that...

My GF is more-or-less vegetarian, one of her favourite burger-van treats is a fried egg in a bun with fried onions, whatever makes you happy mate

A mushroom burger can be nice, but you need to do a 'stuffed mushroom' style thing, fill the mushroom with a mixture of (cheese-of-choice), herbs, fresh chopped chillis and top with breadcrumbs, then grill til crispy, whack in a bread roll and your golden.

Another good one is the hawaiian burger, burger with cheese, fried egg and a grilled pineapple ring. Thinking about it, one of those 50/50 beff/bacon burgers would go excellent in that one.

I usually stick to making turkey or veggie burgers anymore, but if I'm using red meat, I'll use ground pork. SO GOOD.

As for toppings, I use lettuce, onion, pepperjack cheese, spicy brown mustard, and tomato. If I'm making stuffed burgers, I'll put various peppers, mushrooms, and onion along with the usual spices in the meat.

Mmmm! Just had a delicious burger at lunch today. No bacon but all the trimmings.

Stuffed some 50/50 beef-bacon burgers with chorizo, cheese, bacon, chillis and onions then served them on homemade flatbreads.

Was so good.

Sounds delicious...but that would give me so much heartburn lol.

So, I made Meatball burgers last night I've decided they taste better with provolone cheese instead of mozzarella. Enough left over meat to make 2 for dinner tonight too They usually taste better the 2nd night, I guess because the spices and stuff get more time to work their magic on the meat overnight.

Has anyone ever tried grinding your own burger meats? I don't have a meat grinder, but you can get the hand crank kind for like $30.. Don't have one of those fancy Kitchenaid mixers that everyone uses... I might try it because I just found this page and have become obsessed with the thought of hand crafting my own blend

http://aht.seriouseats.com/archives/2009/10/the-burger-lab-best-burger-blend-profiles-of-eight-cuts-of-beef.html

I think a mix of sirloin and short rib will be more my style though...

Also wondering what half beef and half ham would be like in burger form?

Similar to half beef, half bacon I assumed.

 Necros wrote:
Has anyone ever tried grinding your own burger meats? I don't have a meat grinder, but you can get the hand crank kind for like $30.. Don't have one of those fancy Kitchenaid mixers that everyone uses... I might try it because I just found this page and have become obsessed with the thought of hand crafting my own blend

http://aht.seriouseats.com/archives/2009/10/the-burger-lab-best-burger-blend-profiles-of-eight-cuts-of-beef.html

I think a mix of sirloin and short rib will be more my style though...

Also wondering what half beef and half ham would be like in burger form?

I've done that. Its a lot of effort unless you have an industrial style grinder. Its better but not worth it without such.
At the party we went to, the cook had marinated the meat for 24 hours in soy sauce and worcestershire. It really tasted great, although I'd likely mix in a little pepper. I think I'll try such next time.

Marinated the ground beef? or marinated beef then ground it?

I was going to try marinating ground beef sometime. I was afraid since it's ground the patties would end up too watery and not hold together as good.

Maybe I'll ask for a grinder for xmas. I'd also like to try making my own sausages too.. or homemade hot dogs that are made of good meat not pork leftovers.

 Necros wrote:
Marinated the ground beef? or marinated beef then ground it?

I was going to try marinating ground beef sometime. I was afraid since it's ground the patties would end up too watery and not hold together as good.

Maybe I'll ask for a grinder for xmas. I'd also like to try making my own sausages too.. or homemade hot dogs that are made of good meat not pork leftovers.

One thing you might want to try is asking the butchers at your local market if they would grind some stuff for you. They probably have both the meat and the hardware. They might enjoy the custom order, rather then just their normal routine. No harm in asking.

beef was ground then marinated.

Ancient buddha say, never watch sausage being made (although you would control the ingredients so might be awesome).

Thats why I want to make my own, so I know what's going in it

 Necros wrote:
Thats why I want to make my own, so I know what's going in it

'been there done that' When I was a younger lad, I helped a local Hungarian Boy Scout troop with their annual sausage sale, they worked with a local butcher who let them use his facilities and they'd sell sausage... I helped out for an hour or two as some service project, it was fun, albeit a little odd

So, I thought I would try and make ham-burgers. I bought this grinder from Amazon

http://www.amazon.com/Norpro-Grinder-Mincer-Pasta-Maker/dp/B0002I5QHW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1382150363&sr=8-1&keywords=meat+grinder

Was only $25, maybe some day I'll invest in a better one but this is a fun toy for now. It worked pretty good but I learned the hard way you gotta dice the meat up real small, like 1/2 inch cubes, or else it won't get into the grindy part good. So those tiny pieces made meat crumbles instead of meat tendrils, but it still was fine once you formed it into a burger shape. Took me about 20 minutes to grind it all.

I used 1 already cooked half pound ham steak and 1 .8 pound sirloin steak ground together. It was mighty tasty, especially with crunchy onions and BBQ sauce. But that combo of meat was just way too lean, I had to add oil to the pan. Usually I get 80/20 chuck from the store and never need oil.

Next time I'm gonna try the sirloin again and do a half pound of ground bacon, that should make it pretty juicy. I also read sirloin and short ribs make a real tasty burger, but my supermarket never has short ribs :( Wish I had a real butcher shop around here...

It'll be the pre-cooked ham that made it so dry, using uncooked should work ok.

Yeah I was thinking that too .. they only had real big uncooked hams, so I think bacon will be easier

Not sure how well american (streaky) bacon will work.

 Corpsesarefun wrote:
Not sure how well american (streaky) bacon will work.

Depends how lean the sirloin is, and what ratio you grind. If you have a 100% lean steak, and 100% fat bacon, but mix them in a 80:20 ratio, you should get the same results as 80% chuck. Obviously, you are not working with 100% lean/fat, but they make the numbers nice for examples. Actual percentages to grind will depend on what your final goals are and the real percentages of the meat.

But beef fat has a much richer flavour than bacon fat. Using 100% lean beef and 100% fat bacon would yield a much poorer burger than 80% beef and 80% bacon, you won't get that oomph of beefiness.

I'm going to pretend you didn't say bacon fat is inferior to anything in the whole world

actually what I'm going for is a real juicy burger that has a "bacon cheeseburger" taste, without bacon strips on the top. Of course that won't stop me from adding bacon strips on top, but still

Bacon fat is good but beef fat is vital for a tasty burger, you ideally want both.

 Corpsesarefun wrote:
Bacon fat is good but beef fat is vital for a tasty burger, you ideally want both.

Obviously you'll want both. The 100% comment was just because I was too lay to do the actual research and math on fat contents of meats. But if your overall fat content is too high or too low you end up with problems. Grilling burgers is mix of art, science, and holy calling. Finding/making the perfect one is a quest of theory and experimentation.

Yeah, I was just thinking like ... Sirloin is lean, but bacon is fatty, so that can make up most of the fat part.

Guess I could use chuck instead, but chuck can be fatty and then I might end up with too much fat.

Can you not find leaner bacon?

Yes but why would you?

To get the bacon flavour so you can use it with a fattier cut of beef without making the burger too fatty.

Bacon is far leaner in the UK than the US anyway.

But the fat is where the flavor is.

 Corpsesarefun wrote:
Can you not find leaner bacon?

That depends on your local butcher, and how much you are willing to pay. I know my local supermarket has plenty of the high fat pre-packaged bacon. There are a handful of specialty/gourmet cuts, which have a much better meat:fat ratio (plus things like applewood smoked, etc.) There are a few honest to goodness butcher/specialty meat shops in the area, where I could go and pick up something a bit more quality. And pay a corresponding price.

If you were willing to pay for it, you could use top end cuts from specialty butchers and make an awesome burger. From a practical standpoint, I think it would be better to see what could be done with readily available cuts. This way, once you find a blend you like, you can continue to make them without breaking the bank. And that means using low quality, high fat, bacon for the most part.

Obviously this is my take on the subject. But I have champagne tastes and a beer budget. But with a little work, skill, and experimentation, it's amazing what can be done with some very basic ingredients...

I'm pretty much just limited to what my supermarket has, no real butcher shops around here unless I want to drive into philly, and no burger is worth that headache

So I'm stuck with pre-packaged but they do have some nicer looking brands. Some places have slab bacon at the deli counter that you can have sliced, but even that is still mostly generic. I don't think it would be any different than the prepackaged that's a little cheaper. I'll probably go with one of the thick cut brands that looks good. I was going to use a ribeye last time for the beef part, but it was a lot more expensive than sirloin.

You could try quarter bacon, quarter chuck and half sirloin?