In search of the perfect burger technique-stopping here for a while

[Royalslover]

Burgers are one of my favorite foods and I will be pursuing the perfect burger for the rest of my life. But-in the meantime I think I've finally found a way that seems to be consistently good. My wife has always forbade me to buy hamburger in a "stick" package as she thinks it's worse quality meat than the store wrapped cellophane wrapped beef. I bought some on a whim one time and it was fine.... so anyway, here is the technique I've been using for a bit now and it works great. I buy the round packages of 80/20 chuck that are about 3" in diameter. While it's good and cold I just cut them into the thickness that I want for my burgers. Then I freeze them individually and then vac pac them four to a bag. when I'm ready to cook them I throw them frozen onto a very hot blackstone. I flip them often and by the time the inside is done the outside has a very nice crust. I put spg on them as the seasoning. They keep their shape like a restaurant burger instead of shrinking like normal. Has anyone else tried this method?

 

[TropicDad]

Cool idea, probably cheaper than buying the premade bubba burgers. I like grilling thicker burgers so cutting them to your preferred size sounds like a winner.

 

[RemoGaggi]

Sounds like a smart plan. Thanks for the idea!

 

[sudsandswine]

If you're in pursuit of the ultimate burger, grinding your own beef at home is the way to go. :thumb:

 

[nikolausp]

If you're in pursuit of the ultimate burger, grinding your own beef at home is the way to go. :thumb:

What's your preferred grind?

I've never understood how you can grind at home, and know what % of fat you have. (Burgers, sausage, etc)

 

[Ron_L]

What's your preferred grind?

I've never understood how you can grind at home, and know what % of fat you have. (Burgers, sausage, etc)

You could separate the lean and fat, weigh each and then get the desired ratio.

I don't bother :-D I just grind it. My favorite is Wagyu brisket trimmings from our competition meat, but a blend of brisket, chuck and short ribs is good.

 

[Ron_L]

What's your preferred grind?

I've never understood how you can grind at home, and know what % of fat you have. (Burgers, sausage, etc)

You could separate the lean and fat, weigh each and then get the desired ratio.

I don't bother :-D I just grind it. My favorite is Wagyu brisket trimmings from our competition meat, but a blend of brisket, chuck and short ribs is good.

 

[smoke ninja]

I do well smashing burgers on my Blackstone. I take a 1/4 lbs ball of meat and press it onto the griddle. once the crust is formed and juices pool I flip and cook until done. they are not perfect patties but dont shrink up into balls or pucks. making balls is easier and faster for prep.

I did cook up some patties that I made and had to freeze. they cooked well from frozen on the gas grill. I'll try your Blackstone method next time :thumb:

 

[JAKs Q & brew]

No need to worry about getting the right ratio when grinding yourself, especially if using brisket trimming. Outside of the really lean cuts, most beef will have enough intermuscle fat to make it work.

I do 1-2 briskets with of meaty trim (2-4 pounds) with the same amount of "stew beef" packages from the market and its comes out great.

 

[sudsandswine]

What's your preferred grind?

I've never understood how you can grind at home, and know what % of fat you have. (Burgers, sausage, etc)

I like chuck and short rib, but will mix in brisket trimmings, tenderloin trimmings, maybe some ribeye or strip if I’m breaking down a subprimal I bought etc. but I’d say chuck and short rib are what I use 75% of the time.

 

[gtsum]

I grind mine at home. Brisket trimmings, chuck roast, short ribs, and any trimmings from a side of ribeye or fillet etc that we have on hand. No worries with medium rare this way also


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[EricD]

I also use only home ground meat for burgers. I usually get Chuck roast. Cut it into chunks and partially freeze it. Just grind it up. Add whatever you want to it. I've never worried about fat ratio's, it's always come out great.
I also vacuum seal it in 1 pound packs and freeze them.
I've mixed in: Brisket, Ribeye, NY Strip, Bacon, Pork, butter, and bacon fat.

 

[nikolausp]

I'm not necessarily worried about fat or ratios, but it just seems like it'd be nice to know if I'm putting 10% or 30% in my body.

 

[jzadski]

I do well smashing burgers on my Blackstone. I take a 1/4 lbs ball of meat and press it onto the griddle. once the crust is formed and juices pool I flip and cook until done. they are not perfect patties but dont shrink up into balls or pucks. making balls is easier and faster for prep.

I did cook up some patties that I made and had to freeze. they cooked well from frozen on the gas grill. I'll try your Blackstone method next time :thumb:

I too have been doing the 1/4 lb ball method. Very requested here. Been using Longhorn steak seasoning on one side after smash.

 

[mchar69]

seems like it'd be nice to know if I'm putting 10% or 30% in my body.

MODS -can we ban this guy??

It's a BBQ website, not Arugula.com!




(ha ha I'm j/k)

 

[STCL01]

I also use only home ground meat for burgers. I usually get Chuck roast. Cut it into chunks and partially freeze it. Just grind it up. Add whatever you want to it. I've never worried about fat ratio's, it's always come out great.
I also vacuum seal it in 1 pound packs and freeze them.
.

This is exactly what we do as well. Always comes out great, and we use it for spaghetti, soups, burgers, tacos etc.

 

[BackYardRob]

For me, the perfect burger is the one that's in front of me. There is no bad burger, and there are so many ways to make them that it's hard to narrow to just one method. The burger I make depends on the burger I crave that day.

 

[jermoQ]

That is a good idea for making burgers! Thatnis how we make sausage.

 

[nikolausp]

That is a good idea for making burgers! Thatnis how we make sausage.

What were you referring to?

 

[musicmanj]

Smashburger here as well with 3-4oz balls of meat. Sometimes I use fresh ground beef, other times I grind my own from brisket trimmings. I take a 1/4" steel griddle plate (from my lone star grills offset) and put it on my gas grill. Heat it up, smash, flip. Easy peasy. I only season with salt and pepper.