So I made burgers today and although it looked spectacular it was just kind of meh. Ingredients were all fresh, however the meat was just plain ground beef. I did add a few things but it really didn't taste spectacular.
Pattie: Beef mince, breadcrumbs, egg, cayenne, Dijon mustard
Anything people can suggest I add to elevate the flavour?
I did forget to season but surely that's not the sole factor for the lack of flavour.
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Also grated Parmesan in the patty mix
It's the seasoning.
the secret is a shitload of salt and pepper, nothing more, nothing less
mix 1/4 part ground pork into your hamburger meat. Also more fat in ground cow meat = more flavor.
You could marinate the meat for a few hours before grilling, w/ salt, water, garlic powder, onion powder, cumin, pepper in a plastic bag.
Fat and garlic
Hmm fair enough. I've got more mix and since I'm drinking I'll almost certainly be making another burger later.
Will liberally apply salt and pepper to the patty before cooking and fill you in if that's all it was.
In the interim post burger recipes and tips I guess.
My rule of thumb is 1% salt by weight. Which is about a teaspoon to a pound of meat.
That's a lot of salt. That's not to the mix before chilling is it?
Don't bother putting egg, leads to a weird flavor imo. Instead of using egg as a binder, form the patty by tossing it back and forth between your hands almost like a clapping motion (hahahaha burgerclap xd) flattening it slightly more each time. Body heat and the pressure from the motion will cause the meat to be able to stick to itself better. After it's formed satisfactorily, make a small indentation in the middle using your thumb to prevent the burger from rising in the center. This helps make your burger cook more uniformly. Here's what I usually use for burgers in terms of seasoning:
Salt
Pepper
Onion powder
Dash of fish sauce, soy sauce or worcestershire for color and savory flavor
Cayenne if I feel like it
I like my burgers with bacon so I fry them in bacon grease, but your technique when forming the patty is really important to having a great texture and flavor. Never ever push down on the burger with a spatula while it's cooking, either.
On the patty while cooking, if you put salt in the mix you get that fucked up falling apart look.
It is a lot of salt, but if you look around nutrition labels you'll see 0.5% to 1.5% is pretty common. 413mg of sodium is a 1g of actual salt, and a Big Mac for example has 460mg per 100g.
>onion powder
I actually discovered that you can use onion soup mix, like a french onion or something in your ground beef and it comes out amazing.
That's what I thought, why I only ever season whilst or just prior to cooking.
Will keep that salt ratio in mind.
Also, on the breaking apart: not sure what you mean. I thought it made those denser patties that feel more like meat paste cooked rather than ground meat due to the broken proteins and lack of moisture.
Yeah, I was totally mistaken on the falling apart thing. Not sure what I was thinking of there. This whole series of articles is pretty good:
aht.seriouseats.com
He's even using 2% by weight there, which seems like it would be too salty to me.
you basically made meatballs with beef only. either add pork, cilantro and some milk and make a sidedish or throw it away.
a burger patty is disgusting the moment anything besides beef is in there. you salt and pepper in the pan, and remember searing it properly
You can always saute onion, garlic and chilli down till its nearly caramelized then hit it with fresh tyhme or tarragon (depending if your using lamb or beef mince) and toss in some rough chopped olives, cool it all in the fridge and mix it through when its cool.
Mind you this makes it less stable so, you'll more than likely need to bind it with some eggs and/or breadcrumbs.
I always likw using panco breadcrumbs, because how dry and crisp they are.
for each burger, add a shot of bourbon and 2 shots of soy sauce, and sprinkle in some onion powder to taste. decently heavy on both salt and black pepper. youre welcome youre gonna love it
>egg
you made a meatloaf sandwich you faggot.
my mother used to add a packet of liptons onion soup mix and a few dashes of worchester sauce and she always made good burgers
also make them out of 80/20 meat, burgers need fat or they taste sub par and have a pebbly texture
in the patty: ground beef + choped onions and garlic with some chilli = BEST SHIT IN THE WORLD
don't forget that the cocksucker put in fucking breadcrumbs
he also didn't even salt and pepper his burgers
Salt and pepper is all you need really. It sounds like you made something closer to meatloaf on a bun. Skip the egg and breadcrumbs.
no salt and pepper, son of a bitch cocksucker indeed. I bet his wife's son would've punched him if he dared add them
looks good but I don't have a meat grinder
Can confirm the smashing thing improved my burgers no end, just drop some mince straight in the pan and smash it in place.
Check out Ballistic BBQ on YouTube OP. Fella is a good burger cook.
This. 100% agree.