So i started making burgers like my mom does...

[Moby Dick]

personally, i never hardly grill hamburgers and when i did my wife usually made the patties and i'd just throw em on the grill.

but about 2 months ago my folks had a cookout, had all the family over and the burgers kicked fuckin' ass.

i asked her how she made them up...

i guess it's not really a secret recipe for making a burger patty but she'd throw all the hamburger meat into a bigass bowl, throw a bunch of mashed up crackers in, and then throw in some Wright's smoke sauce. mix it all up and turn em into patties.

i'm guessing the crackers give the burgers the "stay the shape of the patty" power and the smoke sauce for taste.

they are the fuckin bomb tho. and i had never heard of using crackers to hold the patty together. works likea charm and have grilled burgers for the last 3 weekends straight

anyone else use crackers?

[Adelpiero]

i know people who use egg

[Cicatrix]

Crackers/bread crumbs are not really the binding agent but more of a "bulk additive". They keep your burger a little juicier by sucking up what would normally cook out of the patty. Yes they help keep shape too and reduce the shrinkage factor that some people have a problem with (s'up Derron?).

Eggs as a binder are only really needed if you are putting more than just meat in your patty. If you wanted to add diced onion or peppers then an egg is a must. The moisture given off by the diced veg tends to lend for a falling apart patty. The egg protein mixed into the meat with keep it tight.

[Moby Dick]

EGGS! yup, i forgot to add that. she puts an egg or two in it as well.


as for putting onions or peppers into my patty..those are fightin' words.

same with meatloaf..i just cannot stand the texture or cooked onions IN meat.

it's just something to creeps me the fuck out.

[H4ever]

Anyone ever throw diced jalepenos in their burgers? Mixed in they add great flavor and are tamed in the cooking process. Throw on some pepperjack cheese and now you got a burger!

[Dinsdale]

Anyone ever throw diced jalepenos in their burgers?

I think you and I would probably be hanging out at the grill together at a BBQ.


But if I were to start making burgers like my Mom (or any of my friends' moms growing up), they'd be about 3" thick, and cooked to a hockey puck to make sure that 3" thick patty (3" diameter, too) was cooked all the way through.

Mom made some great shit, as did my friends' moms, but there's a reason Dad kept her the fuck away from the Q.

[H4ever]

Anyone ever throw diced jalepenos in their burgers?

I think you and I would probably be hanging out at the grill together at a BBQ.


But if I were to start making burgers like my Mom (or any of my friends' moms growing up), they'd be about 3" thick, and cooked to a hockey puck to make sure that 3" thick patty (3" diameter, too) was cooked all the way through.

Mom made some great shit, as did my friends' moms, but there's a reason Dad kept her the fuck away from the Q.

Moms and grills just don't mesh. It must be universal cuz my mom wasn't allowed anywhere near the fire unless she was planning on putting more ice on the beer for my dad and his friends. And even then, the cooler wasn't allowed within 20 feet of the grill as an extra precaution!

[Ken]

i know people who use egg

I know a lot of people who make meatloaf too.

Imo, a good burger contains nothing but beef and seasoning. Anything else is screwing w/the burger 'bible'. Those who can't grill a good burger above perhaps some hickory, with a bit of seasoning, and a good bun... make meatloaf out of their ground beef.

Oh, and give me 85% lean ground beef for my burgers... none of tht 92% lean crap.

[Goober McTuber]

Ground chuck is 80 to 85% lean, and that’s my choice for a burger. I love the flavor you get from the grill, but a really hot cast iron skillet will give you a juicier burger.

[indyfrisco]

I've made the "meatloaf" burger many a time. I like it, but I also like a traditional burger. Like H4E, I put the jalapenos in the burger still. I just process them really fine and mix into the meat. I use chuck like Goobs, too for the added fat/flavor.

I make huge patties and mash the center down a little bit so the outside of the burger is thicker than the middle. As it cooks and the fat drips off, the burger will become uniform in thickness as opposed to ending up with a baseball on a bun.

[Mikey]

How do well do you cook your burgers?

As opposed to steak, which I prefer on the rare side of medium rare, I try for medium with burgers.

A rule of thumb that I was taught is that when it starts bleeding out the top side it's ready to turn over.

Any other methods?

[Dinsdale]

Recently, I was given a package of Gubmint Beef. Long story short, I knew someone who knew someone who was clearing out expiring shit from the food bank (where I'm not a customer, but I know people involved with it).


Anyhoo, I'm familiar with Gubmint Cheese, but was my first experience with Gubmint Beef.

Absolutely delicious. I was quite suprised. The catch being, that if I wanted to make a normal sized burger patty, I had to start with a raw patty that was approximately 23" diameter, and by the time the 4" patty came out of the skillet, it had been pleasantly deep-fried.


If I owned a diesel vehicle, I could have driven to Idaho on what was left in the pan.


But damn, it was tasty.

[H4ever]

Ground chuck is 80 to 85% lean, and that’s my choice for a burger. I love the flavor you get from the grill, but a really hot cast iron skillet will give you a juicier burger.

^^^^ gets it. And the best part is (in Nebraska anyway) chuck roast goes on sale from $2.25 to 2.95 a lb. while 80% hamburger might be $2.89 a lb. (regular price) I buy about 5- 10 lbs. of chuck roast and have the butcher dept. grind it for me....they do it free. Mix in the jalapenos and cook the way Frisco mentioned and you got yourself a mean burger.

[indyfrisco]

How do well do you cook your burgers?

As opposed to steak, which I prefer on the rare side of medium rare, I try for medium with burgers.

A rule of thumb that I was taught is that when it starts bleeding out the top side it's ready to turn over.

Any other methods?

I also cook my burgers to a medium though I prefer medium rare steaks. I would never eat a medium rare hamburger. You're just asking to puke all night with that. The only medium rare burgers I have eaten were the beef tenderloin burgers I made myself.

I don't really follow a rule of thumb on flipping other than I don't flip until the bottom side is fully cooked and crusted so that it does not stick to the grates.