> Alan S wrote:
>> "Day Dreamer" > wrote in message
>> ...
>> > I recently posted a question in the BBQ neswgroup about burgers
>> > sticking
>> > to the grill and received some interesting responses about the way
>> > people make their burgers.
>> >
>> > What I usually do, is use lean ground beef (maybe 93%), add some
>> > chopped
>> > onion, some breadcrumbs, some A-1 sauce or BBQ sauce or ketchup, a few
>> > spices, maybe some garlic, too. I weigh each one on the food scale to
>> > try and make them all uniform in size (around 5 oz or so) and press
>> > them
>> > into perfect little hockey puck looking patties with this little burger
>> > press tupperware do-dad. Cook on George Forman (which come out nicely
>> > but makes a terrible mess) or stovetop in pan, on rare occasion
>> > charcoal
>> > grill.
>> >
>> > I like mine a little on the pink or rare side, BF lkes his more well
>> > done.
>> >
>> > I`m getting a decent burger - but I want a great burger! Curious as to
>> > what advice you fine folks have about burger making. What do you add
>> > INTO your burgers when you`re making them? And does it differ depending
>> > on which cooking method you are going to use - i.e, outdoor grill,
>> > stovetop, George Forman type thing, etc? (I was suprised in the other
>> > group that so many add nothing). The concensus also seemed to be to nix
>> > the breadcrumbs.
>> >
>> > I know it`s a pretty basic thing - just making a hamburger - but done
>> > right - it can be fantastic.
>> > Looking forward to any recipes, tips, etc.
>> > Thank you!
>> >
>>
>> A recipe for a truly great burger:
>>
>> 1) Make your bar-b-cue sauce. I have found that an easy, quick way to
>> make
>> an
>> amazingly good sauce is get a bottle of cheap bar-b-que sauce for a base
>> and
>> add the following ingredients to taste:
>>
>> A squirt of yellow mustard
>> some Worsteshire sauce (I just shake the bottle a couple of times)
>> freshly crushed garlic (I usually use 4 or 5 big cloves)
>> freshly minced onion (around a quarter cup)
>> Cajun Seasoning or seasoned salt (I don't use much salt so I am light
>> with
>> this stuff, but
>> once again, season to taste)
>> black pepper (I like lots of it)
>> Tabasco sauce (I use fair amount because I like it hot)
>> a squeeze of orange juice (if you O.D. on the O.J. it gets to be real
>> tangy
>> so I usually only use half and orange, hand squeezed)
>>
>> Make up 2 and a half cups or so and after you have it tasting great, add
>> 1/2
>> of a cup of Bourbon and a 1/2 of a cup of peach preserves
>>
>> 2) Use 80% to 85% lean beef from a trusted, quality oriented butcher
>> 3) Grab a handful of 1/3 pound or so of meat into your hand and make an
>> impression into it so you can add stuff to it
>> 4) Add a tablespoon of steak sauce to the burger and sprinkle some
>> Worsteshire and a drop or 2 of Tabasco sauce into it and mix it up
>> 5) Make patties of your desired thickness gently by hand
>> 6) Lightly dust the patties with a touch of garlic powder, onion powder,
>> black pepper and seasoned salt
>> 7) Grill until done on a high medium heat, well ashed charcoal fire down
>> close to the coals. Flip them fairly often because they will burn easily
>> next to the coals.
>> 8) Add the bar-b-cue sauce to each side at the very end so it doesn't
>> caramelize or burn
>>
>> Sometimes I use fresh onion and garlic and mix it in but it tends to
>> gravitate towards the mini-meatloaf thing when I do that which doesn't
>> bother me because it still makes a very tasty sandwich. If you only use
>> one
>> thing for this make sure it's the black pepper. I actually prefer to use
>> a
>> mortar and pestle to crush up a combination of red, green, white, and
>> black
>> pepper corns for the best flavor and recommend doing so if you are really
>> after the greatness but bottom line, pepper is essential for the great
>> burger. The cooking temp is critical for a good burger and whether you
>> prefer gas or charcoal, a grill has been the only choice in my experience
>> simply because of the way it cooks food.
>
> Geeze, with all that glop blended in and poured over you can use Alpo
> and wouldn't know any different. A great burger needs nothing but a
> great roll... zero, nada, zip... but the ONLY way to achieve quality
> burgers, and consistantly, is to grind your own... preground mystery
> meat just won't cut it. Of course anyone who would choose to eat
> preground mystery meat obviously has their taste in their ass, so a
> good burger would be wasted on them... those are fools just like you,
> more interested in the condiments than the meat. And regardless the
> cooking technique, again it's all wasted on preground mystery meat.
> Great burgers begin (and end) with a quality cut of meat (that has
> never been frozen), ground yourself (so you'll know with 100% certainty
> what/who is in it), and cooked within one hour of grinding... needs
> nothing but a bit of s n' p. And meat you grind yourself can *safely*
> be cooked as rare as you like.
>
> What's with yoose kitchen kooks, talking burgers but don't own a meat
> grinder... you're all sick puppys.
>
> Sheldon
>
Alpo falls apart - you obviously don't know anything at all about cooking
with dog food. You sit there and pontificate about Gaine's burgers? Blech!
EVERYone knows that Gaine's uses their own personally ground meat. The
thought of some idiot dropping his cigar ashes into my dog food as opposed
to buying a perfectly packaged (you know the packaging protects it from
germs and debris) can of Pedigree is disgusting. You REALLY should study up
on your dog food before advising any more puppies (not puppys Sheldon -
details son ... details). Oh, and by the way, that is a very nice sauce if
you ever wanted to actually cook something.