Yeah, I make a “pretty doggone good hamburger”. Other bloggers and recipe sources have been extolling the virtues of their “perfect hamburgers”or “the only hamburger recipe you’ll ever need” or “the best grilled hamburger” all over Yahoo and other places on the internet recently.
But, do you really need a recipe for hamburgers? Apparently so. Different recipes call for a mix of ground beef and lamb, others extol the virtues of mixing mustard and Worcestershire into the meat, etc. Still others suggest exotic ingredients to be put into the meat mix.
Come on, now. What’s important in a hamburger? It needs to have flavor and texture and moisture. It needs to be made of ground beef. Beyond that, there’s not a whole lot to it.
Don’t get me wrong. It took me years and years to get to the point where I can grill a consistently good hamburger. And there’s really only 3 things that I think are truly important: 85% ground beef, salt/pepper/garlic seasoning and time. If you pay attention to those 3 things, you’ll put out consistently good hamburgers. (Just bear in mind, I’ve grilled up more than my share of hockey pucks over the years too).
And I definitely think that size does matter. Fortunately the craze for “sliders” seems to have gone by the wayside—but then again you can make terrific 2-3 oz. mini-burgers and sometimes they’re fun, especially for kids. I’ve seen a lot of recipes that call for half pound patties but, to me, 6 ounces is just about right. You can make a nice ¾ inch patty that fills a bun which can be cooked to anything from medium-rare to well-done. And it’s a good serving size, especially at a cookout with a bunch of side dishes.
With all that in mind, here’s my grilled hamburger recipe:
Recipe: Pretty Doggone Good Grilled Hamburgers
Summary: Hamburgers can be simple and incredibly tasty, especially if you follow these easy steps.
Ingredients
6 oz. patty formed and seasoned
- 1 ½ lb 85% lean ground beef
- 1 tbsp “Basic Spice Blend” (salt, pepper, garlic blend)
- Buns
Instructions
- Put meat into a medium bowl and sprinkle spice blend on it then gently toss with your fingertips to incorporate the spice blend.
- OR, wait until you make your patties
and then sprinkle seasoning on each side of each patty. - Make 4 equal size—6 ounce—patties by gently forming a ball then lightly compressing meat into a patty that’s about ¾ inch thick and about 3 ½-4 inches across. Do NOT compress too firmly, just make sure that it sticks together.
- Lightly press the middle of each patty to make a little indention (it keeps the patty from getting a big hump while it’s cooking).
Flip the patties at 3 minutes!
- Heat grill to a high temperature. How high? Hold you hand 4” above grill. Count to 4. If you can do that it’s the right temperature—3 seconds is too hot, 5 or more isn’t hot enough.
- Put patties on the grill and leave them alone! Close the lid.
- At 3 minutes slide a spatula under the patties. If the patties release then flip them. If they don’t, close the lid for another minute—do NOT force them.
- Cook for another 3-4 minutes. Then
add cheese if you’re making cheeseburgers or remove burgers if you’re not. These will be cooked through and juicy! - Serve up with your favorite condiments and toppings.
Preparation time: 5 minute(s)
Cooking time:
Number of servings (yield): 4
That’s not so hard is it? Like so many things, it takes a little bit of practice to get it down. But by using the right “fat blend”, by using pretty high heat and cooking by “time” rather than futzing around with the burgers you can get consistently good results.
Juicy and Tasty. That’s a Pretty Doggone Good Hamburger!
Now, if you’re using a beef that’s 90-95% lean what you can do is add a little bit of fat. I keep packages of breakfast sausage links that I buy on special at my grocery store. Each link is one ounce. Just add a couple of those to your meat blend and it’ll add a bit more fat and a bit more flavor.
The Cheap Bastid Test: 4 burgers (6 oz. each) cost about $4.20 plus $1.00 for buns and about $1.50 in toppings like tomato, lettuce, onion, etc. That’s about $1.68 each and it’s some really good eating at home.
Happy 4th of July and enjoy grilling Cheap Bastid’s Pretty Doggone Good Hamburgers!
That’s the Cheap Bastid Way: Eat Good. Eat Cheap. Be Grateful!
