The Perfectly Elusive Perfect Burger

[HOF44]

I remember my Mom eating raw hamburger when I was a kid. Hell....I remember bull and oyster roasts in the early 80's here in Maryland where they would have pans of raw hamburger. People would load up with some raw burger and onions. I'll eat almost any damn thing, but raw burger never appealed to me....

I’m shocked you 2 didn’t discover you went to the same place for bull and oyster roasts!!!

 

[Boone]

I love flat iron and skirt steak. I’ve never heard of an ‘inner’ and ‘outer’ version though.

 

[Voice_of_Reason]

Here's a burger I used to make like 20 years ago. I don't even know what to call it. Two 3-ounce patties sealed together with a seasoned onion slice inside. It's a lot like a Juicy Lucy already posted, but it uses an onion slice. Try to seal those sides up by pinching or folding them over so that when the onion juice starts to render, it stays inside the burger. IMO, you don't want to use toppings that will overpower the flavor of the onion slice inside. I used the Wahl sauce on the bun. Cook so that the onion slice inside reaches around 150 F. Damn delicious.

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I’m going to try this when grilling season starts. I have done similar but with cheese in the middle instead of an onion. But you have to be really careful to seal it good or else it just melts out everywhere.

If you do seal it well though, for some reason having the cheese inside the burger is cool. I honestly don’t know if it tastes that much different, but the novelty is good.

You do have to cook the burger to medium in order for the cheese to melt though. If you like a medium rare burger, the cheese will still be cheese shaped.

Damn. Now I want s burger.

 

[Mark The Homer]

Yes - I cooked a cheese version and posted it earlier - with photos - it's called a Juicy Lucy. It came out nice when I did it. I used an instant read to make sure the cheese reached 150 F.

Here is my burger for lunch today. The classic two-patty smash burger. Two 3-ounce patties. The ground chuck is from Boarman's - their "famous burger blend." I used provolone. And the orange Wahl sauce.

 

[Skinsfan1311]

I’m going to try this when grilling season starts. I have done similar but with cheese in the middle instead of an onion. But you have to be really careful to seal it good or else it just melts out everywhere.

If you do seal it well though, for some reason having the cheese inside the burger is cool. I honestly don’t know if it tastes that much different, but the novelty is good.

You do have to cook the burger to medium in order for the cheese to melt though. If you like a medium rare burger, the cheese will still be cheese shaped.

Damn. Now I want s burger.

It's always grilling season!

 

[Mark The Homer]

Wow - this was really good! I'll call this the Kenji Burger since I followed Kenji's recipe on the previous page very closely... he says of all the burger recipes he's posted over the years, this is his favorite!

He even edited his youtube post after posting, emphasizing that this is his favorite burger of the dozens of recipes he's published and of the thousands of burgers he's made during his career. See his video which I linked a few days ago in this thread.

I used Boarman's burger blend. Not sure what's in it, but I assume it's brisket, short ribs, and chuck, or something similar.

It's a fairly coarse grind - a bit more coarse than a typical grocery store grind.

Since it was in a package, I took it out, put it on a board, and sort of chopped it up with a griddle scraper just to loosen it up - similar to what Kenji did. I used exactly a quarter pound. 113 grams!

Once it was loosened it up, I sort of folded it over with the scraper so that it somewhat resembled a patty. Otherwise, I barely touched it with my fingers. The result was a very loose patty, much like the patty I created almost three years ago which I illustrated via a link in post #12. In fact, it wasn't even a patty. It was basically a pile of ground beef in the shape of a patty.



I made a burger sauce as he did. I just ran out of Kewpie mayo a couple days ago so had to use Hellman's. Added Heinz ketchup, 3:1 mayo : ketchup. Added some dill pickle relish and a little sugar, just like he did. Mixed it up.

Used a mandolin to slice up half a yellow onion.

I previously drove to HT and deliberately bought the cheapest buns they had, at Kenji's recomendation. $1.99. They were called "Smart Way Enriched Hamburger Buns." Never heard of them. New product. 8 buns. Package was 11 oz. I also bought a flexible spatula flipper deal. Needed one.

The cheap buns seemed nice! They were soft and squishy and seemed fresh. Toasted the cheap buns. Put the burger sauce on both buns.



I carefully scooped the burger remnants from the board onto the side of the scraper and then carefully slid it off, placing it on a hot cast iron pan. Pan was already being heated and my laser temp reader showed it at about 470 F and rising. I kept the fire under it going flat out hot. Set a timer for 90s, since that's what Kenji used.



After 90 seconds, I flipped the burger very carefully. The heat alone causes the remnants to stick together somewhat, which I had learned from previous cooks of very loose patties. Set timer again for 90s secs.

I put salt and pepper on the top of the cooked side of the burger.



Added the raw onions. Didn't use all the onions.



Placed the cheese on top of the raw loose onions like Kenji did. That's American cheese - Kraft Deli Deluxe. White.



Placed melting dome over burger.

When the 90 secs were up, the cheese was melted perfectly.



Placed it on bun. Crowned it. Excellent!

This might be the best burger yet! What sets this burger apart is the amazing inner tenderness, enveloped by the delicate outer shell of seasoned crusty goodness. And it's cooked inside to about medium, maybe a tiny bit of pink.

Plus, it's so easy!

If you do one burger recipe in this thread - do this one!

Seriously, this may be the elusive one. It may be the one. Cook it up. Give us your opinion please.

I might make this for my wife tonight.

 

[Boone]

I literally am salivating looking at that.... nice!

 

[Chris]

Yes - I cooked a cheese version and posted it earlier - with photos - it's called a Juicy Lucy. It came out nice when I did it. I used an instant read to make sure the cheese reached 150 F.

Here is my burger for lunch today. The classic two-patty smash burger. Two 3-ounce patties. The ground chuck is from Boarman's - their "famous burger blend." I used provolone. And the orange Wahl sauce.

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My favorite so far.

 

[Skinsfan1311]

Wow - this was really good! I'll call this the Kenji Burger since I followed Kenji's recipe on the previous page very closely... he says of all the burger recipes he's posted over the years, this is his favorite!

He even edited his youtube post after posting, emphasizing that this is his favorite burger of the dozens of recipes he's published and of the thousands of burgers he's made during his career. See his video which I linked a few days ago in this thread.

I used Boarman's burger blend. Not sure what's in it, but I assume it's brisket, short ribs, and chuck, or something similar.

It's a fairly coarse grind - a bit more coarse than a grocery store grind.

Since it was in a package, I took it out, put it on a board, and sort of chopped it up with a griddle scraper just to loosen it up - similar to what Kenji did. I used exactly a quarter pound. 113 grams!

Once it was loosened it up, I sort of folded it over with the scraper so that it somewhat resembled a patty. Otherwise, I barely touched it with my fingers. The result was a very loose patty, much like the patty I created almost three years ago which I illustrated via a link in post #12.

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I made a burger sauce as he did. I just ran out of Kewpie mayo a couple days ago so had to use Hellman's. Added Heinz ketchup, 3:1 mayo : ketchup. Added some dill pickle relish and a little sugar, just like he did. Mixed it up.

Used a mandolin to slice up half a yellow onion.

I previously drove to HT and deliberately bought the cheapest buns they had, at Kenji's recomendation. $1.99. They were called "Smart Way Hamburger Buns." Never heard of them. New product. 8 buns. Package was 11 oz. I also bought a flexible spatula flipper deal. Needed one.

The cheap buns seemed nice! They were soft and squishy and seemed fresh. Toasted the cheap buns. Put the burger sauce on both buns.

View attachment 10757View attachment 10753

I carefully scooped the burger remnants from the board onto the side of the scraper and then carefully slid it off, placing it on a hot cast iron pan. Pan was already being heated and my laser temp reader showed it at about 470 F and rising. I kept the fire under it going flat out hot. Set a timer for 90s, since that's what Kenji used.

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After 90 seconds, I flipped the burger very carefully. The heat alone causes the remnants to stick together somewhat, which I had learned from previous cooks of very loose patties. Set timer again for 90s secs.

I put salt and pepper on the top of the cooked side of the burger.

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Added the raw onions. Didn't use all the onions.

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Placed the cheese on top of the raw loose onions like Kenji did. That's American cheese - Kraft Deli Deluxe. White.

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Placed melting dome over burger.

When the 90 secs were up, the cheese was melted perfectly.

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Placed it on bun. Crowned it. Excellent!

This might be the best burger yet! What sets this burger apart is the amazing inner tenderness, enveloped by the delicate outer shell of seasoned crusty goodness. And it's cooked inside to about medium, maybe a tiny bit of pink.

Plus, it's so easy!

If you do one burger recipe in this thread - do this one!

Seriously, this may be the elusive one. It may be the one. Cook it up. Give us your opinion please.

I might make this for my wife tonight.


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That looks fan-damn-tastic! Isn't Kewpie mayo the best?

 

[Darrell Green Fan]

The only question I have is, how in the world is it possible to have a burger thread created nearly five years ago with only seven posts???

This thread reminds me of a thread I started on ES called "The World's Greatest Hamburger" or something like that. It was pretty popular and it spawned some regular visits to my nearby burger place in Sunshine Maryland - which is just a gas station and a small country market with a grill in the back. They make some damn delicious burgers. And it's just a few miles up the road from me - but it's a long trek from Leesburg, VA. Pez and Huly and Ben and, um, that Donaldson guy and some others would drive all the way out here several times to eat burgers.

And once I met TK there, he drove all the way up from friggin' Roanoke, VA, just so he could get a Sunshine burger before the tailgate. That's like six hours, bro. If you hurry.

Also, there came a time when the pre-tailgate tailgate crew on Redskins Rd would want burgers for breakfast, so I would take orders, then go up there and order ten or twelve burgers in advance at like 6 AM, all custom made with custom toppings, and they'd be wrapped tight with people's names written on them in magic marker, and then I'd go up there again and pick them up and then drive aaaalll the way down to FedExField and hand-deliver them to the pre-tailgate tailgate crew early in the morning while Pez blasted RATM on the speakers.

"Hamburgers! The cornerstone of any nutritious breakfast," declared Jules! A classic Pulp Fiction quote.

Ahh, those were the days.

You brought completely cooked and dressed burgers to a tailgate? Do you do that for family cookouts as well?

 

[Mark The Homer]

Yes, I did! But to the "pre-tailgate." The early tailgate on Redskins Rd. before the lots opened. I did it per request for all the early birds who wanted them, including Pez & Huly. Usually for late games but I think I did it once for an early game too. I would give the ladies there at Sunshine a carefully made list of all the burgers everybody wanted, including names, and with the toppings and condiments they wanted. I would drop of the list and tell them I need them by whatever time, and then come back a little later and pick them up. They would be in a box. I would tip them twenty bucks. I would bring like ten of them to FedExField, all individually custom made with custom toppings, and the names written on the wrapper. It was a 40 minute drive to get to the stadium. I did this several times. Everybody loved them, because everybody correctly believed they were the best burgers ever! I remember Pez commenting "They just so tender..."

If I got them for family cookouts, then it wouldn't be a family cookout! But yeah, we brought burgers back home from Sunshine all the time and ate them at the kitchen table. Usually a lunch thing. They close at 5 PM.

I have a friend in Aspen Hill. He comes by sometimes on Saturday and says "Dude, let's go get a Sunshine Burger." I say, "Okay."

 

[Skinsfan1311]

Yes, I did! But to the "pre-tailgate." The early tailgate on Redskins Rd. before the lots opened. I did it per request for all the early birds who wanted them, including Pez & Huly. Usually for late games but I think I did it once for an early game too. I would give the ladies there at Sunshine a carefully made list of all the burgers everybody wanted, including names, and with the toppings and condiments they wanted. I would drop of the list and tell them I need them by whatever time, and then come back a little later and pick them up. They would be in a box. I would tip them twenty bucks. I would bring like ten of them to FedExField, all individually custom made with custom toppings, and the names written on the wrapper. It was a 40 minute drive to get to the stadium. I did this several times. Everybody loved them, because everybody correctly believed they were the best burgers ever! I remember Pez commenting "They just so tender..."

If I got them for family cookouts, then it wouldn't be a family cookout! But yeah, we brought burgers back home from Sunshine all the time and ate them at the kitchen table. Usually a lunch thing. They close at 5 PM.

I have a friend in Aspen Hill. He comes by sometimes on Saturday and says "Dude, let's go get a Sunshine Burger." I say, "Okay."

Somehow, I got one of those on Redskins Rd. and didn't even order it. I'm thinking that you either had an extra, or someone didn't show up. If memory serves, it was a damn good burger....

 

[Darrell Green Fan]

I think I need to take another drive to Sunshine.

 

[Mark The Homer]

Fun fact:

George Preston Marshall is buried in Romney, West Virginia. Driving to Romney, West Virginia from the DC area requires driving through Capon Bridge, West Virginia. Capon Bridge, West Virginia is home to the best Cheeseburger in Appalachia.

Coincidence? I think not.

Head To The Farmer's Daughter Restaurant For The Best Burgers

One of the best burgers in the world is found at the unassuming Farmer's Daughter restaurant right here in West Virginia!

www.onlyinyourstate.com

 

[Mark The Homer]

Okay, after multiple attempts, I've pretty much perfected this burger.

This is another variation on the soon-to-be-world-famous break-through burger bit recipe.

Start with a relatively small ball of high quality ground beef that's around 80/20. Ground chuck is popular. Your butcher might sell a burger blend which would be even better.

The beef for one burger should be somewhere in the one-sixth lb to quarter pound area in weight. That would be 75-113 grams. Mine shown here is 100 grams.

This works best as a small burger because of its extreme tenderness. If you want a half pound burger, make two quarter pound burgers.

Place it on a board and chop it up thoroughly, back and forth, left and right. You can us a knife or a griddle scraper or a metal spatula with a straight edge. When you're done, it should look kind of like this.



Acquire a four-inch diameter cake ring such as the one shown below. Put a little oil on the inside of the ring so that the ground beef doesn't stick to the ring. Slide a nice wide spatula under that chopped ground beef and gently place it into the four-inch-wide round cake mold while it sits on the board. It won't quite fit, so help guide it in with one index finger. Do not season the meat. If you don't have a four-inch round cake mold, you can find them on Amazon.



What we have here is a pile of loose ground beef bits. It's not a patty - it's just a pile of bits.

Slide spatula under it and place in pre-heated pan with a surface temp of about 300 F.



Get a light burger press ready. Oil the bottom of it so it won't stick to the ground beef. Now spin the ring in the pan to be sure the meat is not sticking to the metal ring. Once it's loose, remove ring and immediately gently place the light press on top of burger. Do NOT smash it. You must do this quickly because the circular shaped pile of burger bits will try to collapse if you delay.



The purpose of this is to coax the ground beef bits into sticking to each other. As the bits heat up, the proteins will adhere and the pile of bits will magically become a patty. But the patty will have pockets of air all through it. That's part of the magic.

Let it cook 4 mins. Meanwhile, toast your buns.

After about 90 seconds, you can remove the press.



After 4 mins, slide wide spatula under patty and gently flip. You will find that the bits are now a tender patty. But the patty will have little pockets of air in it.

Season generously. Add thinly sliced onions. Add cheese (I used Provolone). The cheese will melt into the ringed onion slices, trapping air within.



Place melting dome over pan and cook another 3 mins. If you don't have a melting dome, use a square of tented foil.

While the second side is cooking, prep your toasted buns. I used Wahl Sauce on both buns, but you can use mayo, ketchup, a combo, or whatever you like. I suggest iceburg lettuce or a curly spinach leaf on the bottom bun, followed by a tomato slice on the lettuce. Don't forget to season the tomato. If you want pickle relish or maybe a cherry pepper relish, spread it on the top bun.



I like pickled cherry peppers on my top bun.



When the 4 mins is up, your burger is ready.



Place on bottom bun. Crown with top bun. Note that toppings are on the bottom bun! I believe there are several advantages to this. Onions are on the top under the cheese. Serve immediately.

The burger in the photo is a 100 gram burger and I used a slider bun because that's what I have.

A slider will work well for a 75 gram burger. A normal burger bun works well for a 113 gram (quarter lb) burger. There is no need for a fancy brioche bun.

As you eat, be sure to lean far into the plate to catch the juice.

This will be the most tender and most juicy and probably the most flavorable burger you've ever eaten. There will be a pool of juice in the plate once you are finished.

The burger will be absolutely amazing. Best burger you've ever had.

If you are making a second burger, you're going to need a clean plate.

 

[Mark The Homer]

Okay. Almost four weeks later and very little love on what may very well be the most tender and most juicy and most delicious burger on planet earth, including anything you might see on any burger sites or reddit sites or bbq sites or weber sites or grill sites or smoking sites or bbq sites or youtube sites or instagram sites. Fine.

I'm working hard here, ya know.

Here are some more recent photos of the evolution of the perfect burger in an effort to simplify the process.

You take a ball of about one-eighth of a pound of ground beef and sort of press into it with a downward motion using a griddle scraper or similar tool which is lubricated with cooking oil so that the meat doesn't want to stick to the scraper. You press all the way into the board making parallel lines. Then turn the scraper 90 degrees and do it again so it forms a cross-hatch.

When I say "ground beef," I mean whatever your best source is for ground beef. A lot of people like ground chuck. That would be fine. The ground beef should be around 80/20. Here, I am actually using a burger blend from Boarman's Market in Highland, Maryland. A good burger blend would actually have ground brisket, chuck, short rib, etc.

If you don't have a scraper, use a long straight-edge knife. Chop it north-south and again east-west. Do it again for a second 1/8 clump. Try to gently push the edges in so they resemble a nice circle.



Now you carefully slide a wide spatula underneath one of the circles of beef and flip it gently on top of the other circle of beef while rotating it slightly. Ideally the cross-hatches will not match. Everything should stay somewhat intact.



What you have now is a quarter pound of ground beef, but it's extremely loose and is not really a patty. However, the outer surface is smooth, which means the patty will hold together if you're gentle with it. But inside this patty are dozens of air pockets which will collect rendered fat which will make the finished product extremely tender and juicy.

Get a pan hot to about 300 F. I like my commercial cast aluminum pan because it heats very evenly. Gently slide a large spatula underneath the beef and place this mass of beef gently into the pan. I like to tent the pan with a large square of HD foil which aids in cooking, and also keeps the grease splatter minimized.

Meanwhile get your buns toasted and put whatever condiments and sauces you want. I am using Wahl sauce. Some sliced onion that are loosely ringed and placed on top of the patty are cool. Credit Kenji.

When the time comes, flip the burger - gently. You will want to slide the spatula underneath carefully while pressing down hard so as to not leave any burger char behind.

The two halves will have adhered to each other due to the heat and the proteins reacting to the heat. But pockets of air will have become trapped within the two halves of ground beef which will greatly aid in the tenderness of the final product.

After flipping, you should see a decent sear. There is a lot of flavor in this sear. This is called the Maillard reaction.

Season with a dry seasoning such as salt & pepper, SPG, Seasonal, your own secret dry burger seasoning, etc. Whatever you like.



Place raw onion rings on top.



Place your favorite cheese on top of the onions. Or whatever you got. In this photo, I am using Kraft premium deli white American. But you can use whatever cheese you want. Don't worry about the cheese being melty. Whatever cheese you choose will melt just fine.



Cover with a melting dome. If you don't have one, cover with a pan lid or loose foil. But a melting dome is ideal.



Assemble your bun halves with the spread/sauce and condiments you like. I recommend putting most if not all of your toppings on the BOTTOM bun, rather than the top. Lettuce on the very bottom is a good idea.

After a while, remove the melting dome. The cheese will have melted into and within the onion rings, creating more air pockets of wonderfulness.



Place burger on bottom bun, slide flat large wide spatula underneath burger and place burger on bottom bun.

Crown.



Here is another one I made with sliced cheddar.

Warning: This burger is very drippy.

Possibly the best cheeseburger the world has ever known - posted for the first time right here on BGO.

 

[HOF44]

Simple is best. KISS. Use a great quality of ground beef. Sauces and spices? Nope! Salt and pepper only.

You crack me up, but I am glad you are happy!

PS...Use better cheese, Kraft is shit

That’s my mantra. Find the best ingredients and don’t get in the way of their flavors.

 

[Boone]

I've never seen a burger served yet that didn't include a bun, condiments of all sorts, various ingredients. It's definitely not just about beef. Burgers are an artform and there's a whole national culture surrounding how to make the best one.

I salute you Mark The Homer

 

[Mark The Homer]

PS...Use better cheese, Kraft is shit

We've discussed this earlier. This is not a KISS thread, it's a "perfect burger" thread. See the thread title.

So your burger is w/o mayo? No mustard? No ketchup? Just dry? That's unusual.

Sunshine up the road has a special dry seasoning which they shake on all the burgers they make and which includes seven ingredients. Salt & pepper are two of them. White pepper is another. Sunshine is my reference. I suspect you've never had a famous Sunshine Burger.

Re cheese, this is a whole 'nother thread. Tons of burger chefs insist on American because it's melty. I don't agree with any of them and I don't understand why so many of them insist on it. I don't prefer American and in most cases I don't even like American. If I do have it, I can't take more than one slice. I was in California a few years ago and had an In and Out burger and almost spit it out. Too much American! Never again. But if I have American, I've found Kraft Premium Deli White American is the best, or at least the least-worst. But I would prefer provolone which is also melty. Cheddar is good, not quite as melty though.

 

[Boone]

I have mentioned this before, but the biggest problem I have with a lot of cheeses I've tried on burgers is that they turn into 'plastic' as the burger cools. I think there are literally ingredients in a lot of modern cheeses that cause this. I do tend to put cheese on during the last few minutes on the grill. Maybe I need to try doing it as they come off the grill (letting the heat coming off the burger melt the cheese vs. the heated air of the grill)?

My wife and I are big fans of bleu cheese on our burgers, but it does kind of take over the burger.