Terrible grilled burgers, why?

[Debraj]

They actually tasted very good, but they were more like meat balls.
I have this problem every time I use fresh ground beef as aposed to the pre foarmed patties.I used 80% beef as well as a herbed butter slice imbedded in the middle of each patty as sugested by steven Reichlin in one of his bbq books.I weighed each patty at 1/4 lb raw and used a burger press to insure consistincy.They were all perfict meat balls after I cooked them.I have heard to never press the patty as it cooks because it will dry it out.Should I weigh them down when They first go on the grill to help keep the shape or am I missing the addition of an ingrediant that will keep them from shrinking?This is an ongoing problem and any advice would be great.

[Andy M.]

Plain burger bulge in the middle when cooked. A burger with butter in the middle will bulge more.

Many burger-making instructions include pressing a depression into the middle of the patty when forming it so the end result will be flat when cooked.

[MyCrummyApartment]

Not sure about this, but could it be your meat is too fatty or too chunky? Also, what the heck is the other 20% of your product?

[PrincessFiona60]

Originally Posted by MyCrummyApartment

Not sure about this, but could it be your meat is too fatty or too chunky? Also, what the heck is the other 20% of your product?

I'm fairly sure she means 80/20 beef, the fat to lean ratio.

[DaveSoMD]

As the burgers cook the meat shrinks and pulls together forming bulge or ball. Make the patty the size you want then press an indentation into the middle of of it, like a deep thumbprint. That will stop it from bulging up in the middle.

[Rocklobster]

I flatten mine(actually, I do up about 100 a week at work) using two plates and peach paper. I flatten them out very thin so by the time they are done cooking, they have shrunk to the size I want...

[pacanis]

I have been making my beef hamburgers thinner and larger diameter lately. They shrink up just right, slightly larger than the bun I'm using, and no indentation needed. And the other ingredients don't get squished out of the bun if you load it up with tomato, lettuce and other goodies. They aren't as "pretty" as a nice thick burger cooked med/rare, but that's the kick I've been on lately.

[BigAL]

Originally Posted by Andy M.

Plain burger bulge in the middle when cooked. A burger with butter in the middle will bulge more.

Many burger-making instructions include pressing a depression into the middle of the patty when forming it so the end result will be flat when cooked.

I'll second that. All in favor say "I".

[Uncle Bob]

"They" say over working the meat.. as well as cooking too fast/hot and for too long makes matters worse ~~ What's the hurry? Slow down and cook with medium hot fires/pans...The thumb print or even a hole will make it mo better also.......

[roadfix]

Eye