Another beef thread -- laaarge hamburgers

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Turkeyman

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Got another questions for you experts out there :chef: . I have wanted to cook one of those laarge burgers - minimum 1 pound(like at Fuddruckers), or maybe even a 2 or 3 pounder(as you may see on Food Network specials). It's just for fun -- It'd become something to make with a bunch of friends and split into massive pieces and eat. I would most definitely use 80/20 beef, and would most probably have to purchase a thermometer to check when the inside had hit a cooked temperature.

I'm still not sure though, how I would approach a burger of this size? Let's say for now it would be a 1 pound burger(plus or minus a couple of ounces). I know I'd need eggs, breadcrumbs, all my normal spices --> but what would be the best way to cook it to ensure the inside is cooked? Sear and oven blast method...bbq grill? Also, any other tips/thoughts you could give me would be excellent. Thanks again, and you can wait to answer the post after you're done laughing at me :ROFLMAO: .
 
After reading your thread, I wonder how do you deal with the bun? I'm assuming you don't go get the standard bun from the grocery store. Do you just buy foccacia bread? What bun is big enough to make 1+ pound burger...or would you use a loaf?

That would be really fun, just to try! :chef:
 
Flavor your meat with some homemade garlic/salt/olive oil paste - just take the side of your knife blade and smoosh the chopped garlic, kosher salt, and oil to form a paste - and plenty of it too. Then I'd add a couple bottles of horseradish cream or horseradish, lots of Worcestershire and that's all I put in mine - except some turns of the pepper mill. Gently fold the ingredients in with your fingers being careful not to squish too much - that will only make it tough.

Carefully form your pattie being sure not to smoosh it too much - make it aboutan inch or so thick. Take your thumb and put an indention right in the middle of the burger and because it's so big you'll have to make the indention bigger and wider. This prevents shrinking.

I would sear it on both sides then finish in a roughly 375° oven for probably about 15 minutes - a thermometer will do the trick though. Don't squish it to see if the juices run pink or clear, you'll just be losing valuable moisture. Test for temp around the indention in the middle at a thicker point.

You could always get an Italian boule and hollow it out to serve your burger on then cut in wedges.

IMHO you can't eat a burger without provolone.

This is all just my 2 cents.
 
That sounds interesting for a group or party.

I think it maybe a good idea to come up with a theme first,that might determine what you add to the meat and what
you might use as a bun.

Examples could be cajun,mexican,cali,down under,east indian
french that kind of thing and the condiments that compliment each and of course the different breads as well.

I would up the fat content to at least 27 to 30% with anything over 1 lb,otherwise you could have a brick on your hands.
 
I totally forgot to say I add a LOT of olive oil to my meat mixture. I can get a lower fat content but still a lot of moisture from the olive oil. Yea foodaholic - good poinit - I've eaten those bricks before - keep you full for about 3 days and make you swear off ever eating another burger! :neutral:

You brought up a good point too - sauteed mushrooms and swiss would be good along with some caramelized onions - all would fit nicely in an Italian boule.
 
I put olive oil in mine as well.the french add a little cream
sometimes of course with sauteed shallot,porcini,garlic
deglazed with some brandy,cooled added to the beef.Now we could roll the beef lenthwise,flatten and serve on a bagette
with roasted garlic and red peppers with a touch of goat cheese.:mrgreen:
 
foodaholic said:
I put olive oil in mine as well.the french add a little cream
sometimes of course with sauteed shallot,porcini,garlic
deglazed with some brandy,cooled added to the beef.Now we could roll the beef lenthwise,flatten and serve on a bagette
with roasted garlic and red peppers with a touch of goat cheese.:mrgreen:

...and we're getting together to cook when????
 
Hahaha good stuff you guys!

Do they still sell 70% beef? I think I've seen 75%, but not in my local grocery store. I'll check that out!

For the bun, I was planning to either use Middle Eastern style flatbread, or I can do the job with the Italian loaf...just make a big bread bowl and stick the burger in there as you mentioned. :D

Kitchenelf, would you be able to give me approximate measurements for say, 1 lb of beef? Your olive oil paste/horseradish/worstershire combo sounds perfect to my taste buds.

Lastly, I was definitely looking at a steak and cheese type topping --> provolone, sauteed mushrooms and onions. Also of course mayo, mustard, lettuce, and tomato :D.

Oh and secondlastly, foodaholic and kitchenelf -- about how much olive oil do you put into your hamburger mix(let's do everything in terms of 1 lb of beef)?
 
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Some good ideas here.

If you're not set on a round burger, you could buy a really nice loaf of bread and shape the burger to fit the bread...
 
Good idea there...that could call for interesting times :D.

By the way...I've never heard of the indentation technique before. Is that something all of you cooking experts do?

Sorry for all the questions...these techniques are just so fascinating haha
 
Yeah I always do the indent thing. Burgers will rise higher in the middle and sort of get more of a spherical shape (well not quite) as opposed to a patty shape. By putting an indent in the middle (on both side) this give extra room for the middle to rise, but still stay in a patty shape.

When I make burgers I usually make them at least a half pound. I do not use any fillers or binders like the egg and breadcrumbs you mentioned. I just use seasonings (garlic powder, onion powder, celery salt, chili powder, smoked Spanish paprika, chipotle pepper, salt, pepper, whatsthishere sauce, and a number of other things or any combination of these). I would think you probably could do the same for a full pound. I would go with the sear and then finish in the oven method and check with a thermometer.
 
For 1 pound of fairly lean ground meat I would use a couple TBS to mix the paste on a cutting board (3 large cloves of garlic, 6 TBS or more of Worcestershire) then I would add an addition 1/4 cup of olive oil. I'd use a good half of a bottle of creamstyle horseradish jar. After you have everything mixed smell it - it it doesn't have a strong horseradish smell or Worcestershire smell add some more. You will probably end up using a whole jar of the horseradish and maybe 3 more TBS of worcestershire - I just shake until the meat changes color.

I hope those guidelines help you.
 
The mushrooms, swiss, and caramelized onions make me swoon! lol This is a favorite burger at a local restaurant and they serve it on nice thick slices of sour dough bread - and the even "bester" part is you can order them really rare!
 
How could I resist this challenge!:mrgreen: Ok. So here's how I'd approach this monster. First, you will need something with sufficent surface area to flip this baby. But we'll get to that. Let's first form the patty.

Forget the bread crumbs unless you want a meat loaf or salisbury steak flavor. Do add the egg. It will help reduce shrinkage and keep the burger jucier. Use one large egg per pound of ground beef.

When shaping the patty, to it in the pan you are going to cook it in, or on a plate. Do indent the center as the middle does rise due to contracting protien. You aren't so much worried about the shape as you are making sure the meat is cooked as thoroughly in the center as it is on the rim. Indenting the center will take care of that.

Dont be afraid to season the meat. A light sprinkling of salt on the outside will not dry it out. Over-cooking will dry it out. And as you stated, use a meat thermometer and cook to a minimum temp of 165 degrees F.

The reason you want to make the patty in the pan you will cook it in is that you can then use that pan to flip the burger into a second pan when you need to. I would start the burger on top of the stove, with a lid on it. When the pan is hot, cook for five minutes on one side. While it's cooking, get the second pan hot. Remove the lid from the first pan and carefully flip into the second, lightly oiled pan, taking care not to splash yourself with hot juices. Again cover and cook for five minutes with the lid on. Remove the lid and check the middle temperature with an instant read thermometer. If it reads 160 degrees, your ready for the next step. If you need to cook it longer, do so for another five minutes or so, again covered. Once you bring the meat center up to temperature, place the burger under the broiler for about three minutes to brown. Flip once more into the other pan and broil another three minutes. REmove by flipping the whole burger onto your giant "bun" and top with a buch of tommato, pickles, relish, mustard, onions, whatever you like. Serve open faced on a platter with the top bun sitting beside the burger.

To grill this baby, make the bruger on a plate, again indenting the middle. Fire up the grill with divided banks of charcoal, or only gas burner lit, for the indirect heat method. When the fire is hot, flip the burger onto the grill with the plate, over the coolest part of the grill. Insert a meat thermometer into the burger center, about half-way through and cook as you would a small beef roast, covered of course. Use a flat, metal cooking sheet to flip the burger. Cook until the meat reaches 165 degrees. Remove to a plate and flip onto the bun as previously described.

This burger, cooked by either method should be very juicy, and can very in weight from 1 to 5 pounds. The methods should allow you to make the burger whatever size you want.

The single biggest reason for ruined burgers, is making them the roound shape, IMHO. When the diameter is small compared to the thickness, the outer meat, along with the perimiter becomes dried out by the time the center is thick. For a 4 inch diameter burger, figure a thickness of no more than 1/2 inch. For larger burgers, increase the thickness accordingly. That way, you don't overcook one part before the middle is safely done.

Let us know how you decided to cook your monster burger, and how it turned out. I can't wait to hear.

Seeeeeya; Goodweed of the North
 
Niiice, this monster burger project will take place two saturdays from today. I would do it next Saturday, but that's my birthday...so it seems like people have other plans for me :O. These ideas really helped me put the "project" in perspective, and with my handy dandy new thermometer things should work out just fine.
 
Well, it's two Saturdays from my previous post, and I made the monster burger today! It was 1.5 pounds, and the patty turned out very nice. I combined the advice of all you guys who wrote extensive posts(kitchenelf, goodweed -- thanks!). I ended up using 80/20 ground chuck. From there, I created a paste out of five minced garlic cloves, olive oil, and kosher salt. Mashed that up nice and good with two tablespoons...then from there I added only two tablespoons of horseradish, and three tablespoons of worcestershire. Mixed it all up with an egg as well...then formed it into a patty with an indentation in the middle. I seared it on both sides, 2 minutes each, in an iron-cast skillet. From there, I stuck it into an oven at 375 degrees for about 12-15 minutes. It came out a perfect medium/medium rare...and the burger itself was topped with tomatoes, lettuce, caramelized onions/mushrooms/swiss, and goat cheese. The bread we used was a middle eastern flatbread, which wrapped around the large patty nicely. It was definitely a great burger. Ah yes, I forgot to say that for added moisture, I took about 2 tablespoons of butter, broke it up into little pieces, and mushed that around in the ground beef as well. When it cooked, the butter melted and flowed throughout the burger...muaha.

Once again, thanks a lot...I shared this burger with four friends. We had homemade onion rings on the side.
 
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