Hamburgers

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We're not huge burger eaters here, except for an occasional one at Hardee's on our way to or from a doctor's appointment or running errands.

Once in a great while, I'll purchase a small package of frozen patties to have when there are no homemade meals in the freezer and I don't have the time or energy to cook. Have probably only done that three times in my cooking career.
 
[snip] He told me once what went into the hamburger. Since then, before I even had my KA and the grinder attachment, I have not bought ground meat at any store. I am not saying that it is the same at all grocery stores that sell hamburger, just that I don't trust anyone today with selling me ground meat. I really insist on knowing what I am eating. :angel:

That's kinda where I'm at too.

Too many stories about tainted meat products.

Especially ground product.

I know what I buy.

I have a grinder.

Doesn't take much time so why not?

Pressing it into a patty is low on the list of concerns.

Yeah my burgers might not be a perfect circle to fit the bun but I have less worries about what might or might not have been ground into the mix.
 
When I was in high school my step-brother who worked graveyard at a Jack-In-The-Box at the time told me what they did to their burger patties before grilling them. I have not set foot in a JackInTheBox in over 40 years. I love their commercials though...
 
So the other day I made smash burgers using the smash method. Smash the ball of ground beef on the screaming hot flat top griddle into a patty using a stiff spatula. I really couldn't tell any diff between doing this and forming patties beforehand.
 
Enough Bickering, I am close to closing this thread and making people take a time out.

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roadfix, i was just thinking of how to make a good smash burger.
i mean, i always form the edges of my burgers so they end up nice and even, but i kinda like the look of a burger with irregular edges. when i've tried to "make" them with the edges, they've always broken up a bit.

i'll have to try the ball-smash method. i rarely cook burgers on anything but a grill or grill pan, so it's time to pull out the cast iron.
 
roadfix, i was just thinking of how to make a good smash burger.
i mean, i always form the edges of my burgers so they end up nice and even, but i kinda like the look of a burger with irregular edges. when i've tried to "make" them with the edges, they've always broken up a bit.

Whether I form by hand or press them between wax paper my edges look like these now. And they stay together.
I used to be anal about forming clean, solid edges a few years back but I now love the look and texture of rugged edges.

img_1383656_0_3691e643a548bf5bf5bb2377058deac8.jpg
 
exactly. i don't know why a burger looks and seemingly tastes better smashed rather than uniform.
thanks again.
 
At work I grind around 80 lbs of lean meat a week. I do a double grind to which I add another 10 to 15 of steak trimmings from ribe eyes and strip loins. Lightly seasoned, then we do up around 180 to 200, 6 oz patties.(save some for other recipes like soup, meat sauce etc.) Hand roll and flatten between wax patty papers with a plate. We start our burgers on the flat grill, flip once then emmediately flatten out and transfer to the char grill. I like to brush them with a bit of melted garlic spread to encourage flaring and charring. Once they have gotten charred after a couple of minutes I move them to the med heat and add my cheese or whatever and let them finish gently while we are preparing other orders.

Which reminds me. Today is Saturday. I will be doing them later this afternoon....
 
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