My Ultimate Burger: Help me make it a Reality!

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Mylegsbig

Head Chef
Joined
Mar 25, 2005
Messages
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Location
Houston TX
Hey guys. I have an idea about what i want to make my ultimate burger with. Check it out.

I want to crumble bleu cheese into the ground beef, and of course use an egg as a binder, since i will be using lean beef. I will be cooking them under the broiler.

I will also add garlic powder sea salt and fresh cracked pepper.

I will be using 90% Sirloin.

Okay - About how much bleu cheese crumbles should i use for a pound of meat, making three patties out of that pound?

Also, I want to add portabello mushrooms to this burger. How should i cook this portabello mushroom? On a skillet with olive oil? for how long? Should i just cook the cap whole then slice it up into strips and top the burger?


Also, one more question - What kind of cheese would be ideal for this burger? I honestly have no idea what would go with the crumbled bleu cheese in the beef and portabello mushroom topping. Will be using a toasted wheat bun toasted in butter

Would swiss cheese be good? Cheddar? Any ideas?

SUMMARY:


What type of cheese would go in a bleu-cheese portabello mushroom burger?

How should i cook the portabello? for how long?

How much bleu cheese should go in a 1 pound meat mixture?


Any extra tips would be great.

Cheers!
 
Would you put the bleu cheese in the center or just scattered throughout the whole patty? I don't have any answers for how much you should use. But on a comment for the 10% ground meat part.

I would recommend 15%. I presonally think at 10% it's not juicy enough and can dry out really easily.

As for the mushroom, I don't grill mine very long, a couple minutes on each side.
 
Not just in the center friend, distributed throughout the meat. So i should just heat up some oil in a skillet on medium heat and grill the portabello on each side for 2-3 minutes?

Salt and pepper the mushroom obviously?

As for leanness of the meat, 90% Meat holds up just fine if i mix it with an egg and a dash of bread crumbs

Cheers
 
I don't eat mushrooms so I can't really answer the portobello question.

As for what type of cheese would go with a blue cheese burger, I would just stick with the blue cheese itself. Why add another cheese? Blues are usually pretty powerful so another cheese really wouldn't be needed.

What a lot of people these days have been doing is making a patty out of the blue cheese. Make it a little smaller than you make the hamburger patties. Then you just sandwich the cheese between 2 meat patties and seal it up.

If you just want to crumble the cheese and mis it throughout then I would say just eyeball it and see what looks right.

Why use breadcrumbs when you are making a burger to taste the meat. Hamburgers are something that need a little fat. Use the sirloin if you want, but also add in some chuck. Skip the breadcrumbs and even the egg if you want. When I make burgers I use all chuck and nothing else to bind it.
 
I'd try a quarter-cup of blue cheese. It's pretty strong stuff.

I'd do the mishroom under the broiler as well. Brush it with oil salt and pepper on both sides and broil for a couple of minutes per side. It'll get soft and floppy when it's done. No need to slice it. A whole grilled portobello will sit very nicely on a burger.

As GB said, stick with the blue. just add some crumbled on top of the burger.

Finally, why buy 90% lean beef and add an egg for moisture and binding when you could buy 85% lean, skip the egg and have a beef flavored burger rather than an egg flavored one. You're certainly not saving any fat or cholesterol buy using the egg yolk! One egg yolk has as much cholesterol as 3/4 of a pound of 90% lean beef.
 
IMHO a slab of blue cheese in the centre (center) is the go. Really gives a good zap of flavour.

Just for interest sake occasionally I mix Mozz through for the texture.

With your mushrooms, if you are going to mix them into your beef, finely dice them and saute in EVOO or butter until warm through if your burgers are to be well done, or sauteed until soft if the burgers are served rare or MR.

If you are using the really large mushies, cook them separately & serve the burger in the mushy with a red wine sauce over the top.

Cook them in the oven at about 375, buttered inside & out with garlic (or herb) butter until soft.

Red wine, mushies & blue cheese - bewdiful.

Now you've gone & done it! I'll have to head off into town now to get some blue cheese and mushrooms. :ROFLMAO:
 
Porto's are great, but if you're using bleu cheese I'd consider skipping them. The cheese could overpower the mushrooms.

Here's something you might wanna try. Go ahead and use 90% lean ground chuck (or whatever) with a bit of minced onions mixed in. No need to add egg or crumbs. In a separate bowl, mix about 1 cup of gorgonzola cheese with about a TBSP of fresh grated horseradish. Be sure to mix it really well.

Cook the burger, then top it with the cheese & horsey mix. Go ahead and cake it on really good. Put it back under the topbroiler for a couple minutes until the cheese browns up nicely. Voila! A little slice of heaven!:chef:

I suppose if you really wanted you could add a porto cap to the top. That would make a pretty hearty burger.

BTW, gorgonzola tastes a lot like bleu cheese, but it's a tad drier and will brown better. Bleu used in this way will melt a little too much vs brown.
 
Thanks for all the replies

Rob, your burger sounds incredible.. i think i may just do it that way...

as for the egg as a binder, it's not for cholesterol guys... it's for calories... one egg only has 70 calories

divided into three patties thats like ~25 calories per burger...

If i use ground 80/20 meat or even 85/15, there will be alot more calories added than 25.....
 
The difference in calories between 85% and 90% ground beef after cooking is actually a little less than the calories in an egg. Use the egg if you prefer. Either way, sounds like you are going to have a very tasty burger.
 
Andy M. said:
The difference in calories between 85% and 90% ground beef after cooking is actually a little less than the calories in an egg. Use the egg if you prefer. Either way, sounds like you are going to have a very tasty burger.


Andy, i didn't know that man. Are you sure about that?

Believe me friend - I would rather not use the egg.

I'm a purist at heart
 
I use the US Department of Agriculture nutrients database. According to them, the calories in a pound of raw beef that's been broiled is 770 calories for 85% and 712 calories for 90%. Here's the link, You can use it online or download it to your computer for use anytime. It doesn't take too long and if you're on a serious diet, it's a big help.

http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp/Data/SR17/sr17.html

Be careful using it, though. You have to be very specific in choosing the right item for nutritional info as there are a lot of options and you have to be sure you get the right one or it can screw you up big time.

Good luck and enjoy those burgers!

Happy 4th!
 
I'm gonna cook me up some steaks for the 4th. I'm fortunate enough to work for one of the best restaurants in the state, so I get my steaks, freshly cut, at cost- and we're not talkin' no choice stuff, neither! Real prime beef.:chef:

Still, nothin' wrong with a good burger, either.
 
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