Grilled Burgers Don't Taste Grilled.

[roadfix]

Originally Posted by salt and pepper

I have to agree with The Chief, Very hot grill, wood coals, lots of fat, some flame and an open grill.

I also agree with this and I buy the cheapest ground beef. I like to use my small, cast iron Lodge hibachi with screaming hot coals and my burgers always come out great.

[pacanis]

Originally Posted by roadfix

Is this why Weber named the metal shields which fit over each burner 'flavor bars'?
I always wondered about that...

You betcha.
The theoory is that the juices from the food drip onto the bars and cook off, producing a smoke that goes up and hits the food. If you ask me, When I'm using gas I'd prefer the old lava rocks style. I'm on my third set of "flavor bars" and have burned out part of my SS Ducane I got 3-4 years ago or so. Maybe I grill too much

[mborner]

Thank you all for the great tips. I will be trying some techniques suggested here and will cross my fingers.

[FrankZ]

When I do burgers I do them on the grill over as hot of coals as I can get, I don't do high fat content though. I tend trim out as much as I can reasonably then grind the meat. I get a nice smokiness with a beefy taste. I think the trick is hot HOT coals.

[Zagut]

Part of it might be something that I suffer from.

And that's that it always tastes better when someone else cooks it.

I think after going through the prep and then cooking it. Being inundated with the tastes we take and the smells of it cooking our expectations fall short of what we feel we've achieved in the final product.

Sensory overload.

Others like what we cook but we usually feel we could have done better.

Yeah, I'm most likely all wet but it sure is nice to eat others creations.

[Dawgluver]

Zagut, I think you have something there.

[no mayonnaise]

I almost posted the psychological angle earlier but figured it would get shot down so I deleted that part of my post. Glad I'm not the only one who thinks on those lines.

[buckytom]

so in a way, you're saying aliens make the best burgers, no mayo?

there certainly is something to sensory overload when cooking, especially fatty things. you could try an experiment and let someone else cook your burger first using some of the same methods that you've described that have failed to get you "that smokey, grilled taste", then you cook them and eat a second one to see if it's the same.

for many years i've thought that things i make like sunday gravy, lasagna, and certain roasts and gravies taste a lot better the next day, partly because they get to mingle their flavours overnight, but also because my nose gets a reset and tastes each thing as if it were new the second time.

[Andy M.]

There's no doubt this is the case for me. Sitting down to Thanksgiving dinner is anticlimactic for me. I'm not even hungry when I sit down.

[taxlady]

I was wondering about the psychological angle too. We tend to be more critical of our own cooking, or at least I am. But, mborner mentioned that it's the same story with his parents' burgers. Maybe the psychological angle applies to parents too sometimes?

[pacanis]

I swear I had some of the best burgers of my life last October, but someone else made and grilled them and I was at an outdoor event in bad weather. Anything would have tasted fantastic.

[Rocklobster]

Sorry to totally get off topic and not answer the original posters question but, I have to tell you this. My son has been working at a burger place in Toronto while he is pursuing his chosen career. They are wildly successful with a line up every day for hours. I know because I had to wait in it one time. He stands in front of the flat grill and fries the burgers all day. I am surprised how much an hour he makes. I didn't think a fast food place could afford to pay their cooks that much. He makes about 1000 patties a day and has had a few 2000 patty days. The burgers are very basic and that is their angle.

The burger has been abused over the years by people and franchises trying to create something different, special and have created some abominations. Back to basics, is what I say. Since then I have been frying my burgers on the stove in a cast iron pan, flipping them once with a sharp paint scraper. and loving them more than the bbq. Very moist and beefy. He says they are told to let the burger sit and create a good crust and make sure you get all of it when you flip it. That caramalization of the meat protien is the flavor.
The Burger's Priest | Toronto Ontario

[Andy M.]

I hear you, Rock. However, pan/griddle fried burgers have a very different taste from grilled burgers. I actually prefer burgers cooked on the ridged plates of my Cuisinart Griddler to pan fried.

[roadfix]

When cooking stove top indoors I also prefer cooking burgers on ridged cast iron.

As for burger joints In-N-Out Burger is my favorite. No fancy dressing or sauces. They're so simple I can almost duplicate it at home.

[Chief Longwind Of The North]

Rock and Andy; you guys impress me every time you speak. I want to add this to what you say. Some beef cuts have a more pronounced "beef" flavor than do others. Chuck, sirloin, and round have good flavor. Shank has even more flavor. That flavor comes from muscles that are well exercised. Ever eat beef heart? If you have, then you know what I'm talking about.

On the charcoal grill, fat is important for its ability to melt, and drip onto the hot coals and make smoke that flavors the meat. It also has a flavor of its own. But that flavor is very mild. In a pan fried burger, it contributes more to texture and how juicy the burger is.

For a pan fried burger, I prefer an 80/20 mixture for the richer beef flavor it has. The best burger, IMHO, comes when you choose a suitable cut, and smell it. You can tell by the odor of the raw meat how much beef flavor it will have. Then, you have the butcher grind it with the proper amount of fat. If you can't do that, take a whiff of the pre-ground beef that you are purchasing. Check the ground beef quality of different stores. See if you can find a store that will grind it for you.

I once had an amazing burger in this little corner restaurant, located in Olympia Wa. It was cooked medium rare, and tasted more like a really great flavored steak than it did a burger, just not as expensive.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that "great burger" means something different to everyone. For me, that traditional pan-fried, or grill-mark burger flavor is a combination of good tasting meat, with the flavor imparted by the browned meat and salt, and the textural and flavor qualities of the contained fat. Charcoal grilled traditional for me is that great flavor, in the proper amount, provided by quality meat, juicy texture, and smoke from burning fat.

My ideal burger, which I have yet to be able to duplicate, is that fire-grilled, steak-tasting burger that I had in that restaurant.

As with all food, it's important to understand the role of different ingredients in the food we make, as well as how the techniques we use react with those ingredients. I think of ground beef as an amalgamation of lean beef, fat, and seasonings. I then use different techniques to cook it for the purpose I'm using the ground beef for. Pan fried, or pan-grilled, broiled, flame grilled, barbecued, browned for use in a sauce, as an ingredient in meat loaf, or soup, or tacos, or whatever, understanding ground beef by its ingredients, and how to choose the correct technique for the recipe you are making, is key to success.

Andy & Rock, you guys are among the most knowledgeable cooks I know. And I'm still learning from both of you, and hope I am contributing to that pool of knowledge that we all can draw from.

I'm an analytical cook. It helps me understand, and engineer foods to be what I want them to be. And to the OP, I hope you are able to glean something useful from these posts. Good luck in your quest for the perfect burger.

Seeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North

[pacanis]

Originally Posted by Andy M.

I hear you, Rock. However, pan/griddle fried burgers have a very different taste from grilled burgers. I actually prefer burgers cooked on the ridged plates of my Cuisinart Griddler to pan fried.

True, it's a very diffferent burger. And while I prefer grilled, I also like a pan fried burger because I can use the oil and drippings for gravy, especially if I'm making a loco moco.

I've always wanted to try that place in Boston (I think) that cooks the burgers vertically in those small toaster looking burners.

[Oldvine]

Try toasting the bun on a flat grill as in burger joint, then wrap the burger in sandwich paper to serve. If a sandwich gets made in our kitchen, including grilled cheese and hamburgers, it gets wrapped. Sandwiches seem to like being swaddled even for a few seconds.

[love2"Q"]

I never really enjoyed a grilled burger made at home until i got a charcoal grill with cast iron grates.. but im a ground chuck guy.. salt and pepper on it.. then add a big chunk of hickory to the lump charcoal..

[chopper]

I bet if you grilled burgers while camping they would taste great! Everything taste better when You are camping.

[Andy M.]

Originally Posted by pacanis

True, it's a very diffferent burger. And while I prefer grilled, I also like a pan fried burger because I can use the oil and drippings for gravy, especially if I'm making a loco moco.

I've always wanted to try that place in Boston (I think) that cooks the burgers vertically in those small toaster looking burners.

Actually that place is in New Haven. Louis' Lunch - The Birthplace of the Hamburger Sandwich

All burgers served on white bread and don't ask for ketchup, it's not allowed.