/ck/ - Food & Cooking

[ground beef burgers No.17806306]

How do you make a simple ground beef burger that actually tastes good? I can cook a steak easily enough, and I don't mean just boil it in a pan, I figured out searing, hitting internal temps and resting period so I'm eating like a king every time, but I cannot cook a simple burger to save my life.
Either I fuck up the binder and it becomes water proof so when you bite it there is so much water still inside I get a burger bukaki, or I spend so much time getting it up to temperature the outside burns (not seared, just fucking burnt aids taste). Then there's the question of ingredients, do I just season it? Everything online is a fucking smorgasbord of completely unrelated or unnecessary additions that only take away from the flavour of the meat, but surely there are some basics that can applied like do I need a binder at all? Am I suppose to cook it like a steak or? How thicc should it be? Why do these cunt's on recipe sites insist on putting everything in the freezer before cooking, surely this just fucks it up more?
Please help.

[Anonymous No.17806373]

>>17806306
>The binder
Nigger what
Use ground chuck or mix chuck and lean
Form patty
Salt and maybe garlic or onion powder or whatever seasoning you like
Slap it in a lightly oiled pan on medium, flip halfway through cooking
Slap it on a bun
You don't need to fuck with the meat or add binders, that's how you make meatloaf

[ground beef burgers No.17806390]

>>17806373
so it's literally meat with seasoning on the outside? ok I will try this immediately and report back

[Anonymous No.17806408]

>>17806390
Yeah man, it's pretty simple
As for thickness about 3/4 of an inch to one inch is what most people do but it's up to preference. A thicker burger means a less done middle.

[ground beef burgers No.17806491]

>>17806408
fuck, I've been making them way too thin as well. cheers anon, this actually has more flavour than when I was putting salt and pepper inside of it, turns out simple was indeed the answer lmao

[Anonymous No.17806506]

>>17806491
Thinner is better imo. Make em about 1/4 inch thick, turn up the heat, and get a good crust on those bad boys. If you want a thicker burger, just stack a few patties.

[Anonymous No.17806533]

>>17806491
Hamburgers are the epitome of simple but tasty. I really don't understand why recipe sites add so much when it's just about the nice fatty beef.
>>17806506
That's a smash burger, which I don't really think of as being the same as a traditional burger

A smash burger you really need a super hot cast-iron, it's good but it's messy an easy to fuck up. So much smoke...

[Anonymous No.17806547]

>>17806533
It's not a smash burger is you don't smash it. But, either way, let's not get all uppity about burgers, ok?

[Anonymous No.17806621]

The juice issue can be mitigated somewhat in thicker burgers by making a divot/depression in the middle before you apply heat. When meat like that is heated it tenses up and shrinks and that divot compensates for that action wanting to make the middle of the burger the fattest part where all the juices are.
Also letting the cooked meat rest a bit before biting or cutting into it allows those juices to redustribute and not spew out under pressure.

Other anonsxare correct that you don't need binders, if the patties are breaking up you probably need to leave them alone longer before trying to flip or move them. That also makes for a better/faster overall sear and flavor whether cooking meat in a pan or BBQ grill.