What kind of meat for hamburgers

Not only will the additional fat balance out the leanness of the round, but it will also contribute a lovely porky flavor, making it almost like a bacon burger. You can use this trick with ground turkey or chicken as well. Both of which are too lean to make good burgers on their own. Another trick is if you grind your own meat. Buy some pork fatback from your butcher and add it to the grinder along with your leaner beef or poultry. Again, whatever you need to do to achieve that 15 to 20 percent fat content.

For a spicy kick, consider one part ground sausage for three parts ground beef. Unlike a steak, which is best cooked medium-rare or at most medium , a burger needs to be cooked somewhere in the vicinity of medium-well to well which corresponds to an interior temperature of to F. This is all well and good, but the trick is cooking it to the required interior temperature without cooking the exterior to a blackened shell.

To pull this off, make sure that you cook them over a medium-temperature grill , rather than a high one. Indirect heat can also help, especially when it comes to preventing flare-ups caused by dripping fat. To complete your burger, think of "the fixings" in terms of the following three elements: cheese, condiments, and toppings. Cheese should be melted directly on the patty during the last minute of cooking.

American, cheddar, blue, goat, Havarti, pepper jack, and brie are all excellent choices. Choose one! Condiments can include anything from ketchup, mustard, and mayo to BBQ sauce, Russian dressing , steak sauce, and truffle aioli, to name just a few.

But more than three is usually overkill. To keep the bun from falling apart, apply condiments to the top half of the bun only or the top of the toppings stack. When it comes to toppings, the rule of three also applies, but consider some of the following, listed in order of where you would stack them, from top to bottom:.

Actively scan device characteristics for identification. Use precise geolocation data. Select personalised content. Create a personalised content profile. Properly stored, burger meat will keep for up to 2 days in the refrigerator. You can absolutely freeze ground beef as well as formed ground beef burger patties for longer storage! To freeze burger patties, place the formed patties in a single layer on a wax paper lined sheet pan.

Transfer the sheet pan to the freezer and allow the patties to freeze solid before transferring to a zip-closure storage bag. Freezing them solid in a single layer will help them keep their shape. Once fully frozen, stack the patties with a square of parchment paper layered in between to prevent sticking.

Transfer the stacked patties to a heavy-duty, zip-closure bag and remove as much air as possible when sealing to prevent freezer burn. To freeze loose ground burger meat, portion it out into useable portions first half a pound, 1 pound or 2 pounds , and then transfer to a heavy-duty zip-closure bag.

Properly stored, burger meat and burger patties will keep in the freezer for up to months. Make sure you label your bags with the date they were placed in the freezer so you can keep track of storage times. The best way to safely thaw ground beef or burger patties is to place the meat in the refrigerator and allow it to defrost overnight. To defrost burger meat more rapidly, you can defrost it using cold water. To do so, keep the meat in an airtight, zip-closure bag and submerge under COLD water.

Be sure to change the water every minutes and use the meat immediately. While you can use a microwave to defrost the ground beef, I do not recommend it. Using a microwave will cause some areas of the raw beef to cook, which results in unappetizing, tough cooked ground beef. You should season your burger meat after forming it into patties and as close to the actual cooking time as possible. Since salt draws the moisture out of meat it will affect the texture of the cooked burger.

Seasoning your burger meat too early will result in a tougher, denser burger patty. So, make sure you preheat your grill first and season the patties right before you cook them! When making your own patties, you can assume between 4 to 6 ounces of ground beef per patty. While there are a number of factors to consider when feeding a crown, such as — age and gender of your guests, the number of sides at your party and so on — you can safely assume each person will consume 1 to 1.

To be on the easy and safe side when estimating how much burger meat per person, assume you are making 6 ounce burgers and each person will consume 1 burger:.

So, what are you waiting for?! Craving MORE? Follow all the deliciousness on Facebook , Pinterest and Instagram! All images and content are copyright protected. Please do not use any images without prior permission. Please do not republish this recipe without prior consent. If you want to reference this recipe, please do so by linking directly to this post. Hi Cheyenne , i was thinking about grinding ribey. Hi Alvis, Using ribeye is very subjective. Technically, it will depend upon the grade of your ribeye and how much fat has been trimmed or left untrimmed.

However, generally speaking, I would say most ribeyes have plenty of marbling and should make a great burger — without the need to supplement it! All the best, Cheyanne. Thanks for posting this! It seems like an extraordinary opportunity to infuse flavor into the meat without the risk to structural integrity you get by pouring liquid on the patties, plus it would infuse the flavor all the way through, rather than just on the surface.

I can see the pros to doing this, obviously…. Or would it cause its own patty integrity issues? Not come out the way I would expect flavor-wise? Textural problems? Would I just end up with a big red pile of sadness? Could it cause food borne illness? Lemme know! The other idea I had would be to mix meats, like pork and beef, or turkey or chicken, etc. I can see a risk to inconsistent cooking rates and risks to undercooked meat other than beef.

But this too seems like a wonderful way to complexity and deepen flavors. And doing it in the grinder would lead, it would seem, to more even, consistent combination.

When mixing pre-ground meats by hand, you either end up with pockets of different meats inconsistent blend , or you end up mashing it all way too much and ruining the texture. It seems that putting a cube of beef and a cube of pork in at the same time would go a great distance to avoiding each pitfall.

The idea of a multi-animal, pre-marinated patty that only requires just a sprinkle of salt and pepper and maybe sugar on the surface before applying smoke and flame to it sounds like an absolutely incredible, life-changing experience!

Hi there, Great questions! I really appreciate your enthusiasm for grinding your own meat!!! Marinating: Honestly, I think marinating should be reserved for lower quality cuts of meat such as flank steak. Mixing Meats: Aside from stellar flavor, one of the main points of grinding your own beef is so you can enjoy a burger rare safely. As far as mixing chicken and turkey, if that sounds good to you, by all means, try it!!

I think what I should probably do is for my first outing, just follow your recipe and not get too experimental. For another flavor of beef that makes a delicious flavor burger is shoulder clod.

I primarily grind just brisket and do a double grind on it. A additive I like to add is a fat is bone marrow. One heaping table spoon of chopped bone marrow. Per pound.

Your butcher can split a bone for you. Do not run through a grinder as it just whips the marrow and makes it creamy. The flavor is a mild nutty flavor it adds to the burger and juicy. Serve to your guest and tell them later when they praise the flavor. This will help break down the collagens in the brisket.

This is what makes pastrami and corned beef so good. I was wondering why everyone recommends cubing the meat. I have always cut long strips. It is so much easier as they are pretty much self feeding with my grinder. Hi Ulli, You can do either — cut the meat into cubes or cut the meat into long strips.

Honestly, it depends on your grinder and personal preference. I have found that cubing the meat results in a smoother process and reduces the likelihood of clogging your grinder. But again, you can most definitely cut the meat either which way!! Cheers and thank you so much for stopping by! Would be interested in your thoughts on adding bacon to the ground meat grinding it into the mix??

Hi Abby, Great question! I would probably partially cook and finely chop the bacon, and then gently stir or fold it into the ground meat versus grinding the bacon into the mix to avoid any chewy pieces of bacon in the burger meat.

Hi, thanks for sharing this awesome piece. I am having trouble in measuring salt in my recipes. Can you guide me what to do? But, to properly measure salt, you add it to your measuring cup or spoon and then level it off.

If you are asking about what type of salt to use, you should always follow a recipes ingredient list; however, kosher salt or flaky Maldon salt is typically used in cooking. If you are asking when to add salt to a dish, you should follow the recipes instructions. I hope that helps answer your question! If you are looking for more specifics on salt the science of salt, common ratios used, etc.

What an inspirational article!!!! Thank you! Very informative. Been grinding my own hamburger for years. I have alway been the one that uses less fat and more Tricks-tip. Which made me find this site.

Thanks for the the excellent writing and suggestions on seasoning. What is your iron of putting garlic in the meat before freezing?

Not all spices and seasonings freeze well and a lot of them can change flavor once frozen. For example, garlic can become bitter once frozen and salt loses its flavor.

Your best bet would be to season the ground beef or hamburgers right before you cook them. Your answer will determine the amount of fat content you will need.

The fat content of a burger is an important player and will provide the moisture and flavour to the meat, which is especially important considering the high heat used when cooking burgers. The fat content will prevent your burger from drying out. The rest of the patty can be made from lean cuts. When it comes to cooking your burger keep the flipping to a minimum and avoid the temptation to push down on the patty. While pushing the patty down may speed up the cooking time, it will push out all the precious juices that you want to keep.

While you can keep it simple and let your patty truly shine, why not beef up your burger by topping it with all your favourites. Check out some of our favourite burger recipes here.