Please tell me how you make your homemade burgers?

[caperplips]

I want to make homemade burgers tonight on the BBQ. I have the mince. Online recipes all seem to add millions of ingredients to the mince but I want old fashioned plain style burgers with cheese on top.

I don't want onion in them as I will add on top after

Can I literally just shape the meat and grill it or will it all fall apart? Does it have to have some sort of binding?

Please tell me your best tips!

Clove of garlic, obvs, CLOVE 🙄😂

beef mince (10% fat) pepper, olive oil, sometimes paprika, sometimes garlic.

why would you put a dent in the middle?

Some good ideas here! Going to try later! Chuckling at 'mix it with mice ' and 'stick your big thumb in it' tho

Seasoning, mix, shape, Chuck in fridge until needed. Sometimes I stuff a bit of cheese in them.
If they needed eggs I would never have enjoyed a burger.

I add a good handful of fresh breadcrumbs to 500g lean mince, along with a couple of heaped teaspoons of Dijon mustard, an egg yolk, couple of teaspoons of finely chopped fresh parsley, good shake of salt and pepper. Give it a good mush together using clean hands. I then divide it into 6 portions (I use scales time divide evenly but not essential) then shape into burgers.

yearinyearout sounds like a lovely giant meatball.

Not a burger!

Don't need an egg to bind, just really fine breadcrumbs or crushed cream crackers. Put in the fridge to chill for a couple of hours so they hold together, use plenty of salt and pepper. I do use very finely chopped onion.

Am I the only person who uses a burger press to shape them?

@DPotter

why would you put a dent in the middle?

It's to prevent the meat from contracting and bulging too much when you're cooking it. A friend of mine who's a farmer's daughter and raised cattle her whole life taught me that trick. www.thekitchn.com/tip-use-your-thumb-to-shape-th-141457

Half these pp talking about putting egg or breadcrumbs in their burgers makes me reaffirm my prejudice behind not eating burgers made by (some) British folks. That's not a burger, that's meatloaf. Do you think your favourite American-style/burger restaurant is putting egg in there?? You don't need "binders" in your burgers. Just like how you don't need "binders" in your sausages aka lots of random fillers that only leave 70% meat. The meat binds itself just fine, thank you.

I don’t like my burgers too heavy so I add homemade breadcrumbs to it. I also add chopped onion (I think this is where most of the flavour lies) salt, pepper, a bit of ketchup and English mustard.

Yummy

Just mince in mine, good quality, not too lean. Dent in the top. Wrap in cling film and chill for a couple of hours before cooking to help keep their shape.

Fancy a burger now.

DPotter why would you put a dent in the middle?
Desmondo2016 Chuckling at 'mix it with mice ' and 'stick your big thumb in it' tho grin

JingsMahBucket
It's to prevent the meat from contracting and bulging too much when you're cooking it. A friend of mine who's a farmer's daughter and raised cattle her whole life taught me that trick
www.thekitchn.com/tip-use-your-thumb-to-shape-th-141457
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Thanks for stepping in there Jings! It wasn't some obscure joke, it was a genuine tip!

But 'big' thumb??? Both of mine are the same size! It tickled me at 3am .. I kept thinking of sticking your big TOE in it!!

I put onion and a tablespoon of English mustard in mine.

So - success!
I made them using 8% mince as that it what I had bought before starting this thread!

I decided to start very simple and then next time I can add things till we find our ultimate burger.

I added salt and lots of fresh black pepper and gently mixed it with my hands and shaped it into burgers. Then I put them back into the fridge for about an 30mins.

I cooked them on the BBQ and finished them off in the oven (more to keep them warm while dishing up everything else)

I put them on buns toasted on the BBQ and added sliced cheese on top of each one when they were in the oven so it went all melty.

Then I added sliced tomato, thin slices of red onion, pickle, ketchup, mayo and american mustard and they were OMG - THE BEST burgers I have ever made!

Family declared them an 11/10 and there were clean plates all round.

I just wish I had made the dent in the middle as they did contract and were thicker in the middle (like me!) but will do that next time!

Thanks for all the suggestions

Well done!

The best burger is simple!

For the pickle. if you can finely dice it, you can lash more on and it 'spreads' better. Also, room temperature, not fridge-cold.

They sound yum though, well done!

Sounds weird but a packet of dry french onion cuppa soup in a packet of mince binds it really well and adds loads of flavour!

@caperplips good job!! I usually add either minced garlic or powdered garlic to mine as well. Sometimes a slight bit of ground sage if I have it but not so much anymore. A lot of folks in the US add a couple taps of Lea & Perrins. I love a good burger.

I add finely chopped coriander, spring onions, garlic, ginger, salt, pepper, cumin powder, paprika and tomato puree - tastes amazing! You can also add chilli powder if you fancy a spicy flavour. I also use this recipe for pork/turkey/lamb mince from Lidl/Aldi.

I shape them, then pop them into the fridge until they are ready to cook. Delicious!

Mince, salt, pepper, squeeze or tomato ketchup and a wee bit of paprika. Sometimes add a dollop of red onion chutney.

I have a ham in the oven for tea. Now I want burgers...