To tell dh I hate his pride&joy burgers?

[Jux]

I am immensely grateful that dh cooks quite often. He's an OK plain cook - sausages, chips, a bit of veg - and makes a mean dumpling, and pretty good beef stew.

However, about once a month he insists on doing burgers. He loves them. He squashes a handful of mince together really hard to make a ball, then squashes it flat. Then cooks it. That's it. No seasoning, herbs, nothing.

I think they're pretty vile and so does dd. Mind you, I don't like burgers much anyway.

It is hard to tell him, as he is soooooooo proud of them. I think there's an element of competition as his best mate makes 'fantastic' burgers, and that's probably rolling about in dh's mind somewhere.

Today he wanted to have burgers. He was really desperate to do them, and I'm not feeling brilliant, so am pleased to have someone else cook, and as he's cooking he obviously gets to choose what we eat, especially as he felt so strongly about it.

So I am dreading supper, though I'm really hungry!

[slightlysoupstainedbabygrows]

If you're getting delicious stew once a week, and burgers only once a month, it sounds a reasonable deal to me. He obviously enjoys eating them himself.

[TheFallenNinja]

I like to think I'm a bit of a dab hand in the kitchen, however, I would be mortified if good lady ate something she didn't like. I'd rather she said. I would find something else she liked.

[Iggly]

Tell him
But not when he's just made them. Wait until another day.

[JumpingJackSprat]

Can you accidentally-on-purpose trip near the cooking area while holding appropriate spices?

[FreshLeticia]

Fresh home-made burgers can be lovely, but the meat must be seasoned properly. That means salt and pepper as a bare minimum. And no lumps of minging half-cooked onion or feta cheese.
The seasoning is why burgers and sausages are so popular. If Macdonalds were banned from using salt they would be bankrupt.

[MmeLindor]

I don't see why anyone should eat something that tastes vile simply to save the feelings of their partner.

Even if he does cook a good strew.

I cook brilliantly (if I do say so) every night but if I cock up and it's minging, then I'd want DH to say so.

It doesn't have to be 'OMG, that is disgusting'.

'Darling, I know you like them but I have to be honest. I'm not that fond of your hockey pucks burgers. Could we look for a different recipe?'

[Greensleeves]

Get him drunk, play truth or dare, tell him his burgers ming

[notnowbernard]

DP makes AMAZING burgers

I can't compete and wouldn't bother trying

He adds everything: onion, mushroom, garlic, chilli... and seasons well

He's out tonight which is why I've eaten a salad with a jacket potato and a sausage. I'm so uninspired

[LaCiccolina]

Hand press and a cook book. And a herb rack of spices and a grill pan. Advice from my dh....

[AllYoursBabooshka]

Just tell him!

DH hates my cauliflower cheese, I'm glad I know I would hate to imagine him force feeding himself it just to please me.

[austenozzy]

I'm a bloke, and I make/made what I thought were great burgers, but my wife didn't like them so much. I think it's where I compressed them too much and they were quite firm. I wasn't at all offended, I just tried different things to make them more to her taste.

We found that adding fried onions (not the dried ones) to them made them more moist without being crumbly. (DW's idea)

For the record, I do add other stuff - salt & pepper, italian mixed herbs and a dash of either cayenne pepper or paprika.

[Jux]

I'm a dab hand in the kitchen too, but not always well enough. There was a time when dh didn't cook at all, ever, so I am grateful that he does now. Even when it's horrid; I actually couldn't eat the bolognese he made into which he had deliberately - ^deliberately - put 2 spoons of sugar . That was because he insisted that everything with tomato had to have sugar.

I don't like sausages so when he does them I have eggs.

Yes, he tells me if he doesn't like something, but it's usually a vegetable (ie, cauliflower, which I love; unless it's Romanescue which he thinks isn't cauliflower

[AllYoursBabooshka]

Btw you don't have to say you have always hated them, just say you have went off them or would like to try them with some herbs and seasoning.

[Startail]

renders chicken grill steaks and other DD2 food edible

Might help DH burgers, hotter versions are available.

[Thewhingingdefective]

I am not a massive burger fan but my DH and DS are. I have printed off a few different recipes to try and we have all had a go. Some are pretty good.

Pork mince mixed with a sachet of taco seasoning makes good burgers.

I like a big dollop of bacon jam on a beef burger.

Just encourage your DH to experiment a bit more.

[AllYoursBabooshka]

DH has just asked what the devil bacon jam is and why he hasn't heard of it before?

[Thewhingingdefective]

It is like BBQ sauce- smoked bacon fried and mixed with onion, garlic, Tabasco, brown sugar, maple syrup and cider vinegar. There are loads of recipes online. I made it for everyone for Christmas.

[StuntGirl]

The issue isn't his burgers here, its his over sensitivity. Honestly, its not like you're calling him a serial killer or something, you just don't like the way he makes burgers. It's not something to be that offended by. I diplomatically make the mashed potato and gravy in our house without telling anyone else I don't like the way they make it, but I asked my partner to cook potatoes differently as I always found his way was too short and left them a bit hard and undercooked. He just did it, no one died, it was all ok.

I like to think I'm Delia Smith in the kitchen but in reality I'm probably not as good as I think I am

[TeWiSavesTheDay]

I'm with adverse, don't complain about the burgers, just ask for lots of filling, strong tasting cheese on top etc.

[MmeLindor]

Stop it with the suggestions of how to disguise the taste.

Tell him that you don't like his burgers.

What is this nonsense about 'oh he does so well to make 2 meals' - that's not doing well.

How many meals does the OP make well? A hell of a lot more.

This idea that a man gets praised for once a month doing something that his wife does daily - it makes me v cranky.

[Jux]

mmeLindor, I do see what you mean, but he does cook a lot more than once a month! He just does burgers once a month!

Yes, he is hugely over-sensitive about many things and I do ride roughshod over that sensitivity sometimes as I simply don't have time for all the pussy-footing required, especially as I usually end up having to beat him with the soggy end of his torn-off arm anyway.

it doesn't look like there's a way to tell him without bringing about more fall-out than it's worth, though I think I'll be bigging up the "I don't much like burgers" in general over the next few weeks. Luckily, I don't.

Thanks for your help everyone.

[piprabbit]

Get him watching the Food Network (Freeview channel 48). Lots of real Americans making real burgers - all adding seasonings and flavourings.

[Jenda]

my dp went through a phase of adding cinnamon to his beef burgers! it was vile. there was some honesty used there!

[JoanByers]

Making burgers is pretty hard.

You need to grind the beef yourself, from whole pieces of steak.

The beef grinder must be stored in a freezer prior to freezing grinding the meat in order to avoid the fat melting at all.

The meat should be chilled to around -1C (not frozen solid, but firm) prior to grinding.

All the strands of beef should be in the same direction; to achieve this grind your meat into a cylindrical mould.

It is important to use meat that is at least 20% fat - try short ribs for starters.

Cook sous-vide to 56C, then dip into liquid nitrogen for 30s, and deep fry at 232C for 1 minute to brown.

It is important NOT to add salt until the patties have been formed, because this extracts myosin making the burger rubbery. The patties should be seasoned on the surface immediately prior to frying.

More detail here: www.amazon.co.uk/Modernist-Cuisine-Art-Science-Cooking/dp/0982761007?tag=mumsnet&ascsubtag=mnforum-21