The Lowly Hamburger

Bob V

We give a lot of attention to briskets, loins, spatchcock chickens, whole turkeys, lamb ribs, beef and baby back ribs, steaks of all shapes, cuts, and descriptions, fish whole and in parts, shrimp, the occasional other shellfish. What about the American backyard favorite, the lowly hamburger? In all the time I've been on the forum I don't think I've ever read good recommendations for Egged hamburgers.[p]How do you do them best? What type of hamburger? How hot and how long? (I go 500 dome for 4 min/side)[p]Surely some of us will confess to the occasional 'burger, now and again....[p]Bob V

djm5x9

Bob:[p]Scroll down to July 16, and you will find two threads about burgers. If you do a google search on the archives you will find more.
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ChefRD

Bob V,
Yeah hamburgers do seem to be forgotten around here, but I also agree it is a great American outdoor cooking icon.
Most everyone likes them, and they are easy!
Someone posted a method they used (Sorry, I don't remember who posted it.) But it makes the best burgers I have ever tasted.!
They said mix ground bacon to 2 parts hamburger and cook as usual, but it will really smoke a lot. [p]I tried it (ground the bacon slices, added salt, garlic, pepper, onion powder) and then combined the meats by hand and cooked the meat in my normal way.

Without a doubt, the best burger's I have cooked. Cooked to well done to make sure the pork was OK but it was still juicy and very tasty.
Thanks! to the person who first suggested this, and this is now my favorite burger prep method and everyone seems to like it. Try it, I bet you will like it.
later,
ChefRD

Aussie_Hugh

Hello ChefRD,[p]When you say bacon do you mean raw pig meat or smoked? I refer to bacon as smoked pork bellies (kind of like ham).[p]Regards,
Hugh.

Drivr

Bob V,
Try what I call the Joel Burger. This is a 2 1/2 pound burger.
here is the link
http://www.biggreenegg.com/archives/2003/messages/63522.htm

ChefRD

Aussie_Hugh,
Hello, and sorry for the confusion. Yeah, I used regular smoked breakfast bacon (the cheapest and leanest I could find ).
I agree with you, the word 'bacon' alone, means smoked pig belly to me too.
I think you will really like this burger. Thanks again to whoever posted it![p]later,
ChefRD

RRP

ChefRD, so that's one pound of raw bacon to 2 pounds of raw beef? And when you say ground I assume like in a meat grinder - coarse or fine?

eggaholic

ChefRD,
I do burgers pretty regularly,(I think I'm addicted)and use a variation of the bacon recipe by cooking the bacon first and then crumbling it into the raw hamburger with what ever else you like(we use minced onion,sage,salt and pepper from a modified recipe out of a better homes and gardens "grilling" magazine).
With the bacon being precooked you can grill the burgers normally with no worries, and as I'm sure Emeril would agree, there aren't many food that won't be improved by the addition of a little pork fat.[p]Cheers,Brian

ChefRD

Eggaholic,
Thanks for the suggestion. It also sounds like a great way to use up left over cooked bacon. Maybe just freeze the leftovers and save them until you make up some burgers?
Thanks again,
ChefRD

ChefRD

RRP, (if this is a double post, sorry)
Hi ron, yeah I use approximately 1 pound back per 2 pounds burger. It was also good when I used 3/4 # bacon per 1#.[p]I use the grinder plate with the smaller holes, but now you got me thinking? [p]Maybe next time I will use the larger hole size to see if the bacon is more pronounced. Yep I think thats what I will do. [p]thanks for asking,
Ron.[p]