Well I'll be Burger'd

[bluediverboy]

So having been thro' some edukashun on grilling I'm interested in what people do around burgers.

Traditionally I've used a supermarket steak mince with seasoning, breadcrumbs and egg. I've then hand formed the burgers.

Do people here buy steak meats and then mince/grind it at home so you know what you're putting in?

Are you using a good butcher or buying from the supermarket?

Had some yesterday that were made from dry aged rump steak great flavour and very dense. I loved them but taste and texture was a step too far for the kids.

Really interested on peoples views since they are seemingly so simple but if done well.................

Cheers - Andy

[All Weather Griller]

Hi Andy,

As I said in the PM, Owen Taylor aren't that far from you and I think if you collect it you can be quite selective. I have a Beef farmer nearby who supplies Owen Taylor from time to time and have started to use him http://www.banksbeef.com

In fact I went through to the farm a couple of weeks back and had a walk through the Cattle shed with the owner to pick out which beast to take my briskets from for the next competition. He will provide me with 100% assured steak mince for burgers, although I must admit my daughter Jade is now making the burgers in our house as she is in practice for the under 12's BBBQS Kids Q at Rudgwick.

I have never been a great burger maker and I think there is a good post on here from Andy Annat of the Blazing Barbecues on his take on how to do burgers well.

I know Steve from Royal Q minces his own steak mince he is also an avid pork mincer which he uses in the "Legendary" Breakfast Fatties at the comps.

Although Banks's are a fairish trek from Derby, it would be worth a visit. They do boxes of beef with a whole variety cuts in there.

Hope this is interesting reading cos I doubt it's much use LOL.

Beerz

Adie

[bluediverboy]

Hi Aide,

All very interesting and the info is pure gold.

Thanks

Andy S

[stickthekettleon]

I cheat.
The last burgers I made fell apart on the grill. Nowadays I'm quite contented to get ready made burger pattys from either the butcher or supermarket, just be aware though; more expensive doesn't necesserally mean better quality. The Tesco finest aberdeen angus burgers are all gristle an' hoof in my opinion, co-op bog standard fresh beef burgers are a quick, good all rounder and take smoke really well.

[MadCow]

I actually bought some burgers recently (gasps in disbelief )

They were Wagyu Beef Burgers from a company called Ben Burgers ... the first batch I received were awful so I emailed them and told them of my disappointment with their burgers (lots of gristle and not a lot of flavour). They sent me a second batch from the next run and these were much better. They weren't terribly cheap (around £30 for 12)!! but as this was the closest I was ever going to get to tasting Wagyu beef I wanted to give it a try.

To be honest, I won't be buying them again as they don't seem to be consistent and to be even more honest, I'd rather make my own!

[Steve]

I like to mince my own meat whenever possible. I have a good quality hand cranked mincer which cost more than a budget electric one but was worth every penny. I have a dirt cheap burger press which is worth it's weight in gold.

For burgers I find that using lean cuts alone will not give the expected texture, maybe that's your step too far. I tend to mix a nice lean cut with some chuck, then add seasoning etc.

When it comes to sausage meat I will mince equal parts shoulder and belly then I add finely ground cream crackers to the mix. This bulks the mixture up and also improves the bite of the sausages. I don't normally add the crackers for fatties but have done in the past.

[bluediverboy]

So after much messing and testing I need some more input and re reading Steve and Aide's posts verify that!!!!

Tried mincing very good steak trimmed and think I over cooked it. Could have fired the things at a wall and taken out the wall.

Went to supermarket steak mince (for testing purposes) with breadcrumbs egg and seasoning but took my eye off the ball (i.e. had a drink) and ended up with a more flavoursome missile for wall destruction.

Feeling very despondent started reading some more and looking back at this thread. So found some cheap mince with about 20% fat to practice on.

So better results, need to add more seasoning feeling better. Problem was the quality of the mince

So chuck steak....................googled it and found it sort of equated to braising steak but is that correct?

Look forward to getting some feedback on this please.

Thanks - Andy

[MadCow]

Well, if you want a REALLY GREAT Burger ... then I suggest you try and persuade the 7 year old girl that won the Create a Burger round of Ready Steady Kiddie Q ... now THAT WAS A BURGER !!!

She's definately going to be someone to watch in the future ... probably going to be a Jack Daniels winner in about 10 years time!

[Steve]

Beef chuck comes from the shoulder blade of the animal. Yes it is sold as braising steak, but braising steak can be a mixture of bits of meat from around the carcass. Go see a butcher and ask him to mince you some chuck, he'll show you the chuck and mince it in front of you.

The chuck will give you your fat content and it's tasty meat. A burger made from chuck will be a nice burger. However you might want to mix in a leaner cut with it, but pick a tasty cut. Certain cuts are better than others, you're looking for high flavour muscles. You can use flank, skirt, onglet, even rump, depending on price considerations. Once you get to the more expensive cuts though, you'll add nothing to the burger and just waste agood piece of meat.

Hope you're enjoying your burger experiments

[LM600]

I just use supermarket regular mince and nothing else...make them into patties about 100-125 grams each, they cook fast and easy and people seem to like them.

I did these for dinner last night on my indoor Q and they were good