Port Burgers

[All Weather Griller]

Just a quick post, the kids had some mates over on Friday and they wanted a couple of McDaddies burgers so I knocked up some quick home made burgers.

450 g Lean Minced Beef
1 cup of port
2 table spoons of oregano
1 table spoon Garlic Powder
1/2 Table spoon of celery salt
1 Egg

All ingredient were pressed using my £2 burger press from ebay and it worked a treat. Despite pressing the burgers they still domed. However, I froze a couple and cooked them from frozen and noted that doming was less of a problem.

Other than depressing the centres of the burgers prior to cooking does anyone have any tips on stopping burgers from doming?

It wasn't planned with ingredients to compliment each other just what I had to hand and fancied a go with. The kids and I loved it.

[Blazing]

Hi Adie,
These burgers sound delish. There could be a couple of reasons why you are getting this effect. Next time you make them you could try this.
1) Make sure the meat is very, very cold
2) Add all dry ingredients & mix like hell (dont get the mix warm though)
3) Add a small amount of rusk or bread crumbs - you wont even notice it (and mix in) with the dry stuff
4) Make sure that if you put wet ingredients in (port / beer / water) etc that it is very, very cold. (you could even use fine crushed ice)
5) Mix well & form into patties
6) Leave in refrigerator for at least 2 hours for the meat to settle & absorb ingredients.
7) Don't bother with the egg. - The only reason you put that in was to help bind the mixture with the protien. Meat is full of protien & if you mix it correctly, the mixture will go slightly sticky - this is the actin & myosin (or meat protien) this will make your mixture stick together.

Then hopefully you should have great burgers.
(usually, you would put the mixture through a mincer a second time after all the ingredients are together)

Just my humble opinion, Andy

****important**** let the meat settle for a few hours before cooking

[Steve]

So my follow up question, am I correct in thinking the following:

• Mix everything up very cold
• Let it rest in the fridge
• Press the burgers still cold
• Let them rest some more in the fridge then bring up to room temperature before grilling

Andy, your feedback would be appreciated.

[All Weather Griller]

Cheers Andy,

Is the doming thing quite common?

[Blazing]

Hi Guys,
Just press out the big bad burgers & get them in the fridge to rest for over 2 hours or freeze. The meat needs time to settle down after it has been messed around with.

[joker smoker]

as stated egg is not necessary. I knead the burger inside asupermarket plastic carrier and rollout to about 1 cm thick.... Rest in the fridge for at leaf an hour,,,the burger should not dome if it is rolled flat enough in the beginning. ...( try 6-10 oz burgers)