Hamburger Blend What Do You Do?

I like to use a blend of ground beef to make hamburgers.
3/4 Ground Round
1/4 Top Sirloin

I have also been known to use
1/2 Ground Round
1/2 Ground Ribeye

I like to put sauteed mushrooms,onions,pineapple etc in prior to cooking. I also add spices to the meat occasionally.

I would love to know what you use in yours and if you spice the meat or add anything to it.

...Russ

When I was young my mother would use egg and oatmeal to stretch the hamburger meat for a pack of "young'ns".
Now, I season my hamburger with Paul Prudhommes recipe for Beef blackening seasonings out of his "Louisianna Cooking" cookbook. I knead the seasoning into the meat before cooking.

I like ground chuck 80/20, a little salt a pepper cooked on a 600 degree grill, cook with 2-3 strips of bacon per burger, cook to medium to get the fat rendering, served on a hot onion roll

I have stopped mixing seasoning into a meat mixture. Now I handle the meat as little as possible and only season the outside of the burger. The burgers...even the lean turkey burgers...come out jucier than ever.


oh, as to the meat mixture, I only buy ground chuck. i find sirloin to be a waste of money for both burgers and steaks. And I don't trust the stuff that is simply called "ground beef"

chuck 70/30

75%

quote:

Originally posted by Reaper

I like ground chuck 80/20, a little salt a pepper cooked on a 600 degree grill, cook with 2-3 strips of bacon per burger, cook to medium to get the fat rendering, served on a hot onion roll

quote:

Originally posted by Robearjr

....And I don't trust the stuff that is simply called "ground beef"

I'm agree with both of you. For the past 12 years I have been grinding my own beef. The stuff from the supermarket just didn't taste right. Something was being added to the ground beef. And it was less expensive to buy a chuck roast than to buy the ground beef.

But for the past year, I've found the bulk beef logs from Wal-Mart to be good. It's 73/27 and 80/20. Both for less than $2/lb.

you can tell how good ground beef is by putting it in the mixer with a paddle and see how much silver skin gets on it its unbeliveable
the differnce between ground beef and ground chuck.i usally buy the cheapest cuts and grind it at home. ground brisket is my fav its about
80/20 chuck meat is about 80/20 i did sirloin tip last week it was very lean95/5 it would have been dry but i cooked it rare i only eat ground beef rare if i grind it my shelf.lamb and deer is good to.

Russ,
It looks like you maybe making about a 90/10 (more or less) ground beef mix. For me anything less than 20% fat tends to be too dry. So these extra lean mixes only work cooked to rare or med. rare. Steak tar-tar I like too.

Now I have too ask, are you adding seasonings and extra lean streak too improve the flavor or personal preference? Too me good ground beef is like good steak, it needs little seasoning and little preparation.

I cook my Hamburgers pretty rare. So I always grind my own. And I really like to add ground dried peppers to the meat prior to grilling. Anchos,smoked chipolte, and others. I love tartar also but that is another topic...Russ

Hum, I'll have to try grilling some this way.
Max

Hi there.
 
I don´t know if I am in the the right topic; but maybe you can help me nevertheless.
 
I´m from Germany and we unfortunately have no Wendys here.
I would like to know if anybody knows parts of the recipe to make old fashion hamburgers like Wendys.
I am sure it depends on the fat you have to use to broil or deep fried them.
I tried out different recipies but could not handle it to copy the taste.
Thanks for helping me.
Greetings,
Matt
 

  80% -20% for me. If the beef is too lean then I will use beef suet to bring the fat content up to par. When I worked at the Chophouse we used rib eye and round steak scraps to make our burger meat. WOW whatta burger (to coin a phrase!!!)

  At home I use 80-20 mix as it is well suited to meatloaf and other applications.

JMHO

David O.

entropm

........................
I would like to know if anybody knows parts of the recipe to make old fashion hamburgers like Wendys.  ...............

I'm not sure how much help I can give you.  I haven't eaten at a Wendy's in years.  I prefer my burgers charbroiled and fresh made.  I refuse to eat any microwaved hamburger. (ask from your money back if the burger is not fresh made)

Wendy's burgers (old style, regular burgers) are cooked on a flattop grill.   I suspect the meat is a 70/30 or 75/25 mix (maybe low cost ground chuck??).      ..... The paddies are about 1/4 to 3/8 inch thick and cooked on a medium temp grill to minimize cooking all the fat out.   Maybe a little salt (or accent ???), but I dout any other seasonings.  

Burgers @ Wendy's are 70/30 and cooked (steamed ;) @ 250 degrees.  Salt only.  They used to be pattied fresh each day; but that is long gone now.  IMO, Wendy's went to hell back around 1984.  They have never recovered.

Adjudicator - You're saying they no longer use a griddle and fresh meat patties?  I haven't been to a Wendy's in a few years. I guess I will have to go back, waste a few bucks, and see what you are talking about.  Poor Dave Thomas must be stirring in his grave..Yikes

The burgers at Steak n Shake taste like 50/50 to me!  They taste so greasy..Don't go there anymore either except of the milk shakes.

Russ Jackson


...
I have also been known to use
1/2 Ground Round
1/2 Ground Ribeye
...

Ribeye is hands down my favorite steak.  Having said that, it's a fatty cut.  How much shrinkage you get out of that?  Just curious.   ~Toad

80% lean and fry   75% lean for the grill.  I usually buy the burgers and just fry with some Goya Adobo seasoning, Montreal or Lawrys seasoning.

If I make the burgers with ground meat, its  the same but the burgers are twice the size of the ready made.  I don't put anything in it when its a burger.  I do that when I'm making meatloaf or meatballs.

fabulousoyster

I don't put anything in it when its a burger.  I do that when I'm making meatloaf or meatballs.

Same here, but upon rare occasion I have been known to mince up an onion, salt & pepper,  carmalize it to a nice golden brown, then blend that into the burger mix.

I get most of my ground beef as part of my annual bulk order and it's just that - ground beef.  If I don't want the heart and tongue as separate cuts they get thrown into the grinder along with whatever else gets used, and I'm OK with that as I've never had any problems with it.  Some years it's been a bit fattier but never too lean.

Some of the best ground beef I've had has come from milk cows that've reached the end of the line.  A couple of years ago the guy who raises the beef butchered one and after removing the high-end cuts everything else went into the grinder, and the resulting ground beef was lean but had a lot of flavor and wasn't dry as long as it wasn't overcooked.

Brad

80%, and I usually salt and pepper it...maybe some Penzeys garlic salt...maybe Dinosaur BBQ Foreplay Dry Rub.

80/20 chuck and I usually just give it a rub of a little olive oil and S & P.

I almost always like your ideas Russ.

Onions, peppers, eggs, ribeye, ...med rare sounds good to me!

Not for a burger but... raw also sounds good.
Joe

I start with 2 1/2 - 3 lbs Ground Turkey

2 eggs

1/2 cup chopped scallions

1/4 cup of Bold/Spicy A1

1 1/2 cups crushed Doritos (Cool Ranch are good)

1 cup shredded cheddar

1 tbsp Nature's Seasonings

Mix and Grill