The Best Burger Recipe – So Good the Bun Gets in the Way (2024)

FAQs

Do you mix egg with ground beef for burgers? ›

Instructions for How to Make Ground Beef Patties for burgers: In a mixing bowl, combine the ground beef, 1 egg, and a generous amount of salt and pepper to season (half tsp each). Egg is a burger binding agent for the ground beef patty. Divide the well mixed beef into four equal round balls and form into patties.

The ideal soft burger bun should be pillowy, squishy, and tender, with a tight but soft crumb and a distinct sweetness. It should hold up nicely to the burger's juices, but should never be tough or cottony. On the opposite end of the spectrum, you don't want a burger that disintegrates half way through your meal.

Some recipes will call for eggs or breadcrumbs to act as a binder for your burger patties. However, adding breadcrumbs is not necessary to make a good burger. Using fresh ground beef with just a few ingredients and simple instructions, you will be on your way to making your own quality burgers at home!

Secret Ingredients – My secret to juicy burgers is mixing olive oil and Worcestershire sauce into the meat prior to cooking! This locks in the moisture and amps up the flavor. Try it and taste the difference. Seasonings – I keep it simple with sea salt, black pepper, and a little garlic powder.

Use Ground Chuck Beef (80/20) – grind your own or buy it ground, but 20% fat is ideal and keep it refrigerated until you're ready to use it. Don't overwork your meat – this will make it tough and dense. Shape the patties 1” wider than the bun since they shrink on the grill.

Beef burgers need nothing more than a sprinkle of salt, preferably kosher salt, to cook up juicy and delicious. Some black pepper is also welcome, and there's no reason not to branch out with any number of hamburger-friendly seasonings: herbs, spices, onions and more.

Add 1 egg yolk per pound of hamburger. It won't add appreciably to the fat content and will bind the meat beautifully. The other thing you can do is add canned, drained, crushed black beans or chickpeas to the hamburger. The starch from the beans will bind the meat together and add an interesting taste.

In my experience, the best way to prevent your burger patties from falling apart during cooking is to use both egg and breadcrumbs to make them. You can add eggs to the mixture and then, coat them with breadcrumbs before shaping them into burger patties.

Great burger restaurants use high quality ingredients. Sauces and other ingredients have lots of flavor that can make up for less flavorful low quality meats, making it tempting to cut corners. However, using good meat and the right spices can enhance every burger even if it's lathered in a million flavorful sauces.

You want a burger that's thick enough to be juicy and flavorful, but not so thick that it feels like you're eating a meatloaf. You must also consider your burger-to-condiments and toppings ratio. If you want a lot of toppings on your burger, you probably want a slightly heartier patty than your typical home-griller.

Should you mix seasoning into burgers? ›

Do You Mix Seasoning into Burgers? Yes, you can mix seasoning directly into the burger patty, especially if you're forming your own.

If you're going for a leaner meat or adding bulky ingredients (eg spring onions, onions, chillies), add an egg and a handful of breadcrumbs to bind the burgers.

The first reason is that by the time you flip your burger to cook the second side, you'll have one side of your burger cooked and solid enough to hold the other side in place. Secondly, constantly scraping the patty up off the grill and plopping it back down is bound to break it apart!