I'm on the hunt for the best burger.. in my own kitchen

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Danny Tanner

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Over the last 3 weeks, I've been on a burger kick like no other food kick I've had before. I've been trying to find that perfect burger right at my very own dinner table.

At this point, my favorite method so far is similar to the In-n-Out replica recipes out there. I know everyone has their own burger preferences, but I prefer a thinner (as opposed to a thick, gourmet style burger) burger that's not stuffed, nothing mixed into the meat, and with minimum ingredients and enhancers. I like the meat to speak for itself.

This method is:

80/20 ground chuck (vs ground beef), 75/25 if you can find it.
Patties gently formed into 1/2" patties with about a 4-5" diameter.
In a small skillet, I reduce extremely finely minced onions (pieces about the size of rice grains) over low heat (I'm not trying to carmelize them, only reduce them to almost what appears to be an onion paste)
When onions are close to being paste-like, I pre-heat a large skillet over high-medium-high heat.
With a metal spatula, I use the very tip to gently tap one side of the patty to create a dense checkerboard like surface. This allows the individual "squares" to obtain a nice crust when cooked and helps reduce shrinkage.
I liberally salt the checkerboard/grid side of the patty and place it salt-side down on my skillet.
Immediately, I checkerboard the opposite side.
After about 4 minutes (or once the patty has formed a light crust), I turn the patty 180 degrees to create an even crust across the entire surface.
After a couple of minutes I apply a liberal amount of yellow mustard on the uncooked side and then flip.
After a couple of minutes (once the mustard has browned and formed a light crust) I rotate the patty 180 degrees again.
I place one slice of American cheese (from the deli, not a Kraft single) on each patty
After 1 minute I remove the patties from the skillet and let sit.
While sitting, I brown (almost burn) hamburger buns in the same skillet, letting the fat from the patties act as the butter.

To build the burger:
On the bottom bun, I spread Thousand Island dressing.
One patty.
I spread a generous amount of onion paste on top of the bottom patty.
Place other patty.
Top with bun.

So far, this has been a burger that creates a crack-like addiction in me. Even my daughter exclaims, "Dad, you make the best burgers in the world!" My wife, who hates red meat (not because she's a hippy (she's not), but when she was young she was forced to eat tough steak and it's made her hate the texture of beef), tried a bite and said, "That's not bad. Actually, let me have another bite!"

So, any tips on improving this method? Any other methods you'd recommend me to try? I have some ground chuck left in the freezer (I prefer to do this with never-frozen beef, but we bought a bulk pack) and I can still smell last night's burgers and it's making me want another double cheeseburger for lunch today.
 

excat

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When I make my patties, I put minced onion and minced garlic INTO the patties (mixed into the meat before you start making the patties), and most importantly, don't overcook them.
 

Danny Tanner

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When I make my patties, I put minced onion and minced garlic INTO the patties (mixed into the meat before you start making the patties), and most importantly, don't overcook them.

I mix onions and garlic into ground chicken patties, since it's chicken breast and very lean, which typically would dry out before the meat is cooked. With 80/20 chuck, there's enough fat to really flavor the meat and keep it moist. Cooking it at a high heat allows a nice crust to form and seal in a lot of the juices. With a beef burger, I definitely like the "less is more" idea.
 

SMS

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My fav burger at home:

Ground lamb patty in a cast iron skillet.

Sautéed onions and peppers prepared separately.

Pile onions and peppers on top of burger and place a huge slice of provolone on top. Let cheese melt over the top until the edges make contact with the skillet and start to caramelize.

Serve on a poppy seed bun.
 

swampratt

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One thing that confuses me is turning said burger 180 degrees to get an even browning.

I have cooked on verrry nice gas stoves that evenly heat the pan at any temperatures.
I have also cooked on cheap gas and propane that will only heat a portion of the pan, no matter what type pan or should i say skillet you use.
I hate those cheap ones.

I have a GE electric that was cheap and had only 3 coils on the small burners and 4 on the large burners.
I replaced them with 4 coil burner on the small and 5 coil on the large.
Much more even cooking in all my pans and skillets.

I actually prefer this electric to gas.
Sometimes with gas you can raise the pan and get more even cooking.. other times it takes a better diffuser.
Or whatever you wish to call it.
Sounds like you have the rest figured out.. your wright up made me hungry.. And i had homemade waffles this morning.
 

Danny Tanner

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One thing that confuses me is turning said burger 180 degrees to get an even browning.

I have cooked on verrry nice gas stoves that evenly heat the pan at any temperatures.
I have also cooked on cheap gas and propane that will only heat a portion of the pan, no matter what type pan or should i say skillet you use.
I hate those cheap ones.

I have a GE electric that was cheap and had only 3 coils on the small burners and 4 on the large burners.
I replaced them with 4 coil burner on the small and 5 coil on the large.
Much more even cooking in all my pans and skillets.

I actually prefer this electric to gas.
Sometimes with gas you can raise the pan and get more even cooking.. other times it takes a better diffuser.
Or whatever you wish to call it.
Sounds like you have the rest figured out.. your wright up made me hungry.. And i had homemade waffles this morning.

That's exactly it. My skillets do a pretty decent job of even cooking for most things, but the diffusers on my gas stovetop still create hot spots at higher heats. It's the main reason I want a new stove with double ring heat diffusers.
 

348

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In-n-Out style burgers work best for me too. 1/8lb patties pressed thin with salt and pepper. I mix some dill pickle juice in the thousand island to thin it out a bit.
 

elwoodtrix

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Naugles used to be another Cali chain... their secret sauce was badass too

2 parts Mayo
1 part Buttermilk
dash of lemon juice
and seasoned with pepper
 

Danny Tanner

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In-n-Out style burgers work best for me too. 1/8lb patties pressed thin with salt and pepper. I mix some dill pickle juice in the thousand island to thin it out a bit.

Naugles used to be another Cali chain... their secret sauce was badass too

2 parts Mayo
1 part Buttermilk
dash of lemon juice
and seasoned with pepper

I've seen people make In n Out special sauce similar to these recipes. Mayo, ketchup, lemon juice, and relish. I just cheat and use Thousand Island. I do have some pickle juice I could use to thin it out a bit, though. I know In n Out also includes pickles on their burgers, which I'm not against, but I don't have any at the moment. I'm also not exactly trying to copycat them, either, just borrow from their style.
 

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