May is apparently Burger Month, which honestly, isn’t every month burger month? But I figured it was the perfect time to share how I make my “fancy” burgers.
Years ago I found several articles that showed how easy it was to make custom burger blends at home, and once I tried it, I was hooked.
The advantages to the custom burger mix are: less compressed meat, better texture (less heavy/dense), more flavor, and increased confidence in the quality of the cuts used.
My general formula is basically a 2-1-1 with chuck roast as the main meat represented (solid flavor + fat) plus two other lower fat-high flavor cuts. For this time, I used chuck, brisket and ribeye, but I have also used short ribs or flank steak for the smaller cuts.
I trim the steaks of gristle and silverskin, cut into roughly 1-1.5 inch cubes, and freeze for at least an half an hour. I keep the cuts separate so I can evenly distribute them in the food processor. You can also add frozen cubes of butter or bacon fat, if you want to bump up the fat content a bit.
Then comes the fun part, which is pulsing the meat in batches (with proportional handfuls of each cut) in the food processor for a medium-fine grind.
Gently form the patties, you won’t need to indent the top because these don’t constrict as much as store-bought hamburger meat. Salt and pepper the patties generously and refrigerate until ready to cook.
I am a fan of charcoal or griddle for cooking these, you can’t go wrong with either method. I would advise cooking medium rare, especially since you have processed them yourself, but they will be juicy even a bit past medium. Add melty cheese, grilled or griddled buttered buns (potato or Publix bakery hamburger buns are amazing) and your favorite condiments and you are ready to go.
(Tip: Make extra and freeze the rest as patties for your future burger emergencies!)
Full background:
The Burger Lab: Mastering the Art of Burger Blending with Eight Cuts of Beef
Recipe:
The Blue Label Burger Blend Recipe
Other great resources:
They Came, I Ground, We Ate – The Paupered Chef
The Complete Guide to Burger Blends – First We Feast
