need hamburger cooking instructions

Tony wrote:
hamburgers (the meat part).
They come out excessively dry and just don't taste too good.

------------------
A couple of suggestions.
1) Hamburgers require some fat mixed in, about 15%. Otherwise they
will be dry.

2) Hamburgers should NEVER be cooked in their frozen state. When
defrosted they should Always be broken up, and fluffed with a fork.
Then just gently pressed together to form a patty. Don't press down on
them while cooking.

Nancree

Anthony Ewell said:

Hi All,

I really do not care for my hamburgers (the meat part).
They come out excessively dry and just don't taste too good.

Then why are you still buying mystery meat from Senor Ranchero, the
cheating douche bag [censored] is screwing your ass and you're loving it.
Grind your own, and if you want moist burgers NEVER use frozen meat,
freezing ruptures the remaining cells and upon thawing releases
practically all the water. Adding extra fat to frozen meat quickly
reaches the point of diminishing returns, the majority of water is gone
and all that remains is greasy meat... pour off the grease and you have
sawdust.

Sheldon

Quoted message said:

I do not have a barbecue, so I have to fry them.
I am using excellent quality natural hamburger from a
local rancher (he only get 2 lbs a day vs the 3 lbs a day
with the hormones, antibiotics, and forced feeding pens).
I "LOVE" his steaks and anything else of his I fry up.
He also hangs (ages) his beef.

So, I figure I must be doing something wrong.

This may seem like a lame question, but how to you
fry a hamburger?

Many thanks,
--Tony

Sheldon said:

Anthony Ewell said:

Hi All,

I really do not care for my hamburgers (the meat part).
They come out excessively dry and just don't taste too good.

Then why are you still buying mystery meat from Senor Ranchero, the
cheating douche bag [censored] is screwing your ass and you're loving it.
Grind your own, and if you want moist burgers NEVER use frozen meat,
freezing ruptures the remaining cells and upon thawing releases
practically all the water. Adding extra fat to frozen meat quickly
reaches the point of diminishing returns, the majority of water is gone
and all that remains is greasy meat... pour off the grease and you have
sawdust.

Sheldon

Quoted message said:

I do not have a barbecue, so I have to fry them.
I am using excellent quality natural hamburger from a
local rancher (he only get 2 lbs a day vs the 3 lbs a day
with the hormones, antibiotics, and forced feeding pens).
I "LOVE" his steaks and anything else of his I fry up.
He also hangs (ages) his beef.

So, I figure I must be doing something wrong.

This may seem like a lame question, but how to you
fry a hamburger?

Many thanks,
--Tony

Sheldon,

Did you read the part about the quality of the meat
being excellent? The only place around these parts you
can buy "mystery meat" is Costco!

I buy a 50 lb pack. The smell is excellent.
The flavor is excellent (except when I make it into
a hamburger). To borrow a sewing phrase, the hand is
excellent. The steaks are to die for!

No, I am just a bad cook. :-[

--Tony

Tony said:

I really do not care for my hamburgers (the meat part).
They come out excessively dry and just don't taste too good.

I do not have a barbecue, so I have to fry them.

I am using excellent quality natural hamburger from a
local rancher (he only get 2 lbs a day vs the 3 lbs a day
with the hormones, antibiotics, and forced feeding pens).
I "LOVE" his steaks and anything else of his I fry up.
He also hangs (ages) his beef.

So, I figure I must be doing something wrong.

This may seem like a lame question, but how to you
fry a hamburger?

Cook's Illustrated investigated this exact question some years ago. As
already mentioned here by others, make sure that the beef you get contains
enough fat. Ground chuck is preferred, since chuck generally has good flavor
and just about the correct amount of fat.

Salt and pepper the beef before you form patties. When you do form the
patties, don't squash them, just use the tips of your fingers to push the
meat into the shape you want. The meat should still be cold; you don't want
the heat of your hands to soften the fat.

Bring the burgers to cool room temperature (60°F or so) before cooking them.

Fry the burgers in butter. (That's the conclusion of the Cook's Illustrated
panel.) Do not press down on the burgers as they cook -- EVERYBODY agrees on
that one.

Bob

Anthony Ewell said:

Did you read the part about the quality of the meat
being excellent?

If you are getting dry hamburgers then by default the quality is not
excellent... not by a long shot.

Quoted message said:

No, I am just a bad cook. :-[

No, more likely the ground meat is meant to be used in preparations
that will provide the moisture - which does not apply to hamburgers.

All ground meat is *not* created equal.

D.
--
Touch-twice life. Eat. Drink. Laugh.

-Resolved: To be more temperate in my postings.
Oct 5th, 2004 JDL

Anthony Ewell said:

Hi All,

I really do not care for my hamburgers (the meat part).
They come out excessively dry and just don't taste too good.

I do not have a barbecue, so I have to fry them.

I am using excellent quality natural hamburger from a
local rancher (he only get 2 lbs a day vs the 3 lbs a day
with the hormones, antibiotics, and forced feeding pens).
I "LOVE" his steaks and anything else of his I fry up.
He also hangs (ages) his beef.

So, I figure I must be doing something wrong.

This may seem like a lame question, but how to you
fry a hamburger?

I read in other posts comments about using frozen beef, etc, but saw no
mention that you're using frozen beef. Confused as I may be about
that, I do have some suggestions for you to try....and will probably
duplicate some of what others have said.

1. If you're receiving your ground meat unfrozen you might want to
consider forming the meat into patties and freezing the patties, so you
only thaw what you need. If you do that I'd urge you to add salt to
the meat and gently mix it into the meat before forming the
patties...the salt is distributed throughout the meat, not just on the
surface. That is a technique used by the Zuni Cafe in S.F. (the
chef/owner, Judy Rogers, is a world-class chef) and it does make a big
difference. Well, to be accurate, she grinds her own meat (chuck) but
salts it overnight before grinding so that salt is distributed
throughout the meat.

2. If your burgers are dry, two factors for you to consider,
separately and taken together. a) Is your beef too lean? You could ask
the rancher what the percentage of fat is and if too low, perhaps he
could add a small amount of additional fat to the meat he grinds for
you. If the beef you get is by chance grass-fed beef it will be lower
in fat than "feed lot" beef. b) Are you cooking the burgers too long?
Not very much can preserve the juiciness of a burger cooked too long.
Experiment a little with the cooking times to find the degree of
doneness that gives you a burger you enjoy.

3. Another burger-cooking tip from the Zuni Cafe: just before cooking
the burger insert a *small* piece of ice in the middle of the burger;
the small amount of water involved will keep the burger juicy.

4. Someone else already mentioned this...fry the burger in butter. The
taste IMO is much better than using oil or a dry pan and will help a
bit to keep the beef juicy.

HTH.

Mac

In article <[email hidden]>, Anthony Ewell <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

Hi All,

I really do not care for my hamburgers (the meat part).
They come out excessively dry and just don't taste too good.

I do not have a barbecue, so I have to fry them.

I am using excellent quality natural hamburger from a
local rancher (he only get 2 lbs a day vs the 3 lbs a day
with the hormones, antibiotics, and forced feeding pens).
I "LOVE" his steaks and anything else of his I fry up.
He also hangs (ages) his beef.

So, I figure I must be doing something wrong.

This may seem like a lame question, but how to you
fry a hamburger?

Many thanks,
--Tony

You are most likely cooking it too long, and it might be a bit too lean.
Very lean hamburger IMHO is really only good for recipes, not for
cooking straight.

Juicy hamburgers really do require a bit of fat, or if you want to keep
them lean, you can add vegatable moisture such as chopped mushrooms,
maybe some bread crumbs to hold the juice in the meat, some minced
onions and/or minced celery.

What you really get when you do this is sort of a "meatloaf burger", but
it does keep it from drying out if you prefer your meat well done.

I like to cook mine hot and fast, (I use the foreman most of the time)
and serve them medium rare.....
--
K.

In article <[email hidden]>, Anthony Ewell <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

K. Reece said:

"nancree" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

2) Hamburgers should NEVER be cooked in their frozen state. When

Quoted message said:

defrosted they should Always be broken up, and fluffed with a fork.
Then just gently pressed together to form a patty. Don't press down on
them while cooking.

Nancree

Don't buy pre-formed hamburger patties and you won't have that problem.

Kathy

It comes in an approximate two pound white butcher paper package.
I do defrost them in the microwave (nuker) before cooking. I make
sure there is no ice left over. But, I have never fluffed
them and I do press pretty hard when I am forming them.

Tony

Don't thaw in the microwave...
Plan ahead and thaw them in the 'frige overnight!
--
Om.

"My mother never saw the irony in calling me a son-of-a-[censored]." -Jack Nicholson

"nancree" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Tony wrote:
hamburgers (the meat part).
They come out excessively dry and just don't taste too good.

------------------
A couple of suggestions.
1) Hamburgers require some fat mixed in, about 15%. Otherwise they
will be dry.

2) Hamburgers should NEVER be cooked in their frozen state. When
defrosted they should Always be broken up, and fluffed with a fork.
Then just gently pressed together to form a patty. Don't press down on
them while cooking.

Nancree

This is true. Most ground beef already has the 15% fat, you do not need to
add it. But perhaps your rancher has unusually lean beef, then that could be
the problem. And never cook past medium - well done hamburgers are by
definition dry.

--
Peter Aitken

Remove the [censored] from my email address before using.

"Peter Aitken" <[email hidden]> wrote in
news:[email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

"nancree" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Tony wrote:
hamburgers (the meat part).
They come out excessively dry and just don't taste too good.

------------------
A couple of suggestions.
1) Hamburgers require some fat mixed in, about 15%. Otherwise they
will be dry.

2) Hamburgers should NEVER be cooked in their frozen state. When
defrosted they should Always be broken up, and fluffed with a fork.
Then just gently pressed together to form a patty. Don't press down
on them while cooking.

Nancree

This is true. Most ground beef already has the 15% fat, you do not
need to add it. But perhaps your rancher has unusually lean beef, then
that could be the problem. And never cook past medium - well done
hamburgers are by definition dry.

Also,

Cook burgers in a covered saute pan. It serves several purposes, it keeps
the grease from spattering all over the stove, the moisture doesn't
escape making a moister (and greasier) burger and it melts cheese alot
faster.

YMMV,

Andy