How do I make a good burger? They never come out good. I think

>>9256062

http://www.seriouseats.com/2014/03/the-food-lab-maximize-flavor-by-ultra-smashin.html

We can give you better advice if you explain what particular problems you are having.

I'd advise against a patty press:
1) they're totally unnecessary
2) they're often counterproductive because they compress the patty too much. That's bad. You want to form patties with a minimum amount of work and pressure. Too much pressure or too much fucking around with the meat will result in a less pleasant texture.

>>9256062
Drop the traditional patty and fill the minced meat with onions.

get your ground meat, pull out clumps of it and scatter over a tray

anything you're adding, strained onions, herbs, seasoning, sauces or whatever, scatter over the top

gather everything together into a pile and do not fucking do any more mixing

pull out a fistful and literally just smush it into a burger between your hands, gently squeezing around the edges to get it circular/relatively compact. do not roll it into a ball or any shit like that

lay your burgers out flat and pat them dry. get them nice and thin

heat the holy fuck out of your pan. if they're thick maybe flip them more than once. if they're thin, prepare to have only one side get a hard sear, but SEAR IT FUCKING HARD

everything you want to taste, put it in the bottom of the burger. everything you want to crunch, put it in the top.

there you are

>>9256079
>>Yay! Let's mix two foods that have two totally different cooking times and mix them together!

>>9256109


there is no such thing as a 'cooking time' and you don't even want the onions to cook, you bellend.

>>9256062
That's a meatball on a greasy dinner roll with some shitty burnt toppings smeared on it.

>>9256122
If you don't want the onions to cook then why the fuck are you putting them inside the patty in the first place? Just put raw onion on as a topping.

The problem with mixing the onion inside the burger is that you get this wierd halfway point between raw and properly cooked. They end up watery, they loose the nice texture of being raw, but they never develop the full tenderness or flavor of sauteed onions. They're just some sad half-cooked shit.

Leave the onions out of the patty. If you want onions then serve raw or sauteed onions as a topping.

>>9256109
>Needing your onions cooked
Raw onion is delicious

Meat should be fatty. 80/20 at a minimum. The fat doesn't necessarily need to be beef fat though. I prefer lard.
Try not to overwork the meat.
Mix-ins should be dried spices (onion Powder) or fat based and ideally incorporated during grinding. Water creates steam which causes bloating.
Patties should be thin. The best tasting part of meat is always the sear. If you want more meat make more patties.

>>9256146

you chop them up really fine, wring out the moisture and distribute them through the burger. they do soften and warm and it is a different experience to eating them atop the burger.

they can be bad if they're big chunks in a thick rare burger or some shit. but if you think they're 'inherently' bad you're probably just a pleb.

>>9256149
>Raw onion is delicious

I agree. That's why it's so pointless to put them inside the meat.

>>9256101
Very informative, thank you

Step one: Drink whisky.

This is just for the patty alone - bacon, condiments, pickles etc. are added as you choose.

flavor:
a1/teriyaki and/or beefstock concentrate and MOST important - hardwood smoke

texture: salt + pepper + egg + don't underestimate breadcrumbs(I like almond flour for paleo) - Most important - You need at a minimum 80/20 but...honestly 70/30 is ideal. You grind a chuck steak and ask your butcher for leftover fat. Fat is as important as the smoke.

This is similar to "meatloaf" but you're going for like...30-40% meatloaf likeness if that makes sense.

savor: onions and garlic. It is vital to learn how to fine mince with a knife. like...paper thin slices very small. Add as much as you want - but always more garlic than you think practical.

Get a weber grill or equivalent. Throw some actual hardwood chunks on there. Light. Put the grill top back on and wait till you can hold your hand close to the grill for 5 seconds.

Make patties while waiting and depress the centers to fill with your favorite fat(butter) for extra awesome. Stick in the fridge or try them room temp (it makes a different product - each delicious)

Throw burgers on. Cover - let flames rise and hardwood smoke absorb in the cold(er) meat

Flip burgers when butter/fat is absorbed and depression is disappearing (for medium rare).

Call them done when you call yourself a man.

The end.

hardwood charcoal chunks***


unfired hardwood hickory/apple is another step and depth of flavor...this is optional like the condiments.