Before I made burgers for the first time, I SERIOUSLY thought that it was an un-doable feat. I would slightly venture towards the idea of making them, but then I'd see all of these warnings about the burgers falling apart, puffing up, coming out bland, required fat contents, just an endless list of every single thing that could (and in my case, probably would) go wrong.
Instead, I produced something magical. Something so incredible, the hubs requests it immediately when I ask what he wants for dinner. Something so magnificent, I ACTUALLY eat it for every meal if I couldn't give a flying f about my health. Everyone knows burgers are awesome. But does everyone know that homemade burgers are in fact healthier than fast food burgers? Even if they weren't, though, I'd still make these dudes like once a week. Cuz they kick ass.
The above picture is a not so glamorous shot of a pretty decent sized bacon cheeseburger. The other shots were of a GLORIOUS LOOKING double bacon cheeseburger that I made the hubs but, classic Nikki, I had run out of buns and used regular bread. Sue me. Homemade burgers are seriously SO SUPER easy, I don't even know why I didn't try them before. No breading, no eggs, no filler type shit. I haven't used any thing in my burgers but meat and seasoning, and the one time that I did try to add in some additives, the hubs took one bite in disgust and ate only the bacon around it, so NEVER AGAIN. My trick is to flatten the patties by themselves, and ONLY FLIP ONCE.
Look at that deliciously juicy beef!! Honestly, most of my methods have come out awesome. I've used ground beef ranging from 94/6 to 80/20 (mostly the lower fat 96/4 or 93/7, believe it or not), fresh and from the freezer, all with spectacular results. All that I do is break the (thawed) meat into my individual patties, form into a loose ball, then wrap with a paper towel. Give it a few good rolls and shakes to suck out some of the excess moisture, then hold the meat in between your hands and give it a good SMASH in between your hands to flatten it out. One good one may do it. If the ends of the patty seem to be falling apart, fold them up and inwards towards the center, then slightly press down to even them out with the rest of the patty. It make take a few flips and presses, but once the edges stick together just enough to throw them into your skillet, please do so. Sprinkle with some garlic salt, seasoned salt, onion powder, garlic powder (or whatever your favorite seasonings), then throw a few drops of hickory liquid smoke into the pan near the patties. When it starts looking nice and done on the bottom half of the patty, flip that bitch and give it a few more minutes. Throw on some cheese if you please. I like sauteing some onions as I cook the burger, yumbo.
