Burgers/Meatloaf--Cook-Off 10

[Chufi]

plain ground round (85/15). 

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I've seen a percentage like this come up every now and then in the thread (sometimes 80/20?)

What does it mean?

[Pan]

plain ground round (85/15). 

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I've seen a percentage like this come up every now and then in the thread (sometimes 80/20?)

What does it mean?

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Percentage of meat/percentage of fat.

[suzilightning]

yesterday riffed off Eating Well's Blue Ribbon Meatloaf http://www.eatingwell.com/articles_recipes...blue_plate.html.

used 1.5 lb of ground beef, .75 lb each of ground beef and ground veal. the beer was a stovepipe porter and i used steel cut oats instead of the whole wheat breadcrumbs. john ate it for dinner when he got home last night and said it was one of the most flavorful, juicy meatloaves he had had. leftovers for meatloaf sandwiches today for him.

today i grilled up my lamb patties: ground lamb, cumin, oregano, garlic powder and Johnnybird's toast dope. for the uninitiated check here http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showto...bird's+dope

1 1/2 lbs of lamb gave me 5 patties the right size to fit into the smaller whole wheat pitas. grilled till nice and crusty with good marks on the outside and just pick in the center. moist and juicy. served with the warmed pita and coleslaw.

i alte 1 1/2 while the allie cat demolished 1/2 a patty then was checking out johnnybird's meatloaf sandwich.

[Patrick S]

I had some ground beef to use up, and some left-over chili, so I made chili-cheeseburgers. Low-brow, sure, but they were super-quick and turned out (suprisingly) good. I added a few Tb of the chili to the beef, and then topped the burger with it.

[Chris Amirault]

What kinds of buns are people using for their burgers? I find that most good bread rolls don't make good buns, only because a bite tends to be more toothy than the burger contraption can handle....

[Patrick S]

I definitely agree that burger buns should be soft. A good, off-the-supermarket-shelf bun is the Sara Lee class bakery bun, white or wheat. That's what I used for my last couple of burgers. My favorite is a similar soft bun made by a local bakery.

[Marlene]

I tend to use a crustini bun, toasted of course!

[snowangel]

We burgered twice this past weekend, once on the way to The Cabin and once at The Cabin.

Because the two kids who get report cards had outstanding report cards, we stopped at Gordy's High Hat in Cloquet, MN for burgers on the way up. We almost never stop for food on the way up (due to lead feet).

Anyway, Gordy's serves up a mighty fine burger. They are only open from Opening of Fishing (mid-May to those not in the know) through Labor Day. They are well known up there for burgers, fries and shakes. Their burgers are hand-formed, and they offer lightly grilled chopped onions automatically. They are a different burger than one would probably do at home on a grill or grill pan. They are thin, more of the ilk of the burgers my grandmother formed in her Tupperware burger mold, but they are a great burger. The beef isn't too lean, and they don't cook them too long, nor do they squish them. Toasted bun. The fries are also wonderful. Very crispy, which is how I like them.

Anyway, this topic is not about "diner" style burgers, although I intend to try to do them at home, soon. I bring it up only because it is a different style of burger. This is about the kind of burgers we made at home.

So, we decided it was time for burgers at The Cabin. I had the chuck ground to order at my local meat market. It was about 75/25. Since I had to get it on Wednesday, and I knew we wouldn't eat it until Sunday, and it had to endure a 5 hour trip in a cooler, I froze it. Yes, I know.

Anyway, I formed the patties. We are happiest with 1/4 pounders. I also poke a hole in the middle of my burgers, which no one else has mentioned. It seems to keep them a bit flatter, and not puffing up in the middle.

Paul grilled them on the trusty Weber Kettle. He always uses a timer. I think 2 minutes per side (but I could be wrong). Buns are toasted. We seem to be pretty darned happy with the Cub Foods (local supermarket) brand. Their jumbo brands. As I mentioned upthread, I am not a cheeseburger fan, so my family doesn't get cheeseburgers (that could be another attraction to Gordy's in Cloquet -- they all got to order cheeseburgers).

I don't have any really great pictures of the done burgers, other than this one

For toppings. I am a tomato, onion and mustard woman. Peter is either ketchup of A1 sauce. Paul is a salad and ketchup man. Diana's burger is the one photoed. She also likes salad, in addition to tomato, ketchup and mustard. Heidi doesn't eat burgers.

These were outstanding. I had one. Peter had three. Diana and Paul each had two. Nice a juicy. Just the right amount of pink inside.

I think burgers are, quite frankly, one of my very favorite foods. They are so easy. The kitchen doesn't get heated up in the summer. And, they make our tummies happy.

[Chris Amirault]

Susan, we need a shot of where the hole is (or was!) in the burgers! I'm fascinated by this little trick....

[snowangel]

Susan, we need a shot of where the hole is (or was!) in the burgers! I'm fascinated by this little trick....

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See the holes in the raw burgers. By the time they are cooked, the burger has shrunk enough that the hole is really more of an indent.

Has no one ever heard of this before? I'd swear that over the course of more years on eGullet than I remember that someone else did this...

All I know is that the burgers stay a fairly consistent thickness throughout. Sorry I didn't get more and better pictures, but we were hungry and the lake was calling.

And, Diana has asked me to try the thinner griddle burgers later this week before she leaves for a month of camp food. Since the only griddle I have is electric, think that the cast iron skillet will have to substitute.

[Marlene]

Alas, what's a girl to do? Between hospital visits, getting ready for an RV trip next week, chairing the last of several school events and preparing for graduation, I just didn't have time to make burgers in advance. I confess, I confess!

President's Choice Sirloin Burgers to the rescue. Now, while I wouldn't eat these on a regular basis, they really aren't that bad. I keep some in the freezer for emergencies just like today.

Brush them with a bit of bbq sauce and they take on a different taste:

Cook them for about 5 minutes a side, straight from frozen.

Dress them up with some onion and old cheddar cheese (no comments from snowangel if you please!)

All in all, not a bad burger, but a peanut butter burger, it ain't!

[NulloModo]

Wow, this is going to be a fun cookoff, I think I might do both burgers and a meatloaf.

I am stictly in the no-filler camp with it comes to meatloaf. If it seems a little loose I will bind it with an egg or two, but never ever breadcrumbs or whatnot. It does lend a dense product, sort of a meatbrick, but then again, I like it that way.

There is a variation on a meatloaf I picked up called 'whooshie pie' and it is really more and oozing meatwad than a meatloaf, but it is darn tasty. You basically take a lot of ground beef, bind with an egg, season with salt, pepper, maybe some oregano or whatever you like, then stuff it with lots of cheddar and as tons upon tons of horseradish. I like to slather it liberally with mayo before baking to keep it nice and juicy.

For traditional meatloaf I like to use 50/50 beef and ground 'meatloaf mix' from the grocery, which is pork, and well, some other meats I can't recall. As far as toppings go this is the one place I feel ketchup is appropriate. Once it has been baked it sort of congeals and reduces, takes on a much nicer texture and flavor than cold ketchup from the bottle.

When it comes to burgers I am somewhat of a purist. Season the meat with salt and pepper, make the patties around 1/2 a lb or so each (give or take... hmmm, last couple times they've been a little bigger), grill or cook in a blazing cast iron skillet so that they get crusty on the outside, but are just barely warm in the very middle, eh, sometimes mine are on the verge of carpaccio burgers, forget red, I'm talking purple.

As far as toppings go I will try to hit up the farmer's market to get some good tomatoes, lettuce, onions, and all the fixings. I go overboard on toppings sometimes, but you can't beat all the salad on there plus some mayo, mustard, bacon, cheddar, and well, whatever else I can find. I like the idea of a fried egg too, though it does tend to make it a bit messier to eat (then again, the ooze of melted cheese, mayo, egg yolk, burger grease, mustard, juice from the tomato, and vinegar from the dill pickles is hard to beat....).

[Susan in FL]

I also poke a hole in the middle of my burgers, which no one else has mentioned. It seems to keep them a bit flatter, and not puffing up in the middle.

...Well what d'ya know? I didn't know that!

As for rolls, I like 'em soft, too. Sometimes we toast them on the grill or in the skillet, but I still want them soft. We used Kaiser rolls the other night. I went to the store at the last minute and there weren't many choices. I think every dad in Port Orange, FL had hamburgers and hotdogs for Fathers Day dinner.

[Grub]

Susan, we need a shot of where the hole is (or was!) in the burgers! I'm fascinated by this little trick....

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See the holes in the raw burgers. By the time they are cooked, the burger has shrunk enough that the hole is really more of an indent.

Has no one ever heard of this before? I'd swear that over the course of more years on eGullet than I remember that someone else did this...

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I've learned to make burger patties thinner in the middle -- even if it's just a matter of giving em a bit of a squeeze with your thumb -- because that'll ensure the middle gets cooked before the outer regions dry out or get overly crispy. Creating an all-out hole in the burger is a very logical extension. The torus shape should ensure even cooking. Of course, you'd have to be careful not to make the hole too big, which might jeopardize the structural integrity of the patty. Dang clever.

[Chris Amirault]

...it is really more and oozing meatwad than a meatloaf, but it is darn tasty. 

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I think that "Oozing Meatwad" deserves to be enshrined forever in RecipeGullet!

[Jensen]

See the holes in the raw burgers.  By the time they are cooked, the burger has shrunk enough that the hole is really more of an indent.

Has no one ever heard of this before?  I'd swear that over the course of more years on eGullet than I remember that someone else did this...

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The hamburger patties sold by my local Costco have this very feature built-in. I always thought that it was an artifact of some extrusion process but, obviously, they have been channelling Snowangel (to all of our benefit!).

[Ann_T]

OOh there are some good looking burgers here.

I'm kind of boring when it comes to burgers. I like to make them out of good ground beef with a little garlic, Worcestershire Sauce, salt and pepper and then grill them. I like a crusty bun, or kaiser rather than a soft hamburger bun and it needs to be toasted on the grill too. And, I really like homemade fries with burgers.

My favourite meatloaf is grilled just before serving.

Home Cookin 4.9 Chapter: Recipes From Thibeault's Table

Meat Loaf Magnolia

==================

My version of a meatloaf that I had in Magnolia's Restaurant in Charleston, SC. When we got home from vacation I set out to duplicate it because it was the first meatloaf I found that I actually liked. It was different because Magnolia's grilled the slices before serving and it didn't contain ketchup or tomato sauce like so many meatloaf recipes do.

1 1/2 pounds ground veal or mixture of beef and veal

1 small onion finely chopped

1 to 2 cloves of garlic

2 slices Italian/French Bread soaked in milk

2 eggs

1 Tablespoon Dijon mustard

2 Tablespoons chopped parsley

1 tablespoons of dried herbs,

(sage and Thyme, a small amount of rosemary

olive oil

Sauce

Green peppercorns

mushroons

1 to 2 cups chicken broth

.

Saute onion in olive oil until soft. Add minced garlic and saute for 30

seconds. Do not brown garlic

Soak bread in milk

In a large bowl add meat, dijon mustard, chopped parsley, herbs, onions and

garlic and mix with hands. Squeeze bread to break up and add milk and

bread to mixture. Add eggs. Mix well and season with salt and pepper.

Saute a small piece to check for seasoning. Adjust to taste.

Shape meatloaf into a rectangle about 8 X 4 x 3 inches high and place in a

small roasting pan. Bake for 30 minutes and then add a small amount of

broth to the pan to prevent the bottom from becoming to brown. Bake another

30 minutes and baste with the pan juices. Add more broth if necessary.

Cook another 10 minutes or until the meatloaf is nicely browned.

Let cool and wrap in foil and refrigerate. Reserve pan juices.

Make a sauce by adding some green peppercorns and sauted mushrooms to the

pan juices.

Heat grill

Slice meatloaf into 1/2 inch thick slices and grill on both sides until

nicely marked and hot.

Serve with mashed potatoes

[Toliver]

I've never had one but I've heard that White Castle burgers have a hole in the middle when they go on the fry griddle. Can any east coasters/mid-westerners verify this? Jason?

We'll be having burgers (and hot dogs) for the 4th of July and I will, hopefully, get some pix of the making (my mom uses a not-so-secret ingredient), the cooking and the building for consumption.

[Patrick S]

I've never had one but I've heard that White Castle burgers have a hole in the middle when they go on the fry griddle.  Can any east coasters/mid-westerners verify this? 

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Yes, they actually have several holes. 5, I think.

EDIT to add that if you like White Castle burgers, you can make a decent approximation by cooking some real thin patties over a bed of fine-chopped onion and using a steamed bun.

Edited June 22, 2005 by Patrick S (log)

[percyn]

Polynesian Meatloaf

I read this recipe in a cookbook and adapted it a bit. It called for adding oyster sauce to a regular meatloaf recipe. I added fish sauce, thai peanut sauce (after liking the peanut butter burgers) and some garlic confit.

Middle layer

Topped off with Montreal steak seasoning

Added some panko breadcrumbs for added texture

The beef, pork and veal mixture had a fair amount of fat, so it shrunk quite a bit. It was quite tasty though and the oyster and fish sauce did not overpower the dish. I will try brushing a light layer of oyster sauce on the top next time.

[little ms foodie]

hmmmm, I think I need to get in on this but the weather is turning so it might have to wait until next week.

Will do some burgers on the grill...... hmmm, I really like that hole idea! Must try that!

[snowangel]

My opportunity to do meatloaf is coming, as The One Who Abhors Meatloaf is going to camp for a month. I want to grill one. I'm figuring I need some advice on this. Brooks, where are you?

[coquus]

Well, another case of Bovine Spongeform Encephalitis shows up just in time to dampen our fun burger cooking extravaganza. Jeers USDA, Jeers.

I make a mean meatloaf too, damn. And no, I'll not grind my own meatloaf, i'd rather pot roast.

[Mayhaw Man]

OK, so tonight I did the following. There was no recipe, as there rarely is, but I can basically explain what I did, and mostly in accurate amounts. Anyway, it was outstanding (unlike my photos, sorry, I am too lazy to go clean them up in Photo Shop, so you will just have to live with the crummy photos, but at least they get the point across). For those of you that would like to try it, I highly reccoment smoked meat loaf. It's pretty much like the best meatloaf that you have ever eaten, just better-and smoked.

Here is what I did: (I will put the recipe in RecipeGullet as soon as I finish this post)

I took the ground beef and mixed in the cracker crumbs, the spices, and a medium yellow onion. This was well mixed and then formed around some reallly, really good italian sausage links (made at a local butchers). This loaf was then put into a pan and it looked like this:

As I was making this I was heating up a large chimney of Royal Oak Briquets (my favorite brand) and I set them on the fire grate in my weber in a neat pile. I had the vents wide open on the bottom of the Weber as I was looking for some real heat at about 350F. I added a hunk of pecan to the top of the coals. I then placed the meatloaf on the grate and put the lid on with the vent pretty wide open. I cooked the meatloaf for about 90 minutes at 350F. When it was finished it looked like this (actually, in real life, it looked alot better than this-I ended up with terrible pictures tonight):

It smelled great. Nice and smoky.

Here is what it looked like sliced up. This is an end piece and that is why you only see one link of sausage. In the middle part it really looked cool with four links in the center. The meatloaf ended up moist and delicious, cooked through perfectly with a nice crust and a cool smoke ring. Ever had a meatloaf with a smoke ring? It doesn't suck.

I highly reccomend this as a nice Saturday afternoon project. It was really good. Really, really good.

[little ms foodie]

Well, another case of Bovine Spongeform Encephalitis shows up just in time to dampen our fun burger cooking extravaganza.  Jeers USDA, Jeers. 

I make a mean meatloaf too, damn.  And no, I'll not grind my own meatloaf, i'd rather pot roast.

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The articles I read were very clear that this cow was caught before and never entered the food market. No worries!