What Makes A Good Burger?

[sceadugenga]

Was watching a thread on hamburger restaurants in the Chiang Mai forum and it got me thinking about the burgers we used to get in Australia that I try to recreate occasionally.

So what do you think is a great hamburger, here's my ingredients in order of importance.

1) The roll or bun: this must be round and fairly thin, white bread is best..burgers are NOT about healthy eating..and must contain no sugar at all as in the baguette style. It is split and lightly toasted.

2) The meat: any lean beef minced or ground then formed into patties. A little pepper can be added. Grilled on a hot plate to well done,

3) The sauce: this is vital, Heinz tomato spiced with a little extra something, chilli sauce, HP...in Australia the great fish and chip shops that originally introduced the hamburger kept their sauce recipe a closely guarded secret. Pickles are an abomination when put on a hamburger.

4) Fried sliced onion: this must never burn, just cooked slowly to the soft stage on the hotplate.

5) A fried egg: carefully cooked on a hotplate in an egg ring, easy over as the Y*nks say, but the yolk must still be soft enough to soak into the burger when it's bitten into.

6) The garnish: we've already decided hamburgers ain't health food so a morsel of thinly shredded iceberg lettuce and a couple of paper thin slices of tomato will suffice

7) Cheese: this is the only optional extra, some like it, some don't. If the mood strikes me I do, but it must be a slice of Kraft processed. It's placed on the almost cooked patty so it melts a little.

Finally, the order of placement of the ingredients on the bun is a highly contentious issue. Obviously the meat goes on the bottom and the salad on the top but the positioning of the other three has broken up many families and brought either immortal fame or total ruin to hamburger chefs. In the interest of a peaceful thread I will say this is purely up to the individual.

[Mid]

where's the beetroot ???

[sceadugenga]

where's the beetroot ???

AAAAAAARRRRRRRRRGGGGGGHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!

I forgot the beetroot.

Goes on top of the salad. Must be Golden Circle tinned.

[george]

Any tips how to make the patties "Burger King style", quite thin and round shaped? When I fry hamburgers they tend to be a bit too thick although they looks ok before frying them...

[thaigerd]

Any tips how to make the patties "Burger King style", quite thin and round shaped? When I fry hamburgers they tend to be a bit too thick although they looks ok before frying them...

Make sure your minced beef has a top quality and it should contain around 20% fat, don't use too lean beef.

Add only a bit of salt and black pepper.

Mix all very well, form them in a ring (metal or plastic) and freeze before bbq them.

Gerd

You can use a hamburger mold:

Make a couple of burgers and keep them in ur freezer.

Edited March 8, 2007 by thaigerd

[kratindaeng]

OK this is a little off-topic but I happened to be completely dumb-founded when I ordered a Cheese Burger in a Restaurant in Vientiane, Laos. The Cheese Burger arrived on the table with a small side portion of salad, looking good so far. I opened up the bread bun to find that there was no burger only cheese?! Where the hel_l is my burger!?! sia jai maak!, mai bpen rai. I think I must have confused the waiter, I think he thought I asked for a cheese sandwich? Unless he was so hungry that he ate it on the way to my table or slipped it in his pocket?

KD

[Ulysses G.]

This is an Aussie-burger, not the real thing (but it will do in a pinch).

[sceadugenga]

This is an Aussie-burger, not the real thing (but it will do in a pinch).

One's a meal in itself General, you wouldn't order two of these with a large fries.

[tutsiwarrior]

OK this is a little off-topic but I happened to be completely dumb-founded when I ordered a Cheese Burger in a Restaurant in Vientiane, Laos. The Cheese Burger arrived on the table with a small side portion of salad, looking good so far. I opened up the bread bun to find that there was no burger only cheese?! Where the hel_l is my burger!?! sia jai maak!, mai bpen rai. I think I must have confused the waiter, I think he thought I asked for a cheese sandwich? Unless he was so hungry that he ate it on the way to my table or slipped it in his pocket?

KD

I ordered a pizza in in Ho Chi Minh City to find that it had no tomato sauce an' no cheese but wid de other ingredients as indicated on de menu...buncha weird muddafukkahs obber dere...

an' fer all you kangaroo humpers, anyone that was to put a fried egg on my burger I'd do a gangster James Cagney number widde grapefruit sure 'nuff... ...leave it up to MacDonalds, Burger King an' Big Kahuna Burger to do their stuff...the fabulous In an' Out burger in LA comes to mind...

[Mid]

egg , bacon , pineapple , cheese...................

all optional extras

[Jet Gorgon]

kangaroo humpers...

I like one place that smothers a grill-fired burger with a creamy/tangy sauce, lots of melted cheese, lettuce, tomato, mustard, and sweet pickles in a toasted bun. Crispy home fries and vanilla shake sucked straight out of the metal blender. Heart crisis. Can't remember the place name...

[Mid]

two all beef patties , special sauce , lettuce , cheese , onions , pickles , on a sesame seed bun

there's a special place for you Jet ......................................

[Jet Gorgon]

two all beef patties , special sauce , lettuce , cheese , onions , pickles , on a sesame seed bun

there's a special place for you Jet ......................................

somehow, their burgers taste more and more like sawdust congealed in cow fat with WWII-era condiments on top and slopped between two biscuit discs of questionable age...even had to force my dog to eat the kiddy pack offerings.

Added: but I like the OJ.

Edited March 8, 2007 by Jet Gorgon

[Mid]

there useful as a funny index to cost of living in various cities ,

as for actually eating one , well ....................

[Jet Gorgon]

Quite expensive for Thai standards, no? I mean compared to Bt20 stall fare...

[tutsiwarrior]

I was a grillman inna burger place once...nice lookin' grill, big rectangular slab ob stainless steel...de spatula was a foot long an' ye could flip 6 burgers at once if you were handy but ye had to be careful or de onions would go flyin'...catsup, mustard and pickle slices, de boss would say watch out fer dem pickles, they're expensive...dumbshit, worrying about his fcukin' pickles an' de 'teenaged problem' in de parkin' lot...

one day, a high school princess drove up in her new Jag XKG, approached and said to de counter man a burger please without sauce but WID A MILLION PICKLES!!!...de counter man looked over his shoulder an' said to me she'd like a million pickles...I said comin' right up. De dumbshit boss was downstairs foolin' wid de coke machine to get de most from de least...sumbody must've squealed as I was fired soon after...

de burger annals ob tutsiwarrior...

[aussieinor]

I've at some times added a little BBQ sauce INTO the beef pattie when I'm making them. When all cooked and the additional condiments (lettuce, tomato, cheese, bacon, egg and beetroot) then I put on a little bit of Thousand Island Dressing. Tastes great.

I was once told as a kid, "It's not a good burger unless the juices are running down to your elbows while munching on it". I still agree!

[wolfmanjack]

I've at some times added a little BBQ sauce INTO the beef pattie when I'm making them. When all cooked and the additional condiments (lettuce, tomato, cheese, bacon, egg and beetroot) then I put on a little bit of Thousand Island Dressing. Tastes great.

I was once told as a kid, "It's not a good burger unless the juices are running down to your elbows while munching on it". I still agree!

Reading this is making me want a Wendies Triple like they used to make before the f******g lawyers got involved. Big juicy burger with plenty of cheese tomatoes lettuce onions and dill pickles. Shove the sweet pickles and egg. Time to roll up your sleeves because the juice was dripping off your elbows. No way a well done piece of shoe leather is giving you that satisfaction.

[wolfmanjack]

I use a plate to smash my burgers down before I cook em. Use plastic wrap on the top and bottom so your meat doesn't stick to the plate.

[Jet Gorgon]

I've at some times added a little BBQ sauce INTO the beef pattie when I'm making them. When all cooked and the additional condiments (lettuce, tomato, cheese, bacon, egg and beetroot) then I put on a little bit of Thousand Island Dressing. Tastes great.

I was once told as a kid, "It's not a good burger unless the juices are running down to your elbows while munching on it". I still agree!

Reading this is making me want a Wendies Triple like they used to make before the f******g lawyers got involved. Big juicy burger with plenty of cheese tomatoes lettuce onions and dill pickles. Shove the sweet pickles and egg. Time to roll up your sleeves because the juice was dripping off your elbows. No way a well done piece of shoe leather is giving you that satisfaction.

Love ya, Wolfman.

[Crow Boy]

Was watching a thread on hamburger restaurants in the Chiang Mai forum and it got me thinking about the burgers we used to get in Australia that I try to recreate occasionally.

So what do you think is a great hamburger, here's my ingredients in order of importance.

1) The roll or bun: this must be round and fairly thin, white bread is best..burgers are NOT about healthy eating..and must contain no sugar at all as in the baguette style. It is split and lightly toasted.

2) The meat: any lean beef minced or ground then formed into patties. A little pepper can be added. Grilled on a hot plate to well done,

3) The sauce: this is vital, Heinz tomato spiced with a little extra something, chilli sauce, HP...in Australia the great fish and chip shops that originally introduced the hamburger kept their sauce recipe a closely guarded secret. Pickles are an abomination when put on a hamburger.

4) Fried sliced onion: this must never burn, just cooked slowly to the soft stage on the hotplate.

5) A fried egg: carefully cooked on a hotplate in an egg ring, easy over as the Y*nks say, but the yolk must still be soft enough to soak into the burger when it's bitten into.

6) The garnish: we've already decided hamburgers ain't health food so a morsel of thinly shredded iceberg lettuce and a couple of paper thin slices of tomato will suffice

7) Cheese: this is the only optional extra, some like it, some don't. If the mood strikes me I do, but it must be a slice of Kraft processed. It's placed on the almost cooked patty so it melts a little.

Finally, the order of placement of the ingredients on the bun is a highly contentious issue. Obviously the meat goes on the bottom and the salad on the top but the positioning of the other three has broken up many families and brought either immortal fame or total ruin to hamburger chefs. In the interest of a peaceful thread I will say this is purely up to the individual.

Mate you forgot to mention a few essential ingredients to make the quintessential Aussie burger

Pineapple ring - golden circle brand, lightly grilled on both sides

Beetroot - also golden circle brand - stains everything a delightful purple colour

Bacon - fried soft with the rind still attached, not turned into carbon so it shatters when you bite it

Getting all nostalgic now for the burger shop at Tom Ugly's Bridge for a Burger and a Milkshake so thick it could give you a hernia just sucking it through a straw.

Ok gallop to side thread

Milk shake

Milk - has to be as cold as a mother in laws kiss

Syrup - Cottee brand and lots of it

Malt - secret ingredient of a cricket dominating nation

Ice Cream - at least three proper scoops

In South Australia (go the Crows) we used to add a raw egg to it and call it an egg flip - healthy enough to kill you

[Crow Boy]

I was a grillman inna burger place once...nice lookin' grill, big rectangular slab ob stainless steel...de spatula was a foot long an' ye could flip 6 burgers at once if you were handy but ye had to be careful or de onions would go flyin'...catsup, mustard and pickle slices, de boss would say watch out fer dem pickles, they're expensive...dumbshit, worrying about his fcukin' pickles an' de 'teenaged problem' in de parkin' lot...

one day, a high school princess drove up in her new Jag XKG, approached and said to de counter man a burger please without sauce but WID A MILLION PICKLES!!!...de counter man looked over his shoulder an' said to me she'd like a million pickles...I said comin' right up. De dumbshit boss was downstairs foolin' wid de coke machine to get de most from de least...sumbody must've squealed as I was fired soon after...

de burger annals ob tutsiwarrior...

I thought English was the language used on this forum

[jmdelan5]

Any tips how to make the patties "Burger King style", quite thin and round shaped? When I fry hamburgers they tend to be a bit too thick although they looks ok before frying them...

Make sure your minced beef has a top quality and it should contain around 20% fat, don't use too lean beef.

Add only a bit of salt and black pepper.

Mix all very well, form them in a ring (metal or plastic) and freeze before bbq them.

Gerd

You can use a hamburger mold:

Make a couple of burgers and keep them in ur freezer.

I agree. You've got to have enough fat for flavor! The beef here is so ###### lean. Look at the cows; they're very, very thin. jmdelan5

[Crow Boy]

Any tips how to make the patties "Burger King style", quite thin and round shaped? When I fry hamburgers they tend to be a bit too thick although they looks ok before frying them...

Easy - take one sheet of corrugated cardboard, using a pair of scissors cut out a circle approximately 8cm (3" for the metrically challenged) soak in beef fat and flame grill, serve on a sweetened bun with lettuce, tomato, a sheet of plastic cheese like substance, those Goldurm mongrol pickles, and special sauce

Enjoy

[tutsiwarrior]

I was a grillman inna burger place once...nice lookin' grill, big rectangular slab ob stainless steel...de spatula was a foot long an' ye could flip 6 burgers at once if you were handy but ye had to be careful or de onions would go flyin'...catsup, mustard and pickle slices, de boss would say watch out fer dem pickles, they're expensive...dumbshit, worrying about his fcukin' pickles an' de 'teenaged problem' in de parkin' lot...

one day, a high school princess drove up in her new Jag XKG, approached and said to de counter man a burger please without sauce but WID A MILLION PICKLES!!!...de counter man looked over his shoulder an' said to me she'd like a million pickles...I said comin' right up. De dumbshit boss was downstairs foolin' wid de coke machine to get de most from de least...sumbody must've squealed as I was fired soon after...

de burger annals ob tutsiwarrior...

I thought English was the language used on this forum

hang around de forum fer a bit longer an' you'll get de idea...tutsi receives dispensation from above...

easy enuf ta unnerstand or shall I put onto video?

[Lickey]

Hamburghers??????? pigs eyeballs,toenails, ears, they went out a long time ago, absolute crap or do Big Mac still sell them? on principle, i wont use these places!

Anyway, get some good minced beef, add chopped onions, bread crumbs,LITTLE salt and ground black pepper, 50/50 beef breadcrumbs mix, add some olive oil, stir and knead till you have a good mix, flatten out burghers on plain flour, fry gently on a medium/low heat, gently squeezing with a spatula, when done, put on you favourite bread, add english mustard, then cheese {not processed!! } favorite salad items and away you go, youve got an authentic english cheese burgher with salad,,

[Cheeky Farang]

To make a good burger - You need a GOOD COW - My Mrs can make them

[wolfmanjack]

I've at some times added a little BBQ sauce INTO the beef pattie when I'm making them. When all cooked and the additional condiments (lettuce, tomato, cheese, bacon, egg and beetroot) then I put on a little bit of Thousand Island Dressing. Tastes great.

I was once told as a kid, "It's not a good burger unless the juices are running down to your elbows while munching on it". I still agree!

Reading this is making me want a Wendies Triple like they used to make before the f******g lawyers got involved. Big juicy burger with plenty of cheese tomatoes lettuce onions and dill pickles. Shove the sweet pickles and egg. Time to roll up your sleeves because the juice was dripping off your elbows. No way a well done piece of shoe leather is giving you that satisfaction.

Love ya, Wolfman.

Love you too Jet. I get riled up when the lawyers mess with my food

[cathyy]

Ah, yes, I tried a burger at a new place in town today. I should have had the lamb chops like my husband did. those were mighty tasty. Oh, well.

It was one of those hockey puck burgers; small, dense, and dry. As Lickey pointed out, you can't just use minced beef here. You need to add some fat and something to add and hold moisture, like onions and bread crumbs. Not as much as you'd use in a meatloaf, though. You need to make the burger less dense. Handle it lightly, don't squash it too much. It also needs to be more than 2/3 of the diameter of the bun after cooking, which means it needs to be at least the diameter of the bun before cooking.

At least it didn't come with a massive spooge of mayonnaise on it.

[Austhaied]

Was watching a thread on hamburger restaurants in the Chiang Mai forum and it got me thinking about the burgers we used to get in Australia that I try to recreate occasionally.

So what do you think is a great hamburger, here's my ingredients in order of importance.

1) The roll or bun: this must be round and fairly thin, white bread is best..burgers are NOT about healthy eating..and must contain no sugar at all as in the baguette style. It is split and lightly toasted.

2) The meat: any lean beef minced or ground then formed into patties. A little pepper can be added. Grilled on a hot plate to well done,

3) The sauce: this is vital, Heinz tomato spiced with a little extra something, chilli sauce, HP...in Australia the great fish and chip shops that originally introduced the hamburger kept their sauce recipe a closely guarded secret. Pickles are an abomination when put on a hamburger.

4) Fried sliced onion: this must never burn, just cooked slowly to the soft stage on the hotplate.

5) A fried egg: carefully cooked on a hotplate in an egg ring, easy over as the Y*nks say, but the yolk must still be soft enough to soak into the burger when it's bitten into.

6) The garnish: we've already decided hamburgers ain't health food so a morsel of thinly shredded iceberg lettuce and a couple of paper thin slices of tomato will suffice

7) Cheese: this is the only optional extra, some like it, some don't. If the mood strikes me I do, but it must be a slice of Kraft processed. It's placed on the almost cooked patty so it melts a little.

Finally, the order of placement of the ingredients on the bun is a highly contentious issue. Obviously the meat goes on the bottom and the salad on the top but the positioning of the other three has broken up many families and brought either immortal fame or total ruin to hamburger chefs. In the interest of a peaceful thread I will say this is purely up to the individual.

Mate. you've just made me hungry...