Bar Burgers

Submitted by BETHANY T.

"There are plenty of fancy recipes for hamburgers, but as most of you know.. the best burgers are those ones that you get at the neighborhood bar. Whats the secret? The big secret is that there is no secret! The grill cook is just trying to fill the order as quickly as possible with no special effort. The simplicity is what makes bar burgers taste so good. One of the keys is to buy meat labeled hamburger.. no lean ground meat for these. Look for the packages with the grind marks visible.. These are the best!!"

 

• Ready In: 25mins
• Ingredients: 5
• Serves: 6

ingredients

• 2 lbs hamburger
• 6 hamburger buns
• 2 tablespoons butter
• kosher salt
• pepper

directions

1. Heat griddle or cast iron pan on medium high heat.
2. Without disturbing grind marks, carefully divide hamburger into 6 sections.
3. Place hamburger sections on hot griddle.
4. Press hamburgers down onto griddle with a heavy spatula. Use pressure. this causes the hamburgers to stick to the griddle and prevents shrinkage.
5. Sprinkle tops with salt and pepper and any other spices you may want to use.
6. When the edges look cooked and juices rise to the top, turn over but dont press down again.
7. When bottoms are browned, and burger is to desired doneness, remove from griddle and set aside.
8. Cover with foil or wax paper.
9. Spread cut sides of buns lightly with butter.
10. Place butter side down on griddle until lightly browned.
11. Place burgers on buns and top with your favorite toppings.

Reviews

[duonyte]

I make my hamburgers the same way and always get rave reviews. The only thing I do differently is that I do not press down on the burgers with a spatula - I believe that that causes the burger to be less juicy. What I do instead is to gently create a depression in the center of the patty. As the burger cooks, this evens out into an even patty. But otherwise, I do exactly what you do, Bethany - I take the meat from the market and handle it as little as possible to make patty shapes, and cook like that.

 

[lazyme]

Great burgers! I followed the directions and added lots of toppings. Thanks Not-2-Sweet for a great burger that the whole family enjoyed. Made for Zaar Chef Alphabet Soup Tag.

 

[Pastryismybiz]

High marks for toasting the bun on the griddle. I use butter and let them brown til very crispy. We use the 73/27 fat content hamburger for the juiciest burgers fat and all. I do not press down on burgers that would release the fat and juices. I cook burger to med.well stage. My husbund lost 28 lbs over 3 months just eating 2 burgers once a day prepared as above.I would not recommend this. nothing else.

 

[LAURIE]

Cooked these on the cast iron griddle over the campfire...awesome! I was always taught not to press the juice out of the burgers also, so I handled as little as possible, and only pressed down when I first put them on the griddle. Only made 1/2 recipe for the 2 of us (and the dog) and it was just right. Also grilled some onions along side......Great supper for a cold night in the northwoods. Thanx Bethany!

 

[Fox Hollow]

Great burgers, the all American sandwich! And I've always liked the diner style toasted buns! Thanks for posting because it reminded me not to "over handle" the patties.