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Anyone have a favorite mix for their hamburger meat?

Salt, pepper, garlic, and onion are all standard, but I want to try something new.

My housemate uses Italian bread crumbs in a mix with those you mentioned, and they come out pretty well.

I don't make enough burgers to know what's good, but I plan on eventually trying to mix in the following, one per recipe:
taco seasoning (preferably home-mixed from chili powder and etc.)
finely-chopped, low-heat peppers (with or without adobo)
1/4-1/2 ground venison or pork
pickle relish
liquid smoke and/or Worcestershire sauce

I also curry my sautéed onions sometimes to top -- just sauté and then mix in sprinkles of curry powder to taste.

My burgers are pretty plain. Salt + Pepper. I experimented with other stuff (bread crumbs, egg, various spices), but I really just like them plain. If Im feeling fancy, I play around with the toppings.

I usually look around the kitchen and see what random flavorings and seasonings catch my eye and try to make an interesting combination. Honey and chipotle tabasco was good. So was balsamic vinaigrette, brown sugar, and crumbled bacon.

Salt and pepper are standard, but in the summers I grow a couple jalapeno plants and then they get mixed into the meat for my wife and I.

Make sure to remove the seeds first or the women will complain.

I use Lawry's Seasoning.
I also use that for steaks, and on tater-tots.

To 1lb of 80/20 hamburger add:

1/3 cup marinara sauce
1/3 cup pepperoni slices, cut into quarters
garlic powder (rehydrated), garlic mayo, or a pack of leftover garlic dipping sauce from a pizza joint, amount to preference

Melt mozzarella cheese on top after the last flip. Makes 2 fine pizza burgers.

Just LOL if your first step in making a burg isn't "buy a baby cow."

Alhazad wrote:I don't make enough burgers to know what's good, but I plan on eventually trying to mix in the following, one per recipe:
[...]
pickle relish

Don't do this. Tried twice now. The extra liquid has to be thoroughly strained off or the patty falls apart, and to me at least it makes it taste slightly... fishy.

It's weird how if you wrap a burger with lettuce as a bun substitute and eat it that way, it's a lot more emotionally satisfying than if you topped a burger patty, and ate it with a knife and fork.

Try emotionally wrapping it in your vagina next time and see if that's better.

You went from "Buy a baby cow" to "wrap it in lettuce for emotions".

That wasn't either / or.

If you love food and you don't follow the guy in this video, you should. He does all sorts of cooking experiments, and here is an interesting one I had never heard of:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G_l3N0jTNIY

There's a local chain, Frickers, that has a location in the town I spent my high school years in and there was a black cook during that time. He would soak burgers in water before grilling them, and you could tell the difference.

12 minutes is way too long. Give me the 12 second summary of what that stuff does.

GORDON wrote: 12 minutes is way too long.

Your poor girlfriend...

The ice cube trick works. It was the preferred burger over the other two and the control.

The beef stock one was a total failure. The beer one was apparently fine and you could taste the beer.

By the way, those are ground ribeye burgers.

I cannot recommend that guy's channel enough. If you've ever wondered about aging, smoking, grilling, sous vide, marinades, and so on he tries EVERYTHING.

You say the ice cube works. Works at what?

Look at the picture.

Fuuuuck. The picture is an ice cube on a burger. What's the point of it?

Know what? Nevermind. This conversation is already painful. I will go.to my grave not knowing the why of the ice cube burger trick.

GORDON wrote: This conversation is already painful.

I mean, do you want me to layout a full summary of the video? Just watch the damn thing and skip ahead. It's not difficult.

I'd never dump a friend for politics, but I'm about to murder one for laziness.