How do you Prepare your Grilled Burgers?? Do you use Gas or Charcoal??

PoliceScannerMan

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Charcoal 4 life here!! I grill on a Weber Kettle Grill 22". (Porcelin coated steel)

Anyway, I make my patties (1/2 lb. each :rock: ) with Maverick beef, 4% fat. When i make my Patties I handle the meat little as possible. If you over handle ground beef it will yield a Tough, Dry burger. Then I douse em lightly with Worcestershire, then a light sprinkle of Garlic Powder and then sprinkle Lawry's Seasoned salt on BOTH sides of the patties.

Grill them over HOT coals (Kingsford :rock: , is there any other Charcoal?) to sear in the juices. I grill till they are just right when I touch them with my finger. (Kinda Spongy).

When I take em off I let them rest for 5-6 minutes so they can finish cooking, cut in to any meat fresh off the grill, all the juice will pour out and leave you high n dry!!

Even though the beef I use is 4% fat, I make THE most juicy burgers in town!

Toasted bun Anyone??

How do you do your burgers, any secret recipes you can share here??

Gas or Charcoal???
 

ACMarina

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I think this is apt for me..

kingoth-jason.jpg
 

Sigman

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Try mixing a little portabella tapenade (I use "California Harvest"), heaping tablespoon into 1 1/2 lbs of meat!

Though I use propane out of convenience - I agree charcoal is the best way to go for flavor! Your method sounds mighty tasty to me!!

We're having "baked chicken cordon bleu" tonight - but now I wish we were having good ole' grilled burgers! (no it's not me in the pic!)

It's all good!!
 
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Coop

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I really prefer charcoal, but as I live on the 5th story of an appartment building so I cant use that.... so at home I use an electric grill, and in the summer I regularly visit my inlaws or parents for a charcoal grilled feast :rock:
 

Diesel_Bomber

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Propane for conveniance, but a wood fire other times. Oak, hickory, walnut, sometimes cherry.


Cheers :buddies:
 

metalhed

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IMHO, it ain't barbeque unless its cooked over charcoal.

When they say, "now we're cookin' with gas" they mean it. You might be 'cookin' but you sure aren't 'barbequeing'.


BTW, 22' Weber Kettle...the only way to cook outdoors.

Can you say Tri-Tip?


:D


I knew you could.


:nana:
 

PoliceScannerMan

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I got my 22" Weber Kettle 11 years ago for my birthday when I was 15. She's still in great shape!! I like it cause it has the wood handles, which are now plastic these days!
 

Glass

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Lump charcoal (not briquettes) in a Chargriller Super Pro. Use a chminey starter to light them and they start pretty quickly.

Use 15% fat ground beef and they will stay super moist. Mix kosher salt, fresh ground black pepper, and minced garlic into the beef.

I get my coals screaming hot and allow the grates to get super hot as well.

I use a two stage fire with a large pile of coals on one side and a very thin layer on the other. Place the patties on the screaming hot side for a minute or two and then flip them. Then move them over to the cooler side to continue cooking internally. After they sit a few minutes on the cool side, they should be done internally. Take them off the grill and allow the to rest for about 5 minutes wrapped together in heavy duty foil.

Bake some bacon in the oven, sautee some mushrooms, and mix up some guacamolie and you'll have a burger that puts any resturant to shame. Seriously, they are awesome!

We have just hit on one of my other passions... :rock:

Patrick
 

cy

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natural lump charcoal here!!!!

cooked in a Hasty Bake. made in Tulsa, OK and the Rolls Royce of charcoal grills :D

for smoking an Oklahoma Joe's smoker made in Stillwater, Oklahoma. prefer hickory and pecan with some apple thrown in.

bbq steaks.JPG


bbq ribs.JPG
 

Nitroz

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Glass said:
Lump charcoal (not briquettes) in a Chargriller Super Pro. Use a chminey starter to light them and they start pretty quickly.

Patrick

Ahhh, another Chargriller owner. This smoker/grill is the best for the money, I've had mine for a few years now and it just keeps getting better. Finally the weather is getting warmer and time to start smokin'.
 

jtice

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Charcoal here all the way.
Not that gas taste bad, but I like the slight hardened outter surface the charcoal leaves.

I like to use Worcestershire and A1 on mine.
With some pepper, or other pepper type seasoning.

They have to be at least 3/4" to 1" thick too! ;)

~John
 

Glass

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Patrick's grilling tips:

Use a two stage fire. One half of the grill should have a thick EVEN pile of coals and the other should have a thin EVEN pile.

Place the subject (burger, steak) on the super hot side to get a good sear on each side then move it over to the cooler side to coast down and finish internally. Then allow them to rest afterward wrapped together in heavy foil.

Both Alton Brown and America's Test Kitchen (food gods) have proven that searing does not lock in any juices. It only provides good flavor and texture to the meat. However, you'll still hear pros make that statement.

DO NOT press down on hamburger patties while they are cooking. You'll only make them dry out. Also, use tongs to turn steaks and do not poke them with a skewer or fork.

Once you have flipped a burger, do not flip it back onto the seared side. That is a one way ticket to dryville. Steak, however is safe to flip a couple times.

Allow your steak to sit on the counter for about an hour to reach room temperature before you cook it. If you are marinating, do it for about an hour on the counter.

If you have a well marbeled, high quality steak, lightly coat them in oil and kosher salt/ground pepper. If you are going for a cut that is pretty lean or lower quality, marinade them in Lee & Perrin, oil, lime juice, kosher salt/ground pepper, and wine.

For chicken, get a digital probe thermometer and make sure it has an internal temp of about 150-155 degrees F in the tickest part before you take it off the grill. Yes, the FDA says 170 but that is just being paranoid in my book.

With beef, you can use a probe thermometer sparingly until you learn to use the palm-o'-hand doneness test.

Finally, the single biggest beef mistake that both home grillers and resturants make is that they leave the meat on the heat source until it is done. However, meat continues to cook for a few minutes after it is removed from the heat thereby over cooking it. If you want your steak medium, grill it until it is medium rare and it it will coast or "carry-over" to medium.

Also, watch Good Eats and America's Test Kitchen.

Patrick
 
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Glass

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cy said:
natural lump charcoal here!!!!

cooked in a Hasty Bake. made in Tulsa, OK and the Rolls Royce of charcoal grills :D

for smoking an Oklahoma Joe's smoker made in Stillwater, Oklahoma. prefer hickory and pecan with some apple thrown in.

Oh Yeah! I still have some other toys I need before I shell out the dough for the big boy grill. For now I'm just using the Chargriller from Lowes.

BTW, those are some pretty pics. Dangit! Now I'm hungry...

Patrick
 

JasonC8301

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Saw this on the Food Network or something and I like it, basically have your butcher ground a pound of chuck steak, pound of sirloin steak, and a pound of ribeye.

When you get home, make a palm sized patty consisting 1/3 of each type of meat. I use a George Foreman Grill :)
 

metalhed

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Glass -- Good tips...especially the last part about pulling the food off the grill a little early.

I only differ with you on one thing. I think steaks should get the same 'no double cook' rule as other foods. Cooking a side, flipping it, and then flipping it again only dries out the meat and toughens it, as far as I can tell.


One other pointer. Take into account the ambient temperature. Here in SoCal, during the summer I might start a grill when it's 105 outside. Yet in early spring (or even winter), I might have air temperatures of only 50 to 60 degrees.

That means more charcoal on the cooler days, and less when it's hot. Also changes your cooking times slightly...longer when it's cooler.

And remember, let the food tell you when it's done. Try not to use arbitrary cooking times or charcoal amounts. Just learn what works by grilling often.

After all, it is its own reward.

Great...now I'm hungry...better fire up the grill. :D
 

Trashman

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At home we've got a gas grill. I like to wrap some mesquite and hickory smoking chips in foil and put it down on top of the burners to give the food that extra yummy flavor. I've got to say, though, I do love charcoal, especially the briquets that have mesquite in them.

Interestingly, on one of the food channel BBQ cook off shows, they showed a guy who uses gas only and is one of the biggest repeat winners of the various competitions in the BBQ circuit.
 

PEU

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If a gaucho here hears propane, it takes your Argentina passport and burns it in flames :lolsign:

Charcoal all the way!!

Here is a friend of mine starting the fire:

IMG_2231.jpg


more friends waiting for charcoal to be done:

IMG_2230.jpg


Here is another photo of a full grill with food for 9

IMG_2234.jpg


These photos were taken last friday :)


Grills? anything goes, as long it keeps the meat at the proper distance from the charcoal.


And here you can see more barbecue pictures:

http://elasadodelosviernes.com.ar/

We do barbecues every friday since 2000 :)


Pablo
 
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