The basis of a hamburger is, of course, the ground beef from
which you make the “patties.”
In preparing the patties, I have tried all sorts of
“add-ins” to mix with the beef - everything from dried onion soup mix, to eggs, to
bacon fat, to grated cheese . The
absolute best to add is...nothing at all! Why
dilute that pure beefy taste?
When making your own hamburgers, start with 1 ¼ pounds of
ground beef with 20% fat content. This
will be enough for four patties.
Normally I buy a lesser fat content, but for really tasty
burgers, get the 20%.
Divide the beef into four sections. Gently form each section into a round “patty”
shape. It’s not necessary to tightly
pack the beef into shape. In fact, you
should try to handle the beef as little as possible.
Each patty should measure approximately ¾ inches thick and 4
½ inches across.
Wrap the extra patties in plastic wrap and freeze them
for next week’s dinner.
Before you start cooking the hamburgers, toast the cut side
of the rolls. (Untoasted rolls get soggy
very quickly.) Lay the rolls out on a
baking sheet with sides and put them under the broiler.
It will only take a minute or two, so don’t do anything but
stand there with pot holder in your hand, ready to remove the rolls from the
oven. (They go from beautifully toasted
to burnt in the blink of an eye. Then
the smoke alarm goes off and ....you know the rest!)
Preheat your fry pan by putting a few drops of water in the
pan. By the time they have evaporated,
your pan will be hot.
Make sure the fry pan you are using is large enough to hold
your hamburgers without squishing them together.
Cook the hamburgers on one side then flip them once, and then cook them on the other side.
Cooking times on each
side:
- 3
minutes for RARE
- 4
minutes for MEDIUM
- 5
minutes for WELL DONE
If you want to make a cheeseburger, place a slice of cheese
on the flip side about 1 minute before the burgers are done cooking. The heat from the hamburgers will melt the
cheese.
Serve your hamburgers with sliced tomatoes, lettuce, a
dollop of mayonnaise and some salt and pepper.
Enjoy!
You can view and print this recipe here.
If you are new to startcooking, or are a regular visitor here, please consider subscribing for free.
previous 
subscribe
TVTonic
Alltop.com
Your Mileage May Vary
9 Rules
marc | posted on Nov 9, 2006
i think you left out how high the heat should be set for. i assume high or medium-high based upon your cooking times.