Serious About Burgers: the Perfect Hamburger Blend

From the beginning of burger making times, there has been a sacred mission to create the perfect hamburger blend, that one that is soft but firm at the same time and has the most exquisite flavors, that burger that has the perfect texture and is juicy enough to melt your mouth while you enjoy the most delightful experience.

From using different cuts in the same mix, to blending meats from different types the search for the perfect burger is something to be passionate. Most of us enjoy the experience of making a burger and we are thrilled to make new experiments with new spices and seasonings.

The big problem about the search of the perfect burger blend, is that we are all subjects of our own tastes, so basically what I think that is the perfect burger might be very different from your concept of the perfect burger. But one thing is sure, we all like burgers and could use a tip or to point us in the right direction to find you perfect burger blend.

What cuts?

Selecting the right cuts of meat is just the first step in a process that will help you figure out which blend is the perfect one for you.

There’s actually not a problem of just using chuck on your patties if that’s what you like, but if by the other hand you thrive to explore new flavors, textures and different burgers then you can use other cuts and mix them together to form your own special blend.

In general terms the best recommendation for burgers is to keep your blends on a meat-to-fat 80/20 ratio. But being honest some people might like more fat on their blends as it gives a huge amount of flavors

  • Some of the most popular beef cuts are:
  • Chuck: this is one of the most popular cuts and has been used in simple and blended burgers for a long time.
  • Round: It is a cut with an awesome flavor and generally it’s very lean, you can add some bacon strips or short rib to take your blends to an outstanding 70/30 ratio of fat percentage.
  • Brisket: the brisket comes from a muscle that is in continuous use so it is extra beefy and has tons of flavor to enjoy.
  • Short Rib is one of the fattier cuts ever and will give you tons of flavor, one of the most important factors when choosing this cut is that it tends to render slower than other fats that come from other body parts of the animal.

For lamb, the best cuts are those that come from the shoulders and chest are the ones that provide best flavor and tend to be fattier as the way they are butchered and sold in this country makes them have a higher fat-to-meat ratio. For pork you should always ask for top round, butt or shoulder as those parts are the ones that provide more flavor and add more softness to your patties.

Grinding chopping or food processor?

Once you have selected the cuts you want to blend, you have another decision to make. How are you going to ground your meat?

One of the most common ways to ground your meat is using a meat grinder, these devices are designed to give you different grades of coarseness to give your patties different textures, you can even ground different cuts to different degrees to create the exact texture you are looking for. Meat grinders help you conserve most of the fats humidity when cooked.

Another ways are to chop your meats in very tiny pieces and mix them together. For this process you should use a sharp (very sharp) and heavy knife, this way you won’t have to put too much effort in your task. This way of grounding your meat ensures maximum retention of juices while cooking thanks to a great whole structure. No matter how coarse or thin you make it you’ll get a great variation in textures and can be a little bit consuming.

Using the food processor will give you a ground meat that might have the roughs of the textures, unless your food processor is brand new, there will be smearing happening on the process. Food Processors are the least popular choice as it doesn’t grounds the meat as even as meat grinders.

Seasoning

Once you have the grounded meat on the table is time to add whatever spices you like. In my personal taste I consider that just using a bit of salt and pepper can really bring out the flavor of a burger but if you’d like to explore the huge varieties of flavors you can put virtually any ingredient you like. From time to time grind some onion and red and yellow bell peppers to add more sweetness to the mix, other times I would just add some cumin and salt to get a more exotic flavor.

No matter what you think you like, in the world of burgers there are infinite ways to create new flavors and textures. With such a huge variety of recipes and processing methods. The good thing is that you might have to try a lot of preparations before you find that perfect blend that will make your moth melt by just thinking about it.

Personally, I think I’ll never find my perfect burger, but by the time being I wouldn’t my eating a thousand more burgers before I find the perfect one, there’s not something like “I cant have more burgers in my life. As a matter of fact, what can be better than just keep eating burgers for a long time?

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