Homemade burgers! Who doesn't know they're a hundred times better than the ones we can buy? They are because we choose the best meat, without preservatives or additives, and mix it with the ingredients we like most, and also because homemade always has that extra satisfaction that makes us proud.
Thanks Miriam, author of El Invitado de Invierno, for inviting us to these delicious homemade burgers!
What a pleasure to make good homemade burgers, have you ever done it? In my opinion it's well worth it, not only because you have more control over the ingredients, but because you can try every flavor variation you can think of. And I love grinding the meat at home with my own grinder, selecting great cuts and testing various combinations.
I think that when you make burgers at home you can also better appreciate how different ingredients influence the final flavor, as well as their proportions. You become aware that once meat is ground, it oxidizes visibly and loses its healthy pink color to take on unpleasant grayish tones (which is why commercial ground meats include antioxidants). That's why I recommend making the burgers the same day you plan to eat them and letting the mixture rest just enough for the flavors to settle.
In any case, a burger is so simple that what really makes it delicious, as you can imagine, is for the quality of the raw ingredients to be excellent. Find a trusted butcher, I recommend it, one with recognized, proven quality, and your burgers will turn out fantastic. If you can afford to add a bit of a prime cut, such as tenderloin, don't hesitate to do so. And we will always add some pork fat in the form of bacon or a similar cut to give the mixture richness and then help with browning as it melts on the griddle.
For me the essential ingredients are those I list below in the recipe, but there are many variations, from adding beaten egg as in Russian-style patties to help the mix bind perfectly, to adding different spices like nutmeg, herbs, etc., even mustard. Don't hold back, experiment and go wild.
Ingredients
- 500 g of beef chuck
- 150 g of beef tenderloin
- 1 thick slice of fresh pancetta
- 1 garlic clove
- ¼ onion
- parsley (optional)
- salt to taste
- a bit of extra virgin olive oil
Preparation
- Cut the chuck and tenderloin into strips or pieces that can easily fit into the manual grinder (or the KitchenAid grinder if you have the stand mixer).
- Remove the rind from the pancetta. Peel the garlic and crush it well. Finely chop the onion.
- Grind all the meat in the grinder, alternating pieces of pancetta with the rest of the meat. Put it in a bowl and mix it with a fork. Add the garlic, onion and parsley if using. Mix everything thoroughly.
- Cut small sheets of paper about 10 cm to be able to form the burgers on them. Place a plating ring or another 10 cm mold on the paper and add between 1/4 and 1/5 of the prepared mixture, depending on the burger thickness you prefer. Flatten the surface with your fingers or a spoon and lift the mold. Repeat this procedure to form all the burgers until the mixture is used up. You can also use a burger press, which will always get you the same diameter and also the same thickness; they are easy to unmold and let you mark the characteristic ridges on the burgers.
- We heat a good iron grill over high heat. When it's nice and hot, we brush each burger with olive oil and put it on the grill. We cook the burgers until nicely browned, at least five minutes per side, though it also depends on the doneness we prefer.
- Serve the burgers immediately on the buns accompanied by the ingredients you like most: lettuce, tomato, onion, caramelized onion, pickles, cheese, etc.
