Since we have discovered that making your own burgers not only tastes better, but is less expensive and more fun than buying frozen ones, we haven't ever bought a "store" burger. Most people's complaints about homemade burgers is that they are too thick, or that they end up turning into baseball-shaped hunks of meat on the grill. I will tell you how to avoid that!I am also including a recipe for whole wheat burger buns. They are delicious! Make sure you make these buns a few hours in advance; they need at least 1.5 hours to rise. Bun recipe adapted from Canadian Living.
These two recipes will make enough burgers and buns to feed a crowd, and they're also easy to freeze. Separate hamburger patties with waxed paper and throw them in a Ziplock baggie, and freeze. Put cooled buns in an old bread bag or a Ziplock bag and freeze them as well.
Hamburgers:
2.5 - 3 lb. lean ground beef
3 eggs
1/2 c. bread crumbs
1/4 c. grated parmesan cheese
1 Tbsp. worcestershire sauce
1 Tbsp. vegetable oil
2 tsp. sea salt
2 tsp. fresh ground pepper
2 tsp. dried sage
1 tsp. Italian seasoning
1 tsp. onion powder
4 - 5 large cloves garlic, minced
Optional: 1 small onion, pureed
2 - 3 portobello caps, pureed
In a very large bowl, mix all of these ingredients together extremely well. Use your hands - it's more thorough. This recipe is very cohesive, yielding a burger patty consistency that you can really flatten out. The idea is to use lots of eggs and bread crumbs, and to make any additions very finely minced or pureed. Large chunks of diced onion or mushroom will literally act as "separators" and prevent the patty from sticking together. So grab a handful of your mixture, and make it as flat and as round as you prefer. Yields about 12 - 15 patties.
Cook on a griddle or skillet over medium heat until desired doneness. Or, flame-grill on your barbeque on medium heat. Everyone has a way of cooking their burgers - I prefer them flipped once only, done medium-rare.
Buns:
2 Tbsp. granulated sugar
1 c. warm water (slightly warmer than room temp)
2 1/4 tsp. active dry yeast (one envelope)
1 c. milk
2 Tbsp. butter
1 1/2 tsp. salt
2 1/2 c. whole wheat bread flour
2 1/2 c. all-purpose flour (approx)
Sesame seeds
In a large bowl, dissolve 1 tsp. of the sugar in the water. Sprinkle the yeast over top and let sit until frothy, about 10 minutes. Meanwhile, heat the remaining sugar, milk, salt and butter in a saucepan just until the butter is melted. Remove from heat and let it stand until lukewarm. Add this to the yeast mixture.
Using an electric mixer, add the whole wheat flour, one cup at a time, until the mixture is smooth. Using a wooden spoon, stir in enough of the all-purpose flour until you have a stiff dough. Turn this out onto a lightly floured surface and knead, adding more flour if necessary, until smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes. Place the dough ball in a greased bowl, turning the dough once to coat completely with oil. Cover with plastic wrap and let it sit in a warm, draught-free area until doubled in size, about 60 - 90 minutes.
Punch down the dough, turn onto a lightly floured surface. Roll into a log and cut into 16 equal pieces. Shape each piece into a ball, pinching the bottoms and smoothing the tops until you have a bun-shaped ball. Place on a greased baking sheet and flatten slightly. Sprinkle with sesame seeds. Cover and let them rise in a warm, draught-free place for 30 - 60 minutes, or until doubled in size.
Bake in a 400 F oven for 20 - 25 minutes, on the centre rack or higher, until golden brown and buns sound hollow when tapped on the bottom. My last batch turned out crunchy on the bottom because I placed them on a lower rack level. Let buns cool on a rack, and enjoy them with your homemade hamburgers! Yields 16 buns.
