Homemade Burgers

This week I got a rare treat while grocery shopping- affordable red meat. My husband and I are paying grad school tuition at the moment, so it's a special thing to find beef marked down enough to fit our grocery budget, but not only was the hamburger marked down a percentage, it was an extra $2 off the 97% lean option. I decided to make burgers.

Now the thing about burgers is that a good burger is super juicy, seared on the outside, and flavorful without condiments. Normally, a big factor in achieving that juiciness is using meat that is at least somewhat fatty. The saturated fat melts when cooked and contributes to the juice and flavor in a big way; burgers made with super lean meat often come out dry, & the patties can be crumbly.

I have two tricks to circumvent this problem. First, I added 2 whole eggs to the meat. Eggs contain cholesterol, but are much better for you than beef fat, as they also contain a huge assortment of vitamins, and some good cholesterol. Moreover, the egg whites act as a binder for the meat and seasonings. This helped add a little bit of moisture, and prevented the burgers from turning out crumbly. It also stretched the meat to make bigger burgers, and made the end result much more rich.

I seasoned the meat with a perfect trio of spice blends from a vendor at my local farmer's market. If you are in North Dallas on a Saturday, bring about $15 to the Coppell farmer's market and stock up on the best spices in the country. If you don't live in Dallas, no worries! Check out his website here. I love the Jalapeno seasoning so much I keep a backup stocked, because last year I ran out right after the market season ended, and that will not happen again! The three spices I used in my burger meat were the Jalapeno Seasoning, the "Rusty Onion" Seasoning, and the Garlic Pepper Seasoning. If my husband had my love for heat, I might've included some "What in da hell?" Habanero spice for an extra kick.

My second trick to get a great, juicy burger using extremely lean meat is that I got my griddle good and hot before I put my meat on. This way, the outside of the burger seared and sealed before the flavor and juices can escape. After I flipped them, I placed the cheese on top of the patties while the underside cooked, allowing it to melt, & removed them directly onto the toasted, buttered, garlicky buns I had waiting.

A great tip for cleaning your griddle or flat-top after a greasy, messy venture is to toss a slice or two of cheddar onto the worst of the mess while the griddle is still hot. Something about the oils in the cheese and the nature of the cheese as it first melts, then crisps up from the heat, makes it pick up gunk off a nasty griddle like nothing I've ever seen before. I admit I haven't tried it with other cheeses, but if you are wanting to experiment, I suggest you stick with harder cheeses, and DON'T under any circumstances use pepperjack! You'll mace yourself. Run the vent, too- the grilled cheese has quite a strong odor.

I served the burgers with corn on the cob, and sent my husband to buy a side of fries from Whataburger so that we could get some of their excellent condiments. We don't get to have burgers much, so this was a frugal way to avoid buying a whole bottle of ketchup or ranch that we'll never use up.

What are your favorite tricks for making burgers? Let us know in the comments!