6 Burger blunders that even self-proclaimed Grill masters make
Don't fall victim to these common burger blunders that can take your grilling reputation from hero to zero very quickly.
1. The burger meat is just not up to par
If you can, try and steer clear of supermarket shrink-wrapped, perfectly stamped burger patties. Sure, its convenient but you don't know kind of cuts have ended up there, not to mention all the hormones, antibiotics and chemicals have been added to the mix. Get ground meat from places you know you can trust (cough, cough. . . Us!). Our hamburger mincemeat mix has a great balance between lean and fat content, meaning juicy and tender patties without a fat overload. The only downside to using great, purpose made mince it that your guests will want to come over all the time. You've been warned!
2. The wrong amount of meat has been bought
It is rare to go to a BQQ session and not face either one of these situations:
There is not enough meat, so halfway through the pattie making the cook panics and makes tiny ones by stealing meat from the right sized ones to make the meat go that little bit further. The patties end up looking like flat meatballs and even though the cook made them tiny, there is isn't enough to go around . . . Or . . .There is so much meat because the cook has slapped a wild number of patties on the grill. The cook then starts making the rounds trying to flog off the extra mountain of patties. Moral of the story, find out your number of attending guests, plan accordingly and get a little extra to cover for any last minute drop-ins. You can always freeze the mince its self if you find your self with too much. Plan ahead to avoid riots!
You aren't making a loaf of bread so don't be kneading the mixture. Less is more when it comes to patties. So, don't prework your meat by adding salt, spices and eggs etc, well in advance to when you make the patties. Add those things, gently mix and then go straight into making the patties. Try not to make the patty super compact and tight, allow the meat to gently clump together, enough that it wont fall apart but not too tight that is it solid. Be gentle, you'll thank yourself later.
Please, please, please clean and oil your BBQ/Grill. Its like not washing your dishes, putting them away for a month then pulling them back out and saying, Na shell be right. No, no she will not. Its simple, takes less than 2 minutes to do and makes your burgers taste more like meat and less like burnt, month old gunk. All you got to do is warm the BBQ/Grill, scrape it with a BBQ/Grill brush and then wipe clean with an oiled piece of paper towel. Remember, wipe it before you light it
5. Salt has been added before cooking
Salt naturally draws out moisture so when you are making your patty mix, do not add salt because you'll be left with meat that is dry and chewy. Only salt one side of the patty just before you drop the patty salted side down on the BBQ/Grill, let that side cook, season the other side, then flip it. Bam! Juicy patties comin up!
6. The patties are being squeezed by spatulas