BBQ41/17: @byronhamburgers Byron burgers:
Byron Burgers: I have been meaning to cook burgers for ages and then I bought the Dexter half pounder burgers from Farmison which were fantastic but it got me wanting to make my own again. I had a little electric mincer last year and minced some beef up then formed the patties, grilled them and really enjoyed them as they were so tasty and juicy. I did vow at that time not to buy burgers again but the mincer met an early demise when it failed to mince pork shoulder for sausages one evening!
However, I have since treated myself to a new mincer – the Tre Spade No.8 El Young Electric Mincer!
I bought some beef chuck from Turner and George and put it in the freezer for half an hour before cutting it and mincing it then passing it back through the mincer a second time. It did get tricky at times and on reflection I should have cubed the beef before I froze it so I will do that next time. Hang Fire BBQ advised me to freeze the metal parts of the mincer so I will do that next time also. I have the Weber burger press so used that to form the burgers. To stop the meat sticking I put a bit of greaseproof paper top and bottom, I didn’t cut it to a disc shape but just placed it in the press and it worked fine.
I made burger buns using the Tom Herbert recipe in the Grillstock book. They were surpisingly easy to make and I will definitely make them in future! They came out well but they were quite high so I would try to roll them out a bit to get them a bit thinner next time.
Time to cook the burgers! I seasoned them well on both sides and placed them on the now hot upside down grill grates which I was using as a griddle again.
I cooked the bacon in the oven again as per the Byron method and placed it on top of a square of cheese on the burger then closed the BBQ lid.
I lightly toasted the cut sides of the buns and spread the Byron sauce I had made (Mayo, Tom K, Gherkins, salt and pepper) over the top halves of the buns. I then placed shredded lettuce on the bottom bun, a slice of beef tomato and 5 rings of red onion before placing the cooked burgers on top.
i made onion rings and seasoned fries from the Byron book to go with the burger and my wife made the Oreo cookie milkshake, everything was fantastic but I definitely eat too much food!
Whilst I was getting the food ready my wife had used the onion ring batter on some chips and refried them! I have to say, they were really good especially with the Byron seasoning on!
I really enjoyed this meal. The buns were great and the burgers were really juicy. I think the burgers needed a bit more seasoning. The recipe said not to add salt when you mince it as it dries the meat out so maybe it just needs more salt before cooking? I will try that!
I used chuck meat for the burgers and it was nice and juicy but lacked the stronger, aged meat taste I quite like so I might add some trim or bone marrow next time. My wife preferred these to the stronger burgers though!
The burgers were still quite thick. I am wondering if 2x half thickness burgers might be best. I will try it next time!
The crust on the burgers was great, a fair bit of salt and a very hot griddle seemed to help!
Not much more to add, all the tips from the previous burger cooks helped again here especially putting the built burger back on the grill for a minute to heat it back up before eating.