My whole life I’ve always hated burgers that you get from fast food/restaurants. It’s just a bland beef patty with a bunch of toppings that make it a pain to eat. These places advertise their burgers as being “100% Angus Beef!” or whatever, like that makes it appetizing… Why is this the norm? Do people just not know any better?
I learned how to make burgers from my dad and our approach is completely different. It’s all about the patty, not about the mountain of toppings. We throw onions, garlic, bell peppers, egg, worcestershire, salt and pepper (anything you want really) into a blender. Blend it all up and incorporate it directly into the beef. Then you shape your patties. This method makes the actual burger patty delicious, you could eat it as is if you wanted (which we sometimes do).
I’ve yet to meet anyone who didn’t prefer our burgers. Try it and you’ll never go back to those bland meat disks.
The 100% beef is really just about it not having fillers added. Fast food seasons with at least salt.
Personally I think there’s a line between what you add to a burger and it still being a burger. I draw the line at more than dry seasonings. Better beef, or a better blend of cuts will have a bigger impact on taste. The other toppings are meant to be separate to provide contrasting textures and enhance the flavor.
So… you are making sausage.
My secret to enhancing beef flavor without changing it is to use Tsuru Bishio, Worcestershire, salt, and MSG. As soon as you add something like egg, garlic, or anything else into the ground meat, you’ve made sausage and it tastes like sausage. It’s not a burger any more.
Here are my tricks, which I use on steak as well as burgers:
Add a small amount of Tsuru Bishio (a thick, dark, deeply umami, barrel aged soy sauce) and Worcestershire to the ground meat (or rub on the surface of the steak). Mix well.
Form the meat into balls and preheat your pan/griddle. Dust the balls with salt and msg.
Slice an onion paper-thin. Using a mandolin is strongly recommended. Toss with a tiny bit of high-heat oil and salt.
Throw all the onions on the griddle and then throw the meatballs on top. Cover and let look for a minute or two (depending on your heat).
Make sure your griddle is draining. Pour out grease if needed.
Move the onions around a bit and then roll the meatballs over and smash them hard into the onions. Cover and cook another minute or two, then flip one more time. Now is the time to add cheese if you want.
The goal here is to try and elevate the umami without changing the flavor of the beef. You want it to taste like the “beefiest” thing you’ve ever eaten. The Tsuru Bishio and Worcestershire help give the beef an “aged” flavor while the salt and msg draw out more of the beefs natural “beefiness”. Onion fried in beef fat (rendered from the patties themselves) adds a very deep, caramelized umami flavor (like french onion soup) that complements and elevates the beef without overpowering or conflicting with it. It absorbs and captures the beef-fat flavor that otherwise would have been wasted. It also helps keep the mouthfeel “juicy”.
OP probably makes a delicious sandwich, but once you add too much to the pattie it stops being a hamburger. If you want to try something new instead of the Oklahoma smash (which yeah, is a fucking OG burger) make some onion and mustard jam. Shit is fucking tight on burgers.
The difference between good burgers and fast food burgers is all in the fat content, the grind, the seasoning and the chef. Fast food burgers are too processed, underseasoned and next to impossible to fuck up cooking unless your a 15yo working for peanuts and dont give a fuck. IMO for a classic burger all you need is 80/20 coarse grind beef (2 patties), salt, pepper, garlic and onion powder. 2 slices of American cheese (I dont care how fake it is, I’m not American and its what needs to go on a burger) a few pickles, American mustard and some diced raw onions. Oh… and a bun.