Good Cheeseburgers…

Islands was good at first, but went down hill.

Wood Ranch had fantastic burgers.

The Habit is also great.

 

Oh, and if one finds oneself in the Bay Area, George’s Giant Hamburgers destroys everything.

 

You better let all of those professional chefs know that they're doing it wrong.

On the occasions that I use the grill, I generally turn them 90° after around 2 minutes for a better char. But, I use a griddle most of the time.

 

I haven't eaten beef in over a decade, but I'm curious- what's an "animal-style" burger?

 

Animal style changes their standard burger and adds a mustard grilled patty, grilled onions, extra pickles, and extra thousand island sauce. It's a worthy upgrade for sure.

I love In-n-out burgers and shakes but I've never been a huge fan of their fries........until I discovered you could order their fries animal style. It adds cheese, grilled onions, and thousand island to their standard fries. Really good!

 

If you happen to be passing through Fairfield, ID always stop at the Wrangler for one of the best in Idaho.

https://www.yelp.com/biz/wrangler-drive-in-fairfield

 

I think it is important to distinguish the difference between fast food burgers and more traditional sit down style burgers, its hard comparing the two. In-n-out is great but you cant compare the $4 double double to a $15 angus burger from you local diner, or whatever.

I see a lot of people saying 5 guys, they are good burgers, but you had better have $50 dollars for two people to eat.

Burgers are kinda like sex, when they're good, they're great, and when they're bad, they're still pretty good.

 

“The Grill Nextdoor” Wes burger.
Gardnerville, NV

 

So much of what many of these cooking celebs say is broscience - a term I first heard in the context of weightlifting when something is passed off as scientific wisdom, but is anything but.

For an actual comparison of the techniques, check this out: https://www.seriouseats.com/the-burger-lab-how-many-times-should-you-flip-a-burger-while-cooking

and this (although it talks steaks): https://archive.nytimes.com/dinersj...s-resting-meat-and-char-from-electric-grills/

Personally, I’m a grill only person when it comes to making burgers, because I view things like smash burgers as a war crime.

I tend to go with about 0.4lbs per patty. Kosher salt, a medium grind of pepper, nothing silly like eggs, breadcrumbs or onions clogging things up).

The only burger that I enjoy as much or more than the ones I make myself can only be found in one location in the US, and it’s a couple of time zones away. Ironically it’s done on a flattop.

At some point, I may purchase a flattop and go about getting it down to a science. But that’s for another day.

When I first started grilling burgers in college, I only had a crappy hibachi perched on some bricks on a wood railing. What’s more, there was no light back there, so if I wasn’t done before sunset, I had to basically do it without being able to see anything.

Consistency was hard to come by.

Thankfully I have a better setup now.

I’m not saying I take burgers seriously, but I will admit that nothing goes on my grill but burgers.

 

In Chicago Au Cheval plus the fries are fried in duck fat

Southern CA (downtown Claremont) The Back Abbey

Phoenix area Matty G's
Prescott - The Barely Hound

I grind my own patties, usually with short rib and brisket. Grill them or make smash burgers on the flat top.

 

I disagree. Ate In-n-Out once and was very disappointed despite all the hoopla!

 

One that haven't had in a long time is Halo Burger in MI. I'm not sure if there are still any in business.

 

Compelling article.

Although, all it really proves is that one guy's burgers cooked more evenly in one particular set of circumstances.

Maybe I'll try it and see if I was wrong. I've been wanting to make burgers ever since this thread popped up, anyway.

Ironically, burgers are one thing I don't prefer to cook on a grill. I prefer the griddle because it's similar to a flattop, and the best burgers I've had tend to be made on a flattop.

 

So here’s where my preferences come into play: I hate when the outside of the burgers are crunchy or taste charred.

Having one or both sides of a burger “burnt” just ruins it for me.

 

I don't think anyone likes a crunchy, charred piece of meat. There's a fine line between having some nice color and being burnt.

I actually think the guy was using too much heat, especially for a one flip burger. If the outside looks like charcoal by the time it's cooked through, it's not going to be that good.

I also think that using a little less heat helps them cook more evenly. I used to crank the griddle all the way up to make burgers. Eventually, I backed off the heat a little, and I think the results are better.

I'm actually going to try a multi flip burger, side by side with my standard routine the next time I do burgers. My burgers are already good, but if they can be better I'll gladly eat some crow.

 

I've seen some techniques for making them in a cast iron pan that look pretty tasty! I use a dab of butter or olive oil, depending on what kind of mood I'm in.

 

I suspect a flattop is better with lower heat and a grill is better with high heat.

Lower heat on the flattop would make for more even heat distribution. Meanwhile, an enclosed grill gives you more radiant heat to help cook the burger.

At least that’s my theory. I did notice that going higher heat on the grill has worked well, as long as the fat content wasn’t excessively high.

 

All this above freezing weather we have makes for decent grilling. I should do the same.

Coldest I’ve grilled was in the 20s. With the wind we get, it was hard to keep the temps where I like them.

 

I have done my share of winter grilling. I should really be taking advantage of this weather, but I haven't. I'll probably grill out in a snowstorm in a few weeks, though.

I use the lid a lot more in colder weather, especially when it's windy.

 

It’s permanently windy in my neck of the woods. Maybe I should put a wind turbine out back.

 

I grill on charcoal. My preference is about 1/3 pound, coarse kosher salt, fire as hot as I can get it, flip once after 3-4 minutes and salt again, wait 3 more minutes and done. My goal is a pink center, and I do get a little crunch on the edge, which I like. The best burgers are probably done on a griddle, but I like the taste of charcoal.

 

I would go coal but for the time factor...and the variability given how the wind can be around here. My neighbor who uses coal built a really nice windbreak around where he grills.

I have one of the higher end Weber gas grills - LX Genesis something or other, it was the last one they actually made in the US. I've seen lesser grills get blown off patios around here.

I'm not saying it gets windy, but we once managed to have a large trampoline get blown into the side of our house.

 

Yup like I said there are detractors but overall if you were to poll people here in So Cal In-N-Out would win out.

 

Big Green Egg here and 80/20 fresh ground chuck. Buns are important and it's very hard to find the ideal bun with an appropriate diameter. Lately I've been using pretzel buns but always looking for a better bun.

 

Market saturation!

 

I think there is some regional bias in there. There was an episode on Anthony Bourdain’s show where he called In-N-Out the best fast food burger but he had his Animal Style with 3 patties.

 

Did you order grilled onions(free) on your burger, they make a HUGE difference.

 

Yeah, the time factor is something I never think about. I’m not in a hurry when I grill. And I use a Weber kettle. Doesn’t get blown over, actually. Maybe due to its shape.

 

It's still in Flint and Birch Run.

 

FATBURGER! Here in SoCal.
In&Out isn't worth waiting for in a drive up line, but pretty good right off the grill in a walk up. Their staff doesn't flinch at customizing an order either (unlike Booger King or Mickey Dee's).