Cooking burger for a large group, want advice on impressing with a burger. I'm known for my BBQ but don't cook many burgers.

Lipton soup mix stirred in BEFORE forming the parties is key

Get everyone drunk beforehand

great buns + fatty meat + not too thick/too thin patties

80/20 beef, don't skimp on the salt. Do whatever else.

Forum Troll said:

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80/20 beef, don't skimp on the salt. Do whatever else.

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I disagree with 'do whatever else'. The more you do, the less it stays a 'burger'.

80/20, salt and pepper, always better to go wider more than thicker.

Cook to medium - never well done

I typically fry bacon and onions separately to offer as condiments. I've never heard of the Lipton onion soup, that's how we make our meatloaf and it's wonderful.

I'll use an 80/20 with 90/10 sirloin mixed in and typically season with Bolners Uncle Chris and some worchestshire.

80/20 beef, salt, pepper. Sous vide medium rare. Smoking hot cast iron.

Mule is right, especially if they are over 1/3 of lb or you are cooking a bunch of them and you want them to be perfectly cooked and ready at the same time

BMX Bandit said:

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Lipton soup mix stirred in BEFORE forming the parties is key

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Screw that. Eggs and bread crumbs are the secret.

I'm typically terrible with burgers but last time I really nailed them...

Salt and pepper, minced onion added to the raw meat. Formed large patties (diameter) about 1" thick, indention in the center the size of a deviled egg.

Cooked over charcoal and wood fire slowly. (One of the few things that really truly benefits from charcoal and wood) more smoking/BBQ than grilling.

They came out spectacular. I'm by no means an expert on cooking burgers though.

I like to pure an onion in the mini prep until it's the consistency of apple sauce and then mix in with the ground beef.

The real first question to the op should have been "how are you going to cook them? Grill or griddle?"

Nearly all my burgers these days are venison. We have one of our does ground to 80/20 every year specifically for burgers. Don't make the patties too thick and don't compress the meat too much. Loose patties, just firm enough to stay together. I season with Prime Rib seasoning and a little worcestershire and sprinkle with a little sea salt. Toast the buns on the grill. Melt whatever cheese you want on at the end. Ok, now I'm hungry.

Grind it fresh equal parts sirloin, chuck, and brisket, if you want to get fancy grind in some bacon

If you have a central market near by get some ground wagyu chuck and mix in ground short rib. Make 1/3 pound patties and sous vide at 130 for an hour. So juicy.

I always cook the bacon to be used in a cast iron skillet, then cook the burgers in the drippings. Grill or griddle the buns as well. If I have the time I make caramelized onions. Slowly cook down yellow onions in butter, deglaze with beer, finish with some beef stock.

And if you're trying to impress get some quality freshly ground beef at a butcher shop.

Sous vide and sear?

jt2hunt said:

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Sous vide and sear?

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yup. Let them rest for a few minutes. Pat both sides dry. Reseason then sear.

jt2hunt said:

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Sous vide and sear?

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That's what I was just wondering. You can cook it to a lower temeprature to keep them juicier, but cook them longer to kill off bacteria. I think I might try it this weekend.

OP asks advice for cooking hamburgers for a LARGE group of people, and is inexperienced with cooking burgers, and he gets advice to grind Wagyu chuck, venison, brisket, bacon, onions and sirloin together then souse vide and sear. Food board rocks.

1. Set up grill for indirect cooking.
2. Mix equal parts pepper, onion powder and garlic powder and mix 1 teaspoon of mix for every pound of meat.
3. Make patties that are about 4 inches thick and 3/4 inch wide. Press down in the middle with two fingers.
4. Season both sides of patties with salt.
5. Butter buns and toast on hot side of the grill. Keep warm in the oven.
6. Cook burgers on the cool side of the grill for 10 minutes. Flip and cook 10 minutes longer.
7 Move burgers to hot side of grill and cook on each side for 1 minute.
8. Place 2 slices of cheese on the patties and cook about 30 seconds longer.

1 - Use this as an excuse to buy the 36" Blackstone griddle you just learned you wanted
2 - Buy a Dexter Russel 6x5 Turner
3 - Buy a large hole shaker and mix 3 parts kosher salt to 2 parts pepper
4 - Buy a kitchen scale if you don't have one. You're going to want exactly 5.5-6oz patties
5 - Get 80/20 ground beef. As pointed out above most custom grinds or prime aren't always practical for large groups. 80/20 chuck will be fine

Weigh out meat and loosely roll into balls. Set onto a lined tray. Season top side with salt and pepper

Get everyone to make their buns now. Nothing kills a good burger like letting them sit there while your guests finally get around to getting th buns ready

While warming up griddle, toast the buns in butter

Once griddle is hot, place meat balls seasoning side down on griddle. Take a can of soup and use it to press down on the back of the 6x5" turner to smash burgers into the grill. I've found about 8 burgers at a time is the most that's practical for timing purposes. Once burgers are smashed, season the tops. Flip after about 90 seconds then top with cheese. Serve as soon as cheese starts to melt

All cooking 101.

But for real using the best ingredients, cooking to the right temperature and salting appropriately is 99% of the battle, a custom grind from CM (80/20 chuck will do the trick though) and sous vide accomplish 2 of the 3 of those very easily

Keeper of The Spirits said:

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Mule is right, especially if they are over 1/3 of lb or you are cooking a bunch of them and you want them to be perfectly cooked and ready at the same time

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How are burgers for a large group supposed to be ready at the same time if you are finishing them on a cast iron? Have 10-15 pans and an equal number of stove tops ready to go?

Put a dimple in the middle...fill with bacon grease while cooking

Keeper of The Spirits said:

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All cooking 101.

But for real using the best ingredients, cooking to the right temperature and salting appropriately is 99% of the battle, a custom grind from CM (80/20 chuck will do the trick though) and sous vide accomplish 2 of the 3 of those very easily

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To be fair, OP did also ask for the keys to the best burger we've ever made.

I think the best advice is to ditch the "best burger ever" idea and concentrating on making a really good burger for a large group of people.

My cast iron griddle will hold 8. 1 min per side, all done within 10 mins of each other, also a great use case for that blackstone griddle

Just had a pool party and had to flip some burgers. Mixed 80/20 with some 90/10. Garlic Salt, Pepper, Paprika. Grilled directly over charcoal and a little mesquite 7 minutes each side with a pretty hot flame, lid down. Put slices of high quality cheese on as they were finishing for those that wanted it. Put slices of butter under them I pulled them and put them in a cookie sheet.

What makes them memorable are the add ons. Let the guests build their own. High quality tomatoes from the farmers market, buns, guac, bacon, condiments, mushrooms, etc.

Belton Ag said:

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OP asks advice for cooking hamburgers for a LARGE group of people, and is inexperienced with cooking burgers, and he gets advice to grind Wagyu chuck, venison, brisket, bacon, onions and sirloin together then souse vide and sear. Food board rocks.

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I thought the same thing until I reread the OP and he's 'known for his bbq'. So maybe he's looking for some advanced ideas on burgers. Having stellar bbq and not knowing how to grill a burger does not compute.

Tumble Weed said:

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Just had a pool party and had to flip some burgers. Mixed 80/20 with some 90/10. Garlic Salt, Pepper, Paprika. Grilled directly over charcoal and a little mesquite 7 minutes each side with a pretty hot flame, lid down. Put slices of high quality cheese on as they were finishing for those that wanted it. Put slices of butter under them I pulled them and put them in a cookie sheet.

What makes them memorable are the add ons. Let the guests build their own. High quality tomatoes from the farmers market, buns, guac, bacon, condiments, mushrooms, etc.

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7 minutes each side? were they black?

They were medium to medium well. I should probably note that this is on a offset smoker. I cook the burgers over the firebox portion, with the air at about 1/8 entry and exit for air. The gauge on the smoker portion reads 200 to 225, but the firebox is creating a sear because of the direct heat of the coals.

I don't have any idea what the cook times would be on a gas grill, as I don't own one.

Tumble Weed said:

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They were medium to medium well. I should probably note that this is on a offset smoker. I cook the burgers over the firebox portion, with the air at about 1/8 entry and exit for air. The gauge on the smoker portion reads 200 to 225, but the firebox is creating a sear because of the direct heat of the coals.

I don't have any idea what the cook times would be on a gas grill, as I don't own one.

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that makes more sense

cheese and any toppings on the bottom of the burger, not on top