Proper hamburger

5 guys is good and they only have meat in the burger (which is how it should be). If I remember correctly they also smash the burger but do it after they flip which seems weird to me.

I think they are over processed, the meat flavour doesn't really come through because of this. The best burgers I have tried are fresh minced beef and salt/pepper added just before cooking.
5 guys do smash their burger! I used to eat a lot and free! We used exchange free coffee for free meals with them in my old job! I've been once in Meat Liquor (that one in covent garden) and was very good! Wendy's, Hardee's, In 'n' Out... it's a shame we don't have here! Apart of 5 guys (people used to say the british one is way better than the american one) I think all these american chains lose a bit of identity (taste, price, size of portions ...) when move to UK! I tried Taco Bell here and was disappointing! I had in America and I remember that was cheap and massive portions!
 
I haven't tried handmade burger Co but I really didn't rate GBK, reminded me of a fat bird's-eye burger from back in the day, very firm, overcooked and no flavour.
I quite enjoyed the 5 guys offering though.
I have been trying to recreate the smashed burgers I had at Freddys in the states. I am now at the stage of mincing the beef myself which gives truly great results with regard to texture and flavour.
Mmmmmm craving burgers now

Oi Fatboy, with BBQ season approaching what cut of beef do you prefer to mince?
 
Oi Fatboy, with BBQ season approaching what cut of beef do you prefer to mince?

I can't answer this question, but I myself like to go for lamb burgers for the BBQ, and I like quite the mince to have a reasonable amount of fat - then I mix the mince with onions, cumin and harissa paste.

Not a classic beef burger but pretty good nonetheless.
 
Oi Fatboy, with BBQ season approaching what cut of beef do you prefer to mince?
It depends on what the butcher has in but I tend to get either tri-tip, braising steak (chuck) or a few ribs and trim it off the bone. If it's too lean he will give me some trimmed fat to add in.
 
I've done that with steak (usually ribeye)....trim off the excess fat, mince it and press into the surface of the steak. I also have a pot of rendered beef fat that I use for roasties and steaks. Just wondering if the mince wasn't fatty enough for smashed burgers for whatever reason if beef suet would work as an addition to make it around 70/30. Don't see why not?
 
I think suet would work as long as it's not that dried stuff for making puddings. I think that has a load of flour added. Otherwise it's just fat as far as I know. Best tip for mincing though is put everything in the freezer before you start, mincer especially. When the fat is very cold it minces better, rather than smearing through the die it comes out more like the minced beef.
 
I've done that with steak (usually ribeye)....trim off the excess fat, mince it and press into the surface of the steak. I also have a pot of rendered beef fat that I use for roasties and steaks. Just wondering if the mince wasn't fatty enough for smashed burgers for whatever reason if beef suet would work as an addition to make it around 70/30. Don't see why not?
Why would you mince Rib Eye?
 
Oh, that still is the best part.

Can be, as I said I try to put any excess fat to better use either as a render or minced and pressed into parts of the cut that maybe aren't as generously marbled or without any marbling at all. Depends on the animal, sometimes you get a huge nugget of fat between the muscle groups that'll never render especially when the meat is cooked to fairly rare, I'd rather repurpose it than leave it or eat it unrendered.
 
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