Kick Ash Cuisine—How to Make Burger Patties

It should come as no surprise to realize grilling burgers is an age-old tradition. In fact, chances are, you’ve grilled dozens, or maybe even hundreds, of burgers. Regardless of whether or not you’re a beginner, though, you might default naturally to the “tried-and-true” route when it comes to slapping patties on the grill. There’s no shame in already having a favorite burger recipe, but the spirit of grilling lives in innovation. 

Regardless of your level of expertise, most grill masters have some idea of how to make burger patties. If you’re still buying conventional, ground chuck hamburger meat for your weekend cookouts, you could be missing out on some fantastic flavors. With a few practical tips on cooking moist, flavorful burgers, you’ll have your guests lining up around the block! 

How to Grill the Best Hamburgers

• Choosing the Best Meat
• How to Prepare Burger Patties
• Burger Patty Grilling Techniques

Choosing the Best Meat

Most supermarket beef is made up of the trim and scraps of steak cuts. Therefore, store-bought chop meat often varies in flavor and texture because it combines different and leftover beef cuts, giving you inconsistent results. Additionally, pre-ground meat loses its texture because it’s compressed in packaging longer. 

Thus, regardless of the cut of meat you choose, a freshly ground mix will give you the best texture and freshest flavor. You can do this at home if you have a meat grinder, or even ask your butcher to grind up the cut for you at the store. So, which cut of beef should you choose?

Why Brisket Makes the Best Burgers

Believe it or not, including brisket into your mixture is a foolproof way to achieve the juiciest, most flavorful burgers. Brisket has a distinctly beefy flavor and a high fat content for a beautifully rich burger. 

Starting with a little bit of ground beef and whole cuts of brisket, blend them together by sticking them into a meat grinder, ensuring you’ll get the highest quality meat and giving you more control over its leanness. 

When you choose a fattier cut or use lean beef brisket, you’ll be aiming for a lower saturated fat content meal. Just add a little olive oil into the mix when you grind it to guarantee a juicy, moist texture.

Another advantage of brisket is that it’s generally less expensive than ground burgers. Can you think of any instance where you wouldn’t pay less for a higher quality product?

How to Prepare Burger Patties 

Grinding your own burger meat from brisket helps you customize the patties. You already know you can control the fat content and that you’re using only the freshest meat possible, but you’ll have the opportunity to experiment with your hamburger recipe by mixing in ingredients like onion powder, garlic powder, clove, salt, pepper, and so much more.

How to Grind Your Own Burger Patties

1. Place your grinder attachment in the freezer for at least an hour before you use the grinder. 
2. Cut the meat into one-inch thick cubes, spread them evenly on a baking sheet, and place them in the freezer for about 30 minutes. 
3. Fill a large mixing bowl with ice water and place a smaller bowl inside it to catch the meat as it comes through the grinder.
4. Run the meat through the grinder twice. 

If you don’t have a meat grinder, you can also use a food processor to grind your meat, hand chop it with a cleaver, or, as mentioned earlier, ask the butcher to grind it for you. 

How to Make Burger Patties With Freshly Ground Meat

Forming brisket beef patties is easy when you’ve moved through the right initial steps. For example, you always want to work with cold meat and make sure that you cover your storage surface with wax paper so it doesn’t stick to the burger. The rest is pretty straightforward to make the best hamburger patties ever!

1. Divide the ground beef and brisket mixture into about four to six ounces. 
2. Shape the meat into a loose patty with your hands or a cookie-cutter (but don’t overwork it!). 
3. Make an indentation with your thumb in the center of the patty to help it hold its shape.
4. If you’re planning on grilling these the same day as your prep work, refrigerate for 30 minutes.
5. If you’re not, freeze the patties for 20 minutes by placing them in a single-layer on a wax paper baking sheet. Once the patties are frozen solid, transfer them to a freezer bag to store until you’re ready to use them.

Burger Patty Grilling Techniques

Once your patties are formed and chilling in the refrigerator, it’s time to preheat your grill. If you’re using a charcoal grill, now’s a good time to light the briquettes and allow the grill to get hot before cooking.

Once the grill is preheated, place the patties on the grate. If you ground your brisket yourself, it should be safe to grill the burgers rare. 

Cooking times for 1” thick burgers are as follows: 

• Rare—2 minutes per side, 4 minutes total (Internal Temperature of 125°F)
• Medium-rare—2½ per side, 5 total (135°F)
• Medium—3 to 3½ per side, 6 to 7 total (145°F)
• Well-done—4 to 4½ per side, 8 to 9 total (160°F)

Grilling Frozen Burger Patties

Because grinding meat is an involved process, you might want to freeze some of the patties to use at a later time. When it comes time to defrost and cook them, Kick Ash Basket has your back. 

For amazing flavor in your patties, we recommend grilling with some smoking wood, like our Whiskey Barrel Smoking Wood.

The perfect technique for grilling frozen burgers is to use our Kick Ash Basket Divider. Before you fill your Kick Ash Basket with new charcoal, set up the divider so that there will be a cooler surface area for part of your grill. Then, place four frozen ground brisket patties on the side where the indirect heat is filtering in. Grill temp should be about 250º F during the indirect thawing period. 

This technique allows the burger to thaw out quickly and evenly before you start to grill them, and gives you that smoky, charcoal flavor infusing itself into your burgers early. Done slowly, thawing takes around 30 to 45 minutes, which is time you can use to prepare other dishes for your meal. 

Using a meat thermometer, make sure the patties reach room temperature before you open the vent and replace the burgers on the grill grates, over direct heat. The vent needs to stay open to prevent flare-ups that could affect your food’s taste. 

Cook the hamburger patty for about 5 minutes on each side or until the internal hamburger patty temp is at least 120 to 125°F for a burger that’s entirely pink on the inside. 

Pro Tip: How to Make Burger Patties That Even the Kids Will Love

Kid-friendly grill recipes are a dime a dozen, but since my kids love brisket burgers, they’ve got to be good! For the best brisket burger patties, keep these pro tips in mind so kids and adults alike will keep coming back for more. 

• Don’t press the burgers once they’re on the grill! You’ll lose all the juicy flavor if you squeeze it out into the open flame.
• Only flip your burgers once. 
• Season your brisket burger with salt and pepper to taste. 
• Be careful when adding liquid, such as Worcestershire sauce, to hamburger meat before cooking, as it can cause the meat to crumble rather than stick together. 
• Adding breadcrumbs and an egg to your patty mixture will give the end product more of a meatloaf vibe, so avoid them at all costs if you want to enjoy a more classic burger. 

Now that you know how to make burger patties, it’s time to kick off the summer the right way. With irresistible brisket burgers, you’ll get a more flavorful, fresher, cheaper, and all-around superior way to enjoy a crowd favorite. Cook them fresh or frozen, and use the tools at Kick Ash Basket to help you achieve delicious, stress-free results.