Worlds Best Hamburger Recipe
Grilling season is upon us, and my kids and I are firing up the grill on weeknights as well as weekends. We love a good grilled hamburger (basic, simple, quick, affordable!), and have long believed we have the worlds best hamburger recipe.
(To get straight to the recipe, scroll down…)
Rather than boast, we did some research and testing. Turns out our original version of the worlds best hamburger recipe wasn’t far off the mark, but we did improve upon it.
We started the process with a simple hamburger recipe found in our favorite cookbook, The Best Recipe
Basic Hamburger Recipe
1 ¼ lb. Ground chuck (20% fat)
¾ tsp salt
¼ tsp ground black pepper
Form into patties
Grill 4 minutes each side on high heat (we found 4 min. first side, and 3 min. second side more to our liking)
This recipe makes a good burger, but it lacks pizzazz. It didn’t make our mouths zing. Despite the cookbook title, it just didn’t cut it as the worlds best hamburger recipe. (It’s still a great cookbook.)
A Better Burger…
My younger brother suggested soy sauce makes the best burgers. My kids and I, on the other hand, swear by our own secret ingredient: Montreal seasoning, a mix of salt, black pepper, red pepper, garlic, and paprika (available in the supermarket spice rack.) Our Montreal seasoned burgers have been called worlds best more than once by neighbors and friends. We figured we’d put our recipe up against my brother’s to see whose is best.
We tested different combinations and amounts of soy sauce, Montreal seasoning, and soy sauce combined with Montreal season. We cooked at least a dozen different variations. The result:
- soy sauce by itself made for a juicy burger, but was too salty
- Montreal seasoning by itself had a good zing, but was too dry (so much for our original recipe! Ah, but this meant we could improve)
- soy sauce combined with Montreal seasoning – perfect!
Here’s Dad’s House kid-tested version of:
The Worlds Best Hamburger Recipe
1 ¼ lb. Ground chuck (20% fat)
3 tsp soy sauce
2 tsp Montreal seasoning
Mix hamburger and seasonings (don’t over-handle the meat)
Form into patties – we made 3 good-sized burgers (perfect for dad and two teens)
Grill on high heat, 4 minutes first side, 3 minutes second side
That’s it – easy, simple. Time to eat!
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Comment by SweetPeaSurry
| April 6th, 2009
Ohhh that does sound divine! I can’t wait until spring FINALLY hits our neck of the woods. I’ve never been a HUGE fan of homemade hamburgers. I grew up on the ‘Kings’ burgers, but I may just try this the next time my dad cooks out.
I wonder if that would make a good marinade for steaks too?
SweetPeaSurry´s last blog post..Dreams
Comment by Canadian Bald Guy
| April 6th, 2009
I love the additions of the soy sauce and Montreal spice. Definitely a recipe I’ll be trying over the summer.
Canadian Bald Guy´s last blog post..So what’s in St. Louis?
Comment by erin
| April 6th, 2009
sounds great. i usually put Worcestershire sauce in the burgers, but since we don’t usually have ground beef on hand, we have ground turkey — that i have to cook all the way through. so i find that would be difficult to cook on high heat for 7 minutes. Otherwise I’d totally do it!
and i do think itd make a great marinade for steaks!
Comment by MindyMom
| April 6th, 2009
Sounds yummy. I will definitely give it a try. ;)
MindyMom´s last blog post..Sex & My 100th Post
Comment by Kat Wilder
| April 6th, 2009
OMG, I can just hear the PETA people now …
And, really Dads, you’re from the Bay Area — it’s 1 ¼ lb. organic, grass-fed, locally sourced Ground chuck (20% fat)
Sheesh!
Kat Wilder´s last blog post..A better way to be happy?
Comment by Cathouse Teri
| April 6th, 2009
Nope. Best hamburger recipe is to grate onion into the meat. Makes them so tender, it’s unbelievable!
Meow.
Cathouse Teri´s last blog post..I Hate April Fool’s Day
Comment by Shelle-BlokThoughts
| April 6th, 2009
Looks like you had a busy weekend! :) We like Worcestershire sauce…and salt and pepper…we will have to try and mix Montreal seasoning with it now!
Shelle-BlokThoughts´s last blog post..LIVE: Dancin’ with PeePs
Comment by Andrea
| April 6th, 2009
Yum. My kids won’t touch hamburger but that sounds delish. Add onion, tomato, a thick slice of either cheddar or colby jack cheese on top..mmm. Throw some lemon fries on the side, salad and a beer and call it good.
Darn, now I’m hungry.
Andrea´s last blog post..Discovering the Classics
Comment by vinomom
| April 6th, 2009
That does sound good, especially since I’m a fan of soy sauce – adding onion to the mix sounds delicious too. I love onion mixed into my hamburger. I will definitely try that. And it does sound like it would be good on steak as well.
vinomom´s last blog post..A Day Perfectly Planned
Comment by The Exception
| April 6th, 2009
I love that you and your kids put so much into experimenting and finding the best burger. You can bring that grill and travel east – tha tmight spice things up around here!
The Exception´s last blog post..A Little Bit of Magic
Comment by katherine.
| April 6th, 2009
totally mouth watering….
katherine.´s last blog post..Forget Raymond….Everybody Loves Maggie
Comment by SingleParentDad
| April 6th, 2009
I might have to give that a blast, I have cleaned my barbecue and await a convenient afternoon of warm weather. But to clarify recipe, by chuck, do you mean ground cow?
SingleParentDad´s last blog post..I Got My Snazzy Phone Back……
Comment by MommaSunshine
| April 6th, 2009
YUM! Now I want BBQ!!! :)
Thanks for the recipe. :)
MommaSunshine´s last blog post..Random Ramblings
Comment by dadshouse
| April 6th, 2009
SingleParentDad – you and Kat Wilder can work that one out… (yes, I meant ground beef)
Cathouse Teri – my other brother swears onions are part of the worlds best hamburger recipe. My kids aren’t such big fans, so I take my onions as circles on top of the burger.
Comment by T
| April 6th, 2009
Sound YUMMY! Thanks David. I will definitely try this on my new grill! :)
(Perfect combination of blog posts today, eh?)
T´s last blog post..Weirdness to Sweetness
Comment by Twenty Four At Heart
| April 6th, 2009
I’ll have to try the Montreal seasoning. I usually make them with worcestershire sauce and lawry’s seasoning.
Twenty Four At Heart´s last blog post..My Pre-Vacation Check List
Comment by SDMktg
| April 6th, 2009
I like the McCormick Steakhouse Seasoning Grinder. Worcestershire is good. Most of the time I buy leaner hamburger so I tend to have to add more seasonings to keep them from drying out. Extra lean turkey dries out really fast.
SDMktg´s last blog post..DUI on a Barstool
Comment by Janet
| April 6th, 2009
MMmmmm….never would have thought to put soy sauce in a burger.
Janet´s last blog post..This could be a very good thing.
Comment by krn
| April 6th, 2009
Mmmmmmm. I want to go over to Andrea’s to try this! Lemon fries, salad and a beer? Yummmmmmmmm.
Comment by Mark
| April 7th, 2009
Sounds like a great recipe. I look forward to trying it out, thanks for sharing.
Mark´s last blog post..Relationship Question – Should I Stay or Should I Go?
Comment by erin
| April 7th, 2009
just made the turkey burger last night for boyfriend with Worcestershire sauce and montreal seasoning. let it cook slowly since it was a turkey burger, and he said it was so JUICY! so thanks dad’s!
Comment by Elaine at Lipstickdaily
| April 9th, 2009
Awesome! Just wondering . . . is the 20% fat beef required? Not that I wouldn’t LOVE it!
Elaine at Lipstickdaily´s last blog post..What I Know For Sure… “On Death & Buying”
Comment by Rebecca
| April 13th, 2009
Wow, soy sauce for good hamburgers. Never would have thought of it! Going to give it a try. I assume that I can get Montreal seasoning at any grocery store? I’ve never used it before.
Rebecca´s last blog post..Apr 8, Lady Bug Nursery Decor – Ideas for Decorating Baby’s Room with a Ladybug Theme
Comment by Heather Williams
| May 29th, 2009
Thanks for this! We can’t make it to Five Guys Burgers and Fries tonight, so are gonna grill at home and go with your very tempting recipe!
Comment by electric eddie
| June 16th, 2009
ground turkey? turkey burger…wtf? sounds like a disgusting meal.
Comment by MP
| June 22nd, 2009
Trying this today – I knew there was a way to incorporate the Montreal seasoning into a burger but I didn’t think Soy Sauce would be the key.
Comment by Veijones
| June 29th, 2009
A 50-50 mix of worchestishire & soy sauce mixed with the Montreal is our favorite burger mix. The soy – worch mix is a very good steak marinade, too.
Comment by UC
| July 1st, 2009
Just tried this per the recipe and my wife gave me ‘the glare’…”what is in this?!?” … needless to say, I am going to go back to Worcestershire sauce and Montreal seasoning…that’s the way to go…hands down…unless you are inviting some oriental friends over for a barbeque and want to make them feel at home w/ Soy Sauce in their American 4th of July hamburger!
Sorry… :-(
Comment by cameron b.
| July 14th, 2009
Um as for red meat worcestershire sauce is tops because it breaks down the protien in the meat making it juicy and tender which is the viniger in it im thinking of cuting some viniger into soy sauce for the flavor and the effect with my trusty montreal seasoning on my next batch of burgers but keep in mind salt will dry your meat out so u should try to keep clear of salty rubs but montreal has a good balance as for turkey burgers cambells soup makes little dry soup packages and the onion soup is an excelent seasonin for turkey burgers I promiss u that when I cook beef patties I usualy take a whole white onion poke holes all over soke it in water and then throw it into the flames it really sticks to the burgers with the patties I massage the worcestershire sauce in let stand a few hours and then rub a small amount of montreal seasoning in so as not to dry it out then I sear both sides of the patty on high for about 30 seconds or untell slightly grey then lower the temp and slow cook for about 5 mins per side on med-low temp it makes for a well seasoned juicy burger every time I make these or my turkey burgers people give me 2 thumbs as high up as they can go while they grasp their burgers in both hands
Comment by cameron b.
| July 14th, 2009
If u like one of my recipes please let me know im doing a good job I’ve tried a lot of things to get them just right so any critisim is accepted good or bad
Comment by The Las Vegas Critic
| August 6th, 2009
Breaking down protein has nothing to do with making a burger juicy. The fat is what makes it juicy.
Comment by bubbs
| August 12th, 2009
ive used soy sauce and lipton onion soup mix and all kinds of other ingredients but i still cant seem to get any good flavor in my burgers others used the lipton mix and there wonderful hamburger mixed with ground steak or just ground steak mmm can anyone tell me what im doing wrong to get flavor
Comment by John Phoenix
| October 20th, 2009
“Chuck” is a better cut of meat they grind for ground beef. Tastier. Yes Do get the 20% fat. You really can’t cook a good burger without the fat no matter how you season it.
The fat serves to help cook the meat, keep it moist and adds flavor. If you think a lesser fat content is better you are just being fooled. Once the meat is heated enough the fat melts and runs out of the meat. The same burger will retain the same amount of fat content if you cook it with 10% fat or 20% – ( but 20 cooks the meat better) it matters not as long as you drain the burgers well before making the burger. You should do this anyway because this is called ‘resting’ and helps to evenly distribute the flavorful juices.
I like to get my pan or flame really hot then sear the outside of the burger a bit – a little charred for flavor – on both sides first, then continue cooking flipping the burger until its cooked to my linking on the inside, cooking it kinda fast. This helps add flavor and seal in juices. It takes practice to get this down right for your size burger and flame size but the Cajuns here in Louisiana swear by it.