The best hamburger recipes are made with nothing more than beef, salt and pepper. I’m talking the ones you get from good steakhouses and diners. A great crust on the outside, juicy, beef and tender on the inside.
Homemade hamburgers are made for piling on toppings of choice. So don’t let anyone tell you what should and shouldn’t go on your burger!
Hamburger recipe
In my youth, I learned how to make hamburgers from a celebrity chef who insisted that you needed breadcrumbs, egg and seasonings for a truly great burger. And that’s how I made it for years, thinking that was the right way.
After multiple trips to the States (sorry Australia, but no one does burgers like America!), too many burgers, and watching countless cooking shows, meeting chefs, caterers and restauranteurs, I’ve been converted to the right way.
A great beef hamburger patty requires nothing more than beef.
No flavourings other than salt and pepper. Just a nice fatty beef mince – even from the supermarket.
Best Hamburger Patties
The secret to a truly great homemade hamburger recipe is to use beef that’s nice and fatty. Ideally, a good quality ground beef / mince from a butcher, but nowadays, supermarkets sell very good quality beef too.
When it comes to cooking with meat, here’s a big takeaway from this hamburger recipe: fat = flavour. If you mix pork fat into lean beef then cook it up, you’d swear you’re eating pork.
Thus, the big secret is revealed. The very best burgers you’ve had are made with nothing more than fatty beef, salt and pepper. That’s the way it’s done at all your favourite burger joints and diners (McDonald’s aside, because who knows the secret spices in those burgers??).
Tip: Dent the Hamburger Patty
If you’ve ever had your burgers shrink into little domes, you’ll love this little tip.
Dent the surface of the patty using your fingers. You’ll still get some shrinkage, but substantially less. Great tip I picked up from Bobby Flay!
What to put on Hamburgers
As a food blogger, it’s sometimes hard to resist making food look crazy irresistible. I confess to being a sucker for this, and such is the case with the first hamburger recipe I published, pictured below, with that mouth watering runny yolk and golden crispy bacon.
Truth be told, I never order burgers fully loaded. Because classic hamburgers done right are crazy delicious as they are, and also for practical reasons – whose mouth is big enough to shove THIS in????
For me, if you’ve got a big, juicy hamburger patty topped with melted cheese, all you need is a big dollop of a condiment of choice (relish, ketchup, mustard, mayo), lettuce, tomato and pickles.
Everything else is optional.
Though as an Aussie, excluding beetroot from the list of “must haves” may be considered a blasphemy!!! – Nagi x
PS I’m a sucker for hamburgers on the BBQ, but ironically, I usually make them on the stove because it’s easier midweek.
More Burgers, Sliders and Sandwiches
Chicken Burger – juicy seasoned chicken breast steak with the lot!
Nando’s Peri Peri Chicken Burger – chicken marinated in a homemade flavour bomb Peri Peri sauce
Cubanos – The famous Cuban roast pork sandwich from The Chef movie
Pastrami Sandwiches – Rye bread piled high with homemade pastrami. EPIC!
Veggie Burger – Meatless made amazing. Puts those doughy bricks at the shops to shame!
Browse all Burgers and Sandwiches & Sliders recipes
How to make hamburgers
WATCH HOW TO MAKE IT
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Hamburger Recipe
Ingredients
Hamburger Pattie
- 800g – 1kg / 1.6 – 2 lb ground beef (mince), 20%+ fat (Note 1)
- Salt and pepper
- 3 onions, peeled and sliced into rings
- 2 tbsp oil
- 4 – 8 slices cheese of choice, I use Swiss (optional)
Hamburger
- 4 soft hamburger buns, lightly toasted
- Lettuce, tomato slices
- Ketchup, mustard, relish, sliced pickles
On the side
Instructions
- Separate beef into 4 equal portions. Use hands to lightly form into patties the size of your buns (mine are about 10 cm / 4″) – don’t press hard, light fingers = soft juicy patties (see video for how I do this).
- Season generously with salt and pepper on both sides. Make a dent on one side (stop burger from become dome shape and shrinking when cooking).
- Heat 1 tbsp oil in a heavy based skillet or BBQ over high heat. Add onion and cook until wilted and caramelised. Season with salt and pepper, then remove.
- Heat 1 tbsp oil until smoking. Add patties and cook for 2 minutes until deep golden with a great crust. Do not press! Flip carefully, cook for 1 minute then top with cheese (if using). Cover with lid and cook for further 1 minute until cheese is melted.
- Meanwhile, toast the cut side of the buns lightly.
- To serve: Spread base of buns with sauce / condiment of choice. Top with lettuce then tomato, then hamburger patty. Pile over onions, sliced pickles, then more sauce/condiments. Top with lid of bun. Serve immediately.
Recipe Notes:
Originally published 2016 with this recipe. Recipe updated and improved in May 2018.Nutrition Information:
LIFE OF DOZER
This inflatable cone (the alternative to the plastic Cone of Shame) – he loves it. It’s like an inbuilt pillow. He’s been like this for hours! (Yeah, he ain’t cute when he sleeps!)
Don’t change anything! I love your big pictures! I can hear the sizzle and smell the food, such that my hunger pangs double up in joy as I tear off and get the ingredients to have a go. I love the past recipes as I am a recent groupie, so haven’t had them before. Also love love the no speaking videos.
Blow the IT folks! What do they know about us on receiving end and our unhealthy obsessions with food?
May try the lamb mix as suggested by one your fans.
Ba ha ha!! They are trying to help – silly me, I was uploading giant image files when I should’ve been web optimising them 🙂 N xx
nah i find your site loads fast and the pictures are fine,may be peeps need to update,keep it up
Gaa, some of the file sizes I used to upload were GIANT!!! It was ridiculous!!
Dozer is toooooo cute!!! Love him. Give him a hug for me 🙂
Passed on and happily received! He is SUCH a smooch at the moment!!
LOL!!! He might not be cute when he sleeps…because he’s adorable when he sleeps!! 🙂
This burger looks like it should be on my dinner plate tonight.
He just loves laying it all out there…..
These burgers are the bomb. Crazy Good! The gentle touch makes such an incredible difference, who knew?! I did cheat and put Lipton Onion Soup mix into the meat itself, so used only freshly ground pepper on top along with a dash of granulated garlic. This will be my go-to for burgers now, regardless of how they’re cooked.
Meant to say before that your key words with Dozer and his new cone, “he’s been this way for hours”…so great to hear. That means he’s doing a Huge amount of healing very quickly. Like us they heal fastest and best when they sleep lots. We’re all gonna have our boy back in no time flat!! 😀
HE aint cure But anything That’s makes me laugh its worthet. Good OLD Burger ! Yes AGREE THAT NEEDS fat. Can’t BE lean and juice , Just doesn’t sound right. Me too do NOT Like everything and anything on IT, can’t taste the pattie. Do YOU know am still having OLD manual Mince machine. Anyway HAVE good weekend.
SO TRUE Vera! Who’s heard of a lean burger?? 😂
Omgosh, Dozer IS to cute when he sleeps!! I love when their canines stick out like that! That tells me he is soooo comfy! Maybe some canine meds helping him too?
I know!! I love it! It’s the only time I see his teeth like that cause he never growls!!
Egg, breadcrumbs and spices mixed with ground meat and then fried is what the Germans call a “Frikadeller’. I call it a meatloaf-burger. My mother made these frequently. They’re good, they’re just not a hamburger.
I’ve never found your site to be slow but the photography was always stunningly beautiful and strikingly creative. Phooey on those IT guys.
Dozer is cute no matter what he does or what position he dies it in. Give him a doggie treat for me. Preferably a frikadeller.
Oooh! I bet they’re delicious! Thanks for the kind words Don. 🙂 To be fair, they are trying to help – silly me, I was uploading giant image files when I should’ve been web optimising them 🙂 N xx
Sorry Nagi but I don’ t agree that a great hamburger is only “beef” seasoned with salt and pepper. If you mix ground lamb with ground beef, now there is an outstanding burger. The flavour is amazing. We won’t make ours any other way now.
JUDITH!!! The next burger I make I am trying that!!
If you put breadcrumbs, eggs, etc. into hamburger, you are making meatloaf. My mother used to make meatloaf burgers, and they were very good, but I like a good plain burger better. My favorite thing to do to them is cheese, green chile and lime/cilantro aioli. Otherwise it’s lettuce, tomato, and mayo.
YES! I agree Susan! Ooohhh Aioli… now you’re getting all fancy on me! 😜
Hi Nagi,
Soooooooooo nice to see Dozer looking comfy and smiling! Bet he’s dreaming of one of your burgers!!
Either that or dreaming of chasing rabbits….neither gonna happen in the near future!
How can a photo of a wonderful cheese burger ever be too big??? Ask the IT guy that and tell him you are never ruining your blog for this reader with large photos. Love the photo of Dozer too!! Glad he’s healing well.
Ba ha!!To be fair, they are trying to help – silly me, I was uploading giant image files when I should’ve been web optimising them 🙂 N xx
Perfection!!
Thanks Karly! N xx
Fantastically simple recipe which I’ll leave out with ingredients for the uni crew due to gatecrash our forthcoming hols in France and they can host BBQ burger night….bet the boys will be fully up to take charge and get their hands mucky. Soooooo easy, I’ll leave the girls to more if your fab Asian recipes. Just need to add some european sunshine rather than stormclouds currently threatening London.
Meal prepping! You’re just the BEST!!
Hi Nagi, loving the burger recipe. So much better cooking the onions. I usually would slice them extremely thin and rest them on top. Will definitely try it your way, it actually looks more delish!
Love to Dozer. I really didn’t know of that type of cone, but I am seeing how much he loves it. Super!
Do enjoy the weekend! 😊
He loves it! It’s like giant pool floatie!!!
“Oh contrair” (sp!?)…I think The Doze is dead cute in peaceful slumber…even one pearly fang exposed. Soft cones, best invention ever. Hope vets get on the bandwagon and ditch those punitive plastic monstrosities in favour of the softies.
Thanks for upholding burger purity! Those obnoxious, but perhaps uber-tasty giants (see Rachael Ray’s 8″ high, five pound creations) are just too unwieldy for normal humans. Gimme the beef, a few tried and true condiments, touch of veg (I agree, beets…pickled…DO belong in there and/or pickled red cabbage) and a good but soft-ish bun… Heaven!
Pearly fang exposure – BA HA HA!!! And I’m so glad you agree re: burger purity! Runny yolk, bacon and all those other towering burger creations are TOTALLY impractical!!
I, for one, love those big pictures. I can see every juicy bit. So good to hear Dozer is doing well. I’m liking that pillow. We hope to get another dog so I’ll keep it in mind. I’ve never had a dog that hasn’t had to wear the cone of shame at some point.
It worked SO WELL Martha! Stupidly, I didn’t plan in advance so I had to pay retail at the pet shop, but you can get much better value ones online!
Love that you are redoing some of your classic recipes. This hamburger is drool worthy! Would love to be Dozer for just one day!! That’s the LIFE! Take care Nagi.
Thank you!! I like it too 🙂 Gives me a chance to add videos and redo photos! N xx
Looks fabulous and the pictures are, well, picture perfect! However, these old senior eyes are having a real problem with the tiny print on your blog. Wonder if I’m the only one?
Oh Linda, I didn’t know! Have you tried increasing the text for everything on your computer? There should be a setting that makes the font bigger on everything! 🙂
Come on Nagi. Let those IT folks reduce the size of your images. They have tools just for that. We don’t need to be looking at the old stuff.
Hey!! I redid everything in this post! 🙂 And there are tools that can run across my entire site but the images get smushed and you lose loads of quality, whereas I can make photos the same size with the quality much better if I do it outside my website 🙂 Thus – decision to redo my favourite recipes, and then auto smush the others 🙂
I tried this tonight and it was delicious! However, I HAD to have missed something! Every single one completely fell apart. So we had chunks of cheeseburgers instead of a patty. Any thoughts??? I am baffled!
It helps keep the burger together if you “pack” the meat a bit when shaping the patties. You don’t want to pack them too tight or you will get that funky texture like machine formed patties have but a little bit of pressure will make them just right texture-wise and keep them from falling apart. Then just flip gently and you should be good to go. You should only need to flip once and for the love of all that is holy please refrain from pressing on them with the back of the spatula.
Erika – you are speaking my language 🙂 N xx
Egg? It’s the uptime food-glue! 🙂 N x
Nagi, fully agree with your way of making burgers, have been doing it like this for years.
Less is better and good meat tastes fantistic on its own.
I also had a few times the burgers became “sloppy Joes” and contributed it to the consistency of the meat. Not enough fat? don’t know for sure. But “massaging” the patty (a little) longer, without compressing it, sort of melts the fat biding it better. No need for the eggs, apart from one on top of the burger. Great recipe….
Do you mean they fell apart??? I had some friends worried about that when I told them about this recipe but I swore the meat holds together if they pat it together with light fingers and they always reported back with success!!!
Sorry, not your recipe burgers. But happend sometimes many moons ago. So don’t feel guilty.
Cheers, Rein
Phew! 🙂 N x