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!)
Oh. My. GOSH. These burgers are seriously EPIC. When you said “loaded” you MEANT it. Which, is obviously the ONLY way to eat a burger. I wish 5 of these would magically appear in front of my face right now!
Work some genie magic and will shoot them right over!
Oh so delicious Nagi. I could at one now. Some great ideas there too in the comments. I love a burger with bacon ( and beetroot of course)
You’re a beetroot gal!!! 🙂 I’m too messy to have beetroot. Will end up all over me!
Why yes I DO want to reach through the screen and GRAB that burger…remember how I was telling you that mac and cheese can be too rich for me. But when it comes to burgers, I have no limits so this looks like perfection. Like perfection that requires several napkins because I’m famous for dribbling things down my shirt…
I love reading your posts, Nagi. I hear them in your voice… 😉
I totally GET you Marissa!!! I grew up with food that was never made with cream, so any cream based dishes are too rich for me, hence why I have so many “creamy but no cream” dishes!! 🙂 I bet I beat you on the dribble front though. I always seem to be wearing a white top when I’m eating burgers….. 🙂
I would pay you 25 Aussie $ for this burger too!!! You can seriously make alot of money with this 🙂 🙂 🙂 ps. an option if Food Blogging doesn’t work out……. ha!
To finish your sentence….if food blogging doesn’t work out, I move to Spain and we start a food truck together?? 😉
Sounds like a plan.. 🙂 Lol!
YUM YUM Can’t wait to try….
Thanks Nick! Hope you do try it! 🙂
Oh, my. If ever I’ve seen pure sin, this is it! Love it! My only problem is that my jaw locks if I try to open too wide, so I think I’ll either have to squish this down or eat piecemeal.
By the way, you don’t have to cheat on the fries. Grab two ziplock-type bags. In one, put a mixture of well-beaten eggs, salt and milk (I also usually use a squirt of barbecue sauce or ketchup for a bit more zing). Dump your home-cut fries in and shake until all the fries have the mixture on them. Pour the works into a colander so the excess liquid can drain off. If you quickly tap-wash the colander as soon as it’s empty, it cleans up easily. In the second plastic bag, make a mix of cornstarch, salt, pepper, a bit of cayenne, crushed dried parsley, whatever spices your heart desires, and some very finely crushed breadcrumbs. In go the fries, and shake-shake-shake. Spread them out on a non-stick or lightly greased cookie sheet and bake at 175°C/350°F until done, flipping once. No deep-frying, low-fat, awesome taste, no extra dishes, done.
One more change: make a little bit of vinaigrette-type dressing by mixing a light oil (I use grapeseed or roasted hazelnut), vinegar, and some Maggi liquid seasoning. Toss the lettuce leaves in that before putting them on the burgers. I promise you won’t regret it.
BA HA HA! Jaw lock!!!! Actually, it squishes down just fine 🙂 Most of the height is from the bun! I am extremely fascinated by this fries recipe. I totally get it! The dry coating must give it the crunch??? I’m trying it asap. You ROCK Shalryn! Thank you for sharing!!!
FABULOUS photography!
An added note: Way back in 1968, I went to college at Cornell University in Ithaca, NY. The student union there- The Straight- made hamburgers topped with runny fried eggs. Oh my! If you’ve never had a burger, with whatever toppings, topped with a runny fried egg, you’ve gotta try it!
I really appreciate the thought put into this recipe for a lowly burger. From the addition of Worcestershire to the caramelized onions, Nagi has totally nailed this!
Thanks Heather!!! Oooh, I bet those burgers were WICKED! 🙂 I love hearing stories of food-association memories!!! Hope you had a fab weekend Heather!
Hi Nagi! Now this is my kind of burger! The grated onion in this adds so much flavor and keeps the burger moist. Yes to the runny egg on top! 🙂
I bet you make a WICKED burger! Or is it Gary who is the household Burger King?
Hi there. $25 Australian is actually around $18 U.S. Still expensive!
Grrr! Did I really used to be in finance? ? How embarrassing! Thanks for picking that up Denise! N x
OMG. I like every ingredient you put in this burger. How about you move to Chicago and we can cook together?
Hope about you come HERE and cook for me!! 🙂
Love me some grilling and we had ribs last night, fantastic weather there now again. This looks so delicious with that ooey gooey cheese, the yolk running down the side and that caramelized, whispy bit of onion on the either side. DEVOUR pronto!
Love that you dent the burger, too. I saw that years ago on a show and it works every time, plus they don’t puff up! Truth be told I have not been all that impressed the 2 times I’ve paid for there Wagyu beef, lucky me!
Awww……the BBQ ribs??? The ones I tried? They are WICKED!!!
These look amazing Nagi! Salivating on my keyboard. Thanks for sharing!!
Thank you Felesha! N x
*drool*
It’s 7.55am in Dallas, TX and I feel like a burger now! Haha.
As a very new ex-pat Aussie now living here, I was talking to my partner only yesterday, about the delights of ‘Aussie’ burgers 🙂
I miss the days of being able to go to the local fish and chip shop and getting a ‘burger with the lot, and add pineapple please!’
I make burgers at least once a fortnight at home, but am going to have to bake my own buns soon because I simply can’t find a hamburger bun that remotely tastes like home.
Thank you for this recipe. THIS will be dinner tomorrow night 🙂
Happiest Friday…or is it Saturday for you?
Don’t fret Trish!!! I mean there are WICKED burgers in the US too!!! Honestly, sitting here in Aus, I crave American burgers!! Shake Shack! I am obsessed with Shake Shack!!! 🙂
Those shots are PERFECT!
Mouth watering burger right there. Can’t wait for summer to start grilling again.
Awww, thank you Maeva! 🙂 Burgers can be tricky, that’s for sure. I was lucky the eggs behaved!! 🙂