Perfect Hamburger Patties

Nothing beats homemade, grilled hamburgers– unless you don’t know how to make them! Auntie Em makes some slap-your-sister-good ones, and I’ll tell you how:

First- go start your grill. I always scrape the grates and spray them with Pam first.

To make the patties: Start with ground meat. Get at least 15% fat ground beef– too lean and it will be tough and chewy. And I like to add ground pork too.. Yum! Season like you like–I use salt, pepper, garlic and onion powder, and Chipotle Tabasco sauce.

Mix it all up really well- the meat has different textures so you don’t want them to look separate. You’ll probably have to use your hands to do it well. Sorry!

Then begin shaping them into patties. They need to be uniform sizes and not too thick- about 1/2 to 3/4 inch. Rotate them between your palms, using your thumb to even up the edges. Don’t smash it down, though; you don’t want it tough.

As is my normal practice, I make more than I need for one meal and freeze the rest! Wrap patties with

parchment paper, then put into a Ziploc freezer bag.

I do my own vacuum-seal by closing the bag except for a little gap, then sucking out all the air myself! (Tightwad Food Saver!)

Ta-da! Now I can take out as many as I want and they won’t stick together.

I grill them 6-7 minutes. They should be a little brown around the edges, and getting gray on top.

Carefully lift to check the bottom for raw spots. None here!

So go ahead and flip them over, and cook about 1 minute less than you did the first side.

Hungry yet?

And there you are- perfect hamburger patties. Top it off like you like- cheese, grilled onions and mushrooms, lettuce, onions. pickles, mayo, mustard, good soft warmed buns….

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