The Best Homemade Burger Recipe From Scratch

Okay, you finally want to make your own burger from scratch. Great. Where to start? This will take a bit of planning and confirming what tools you have at your disposal. Read this first before going any further.

You need a meat grinder. If you do not have a meat grinder, go out and buy one! If you really do not want to do that, head down to your local butcher shop and ask for a 80/20 ratio of lean to fat ground hamburger (top sirloin and brisket; see below). It is important to make your own ground beef because the extra lean ground at the grocery store will make for a very dry burger. After you get yourself a grinder, come back and read on.

Congrats on the new grinder! Or if you already owned one, good for you, I am impressed! You must be someone who is really into the art of cooking. Now that you have a grinder, you are halfway there.

Next; it is time to go to your favorite butcher shop and pick some special cuts of meat which will give you a great tasting burger. You will want to get some top sirloin and brisket. If they do not have brisket, you can always substitute it with short rib. The key to a juicy burger is having the right fat content in the patty. You want to shoot for 80/20 ratio of lean to fat. The lean ground beef at the store has more like 3-4% fat content. That is why we must make our own ground beef.

We are making ¼ pound patties; which I find are the perfect size for most people. You can always add a second patty to your burger if you are hungry. When I am making my own burgers, I usually make around 20 patties and freeze some of them. It is a bit of extra work, but it is nice having these patties readily available for future use.
20 x 1/4lbs patties = 5 pounds of meat. 3.5 lbs of top sirloin and 1.5 lbs of brisket or short rib.

No homemade burger is complete without your own burger sauce. Do not worry, this is an easy recipe and you probably have all these items in your fridge already. The sauce recipe is available below as well.

Buns:  The bun is like the foundation of the burger. If you cheap out on these, you can ruin the burger. Go to the bakery and get some nice Brioche Buns. They look great, are typically larger and oh yeah, they taste way better.

Cheese: You can never go wrong with good old American Cheddar. Buy a good quality cheddar. You can put any cheese you want on this burger, but tradition says cheddar.

Toppings: I am going to leave this up to you. I am traditional with toppings as well. I usually just put some iceberg lettuce, thinly sliced tomato, onions, and a pickle. You can go crazy with sautéed onions, bacon, and even a fried egg but that is not for everyone and I am keeping my family in mind with this recipe. Lately, I’ve been putting our homemade guacamole on the burger. You can also substitute the ground beef for some plant-based burger. It is a little different to grill but the new Impossible Burger tastes amazing.

As for doneness, I like to cook our burgers until they reach 140F which is about medium. There is a lot to know about burger temps and we cover that in our safe hamburger meat handling post. If you have leftovers, read our guide on how long you can keep ground beef in your fridge.

Equipment:

Instructions

Patties:

1. Set up your grinder with the coarse plate. Cool beef goes through the grinder better so make sure it is thoroughly cooled. Cut the sirloin and brisket into small enough strips for your grinder. Start grinding the meat alternating between sirloin and brisket pieces.   
2. After completing the first grind, mix the beef by hand.  Put the meat through the grinder one more time to ensure a good mix.
3. I weigh my patties with a digital scale. I like to make sure everyone is getting the same size patty. Roll the ground beef into 1/4lbs balls and then slightly shape into a patty.  
4. Lightly salt both sides and store on a tray in the fridge.

Burger Sauce

1. Chop the pickle into small pieces.
2. In a small bowl mix all the ingredients together.    
3. Taste to your liking adding hot sauce or other favorite ingredients.
4. Keep cool in the fridge.

Burger Grilling

1. Light up your coals or gas grill 15 minutes before grilling time.
2. I prep my buns during this time by cutting them in half and buttering them. 
3. Put your griddle on the grill and allow it to heat up. For a charcoal grill put the griddle above the coals for direct heat. Once the griddle is hot, place the burgers on the grill and quickly smash them with your burger flipper. We want to get a thin patty. After flattening, push your thumb into the middle making a small indentation. This helps the patty to cook more evenly and not turn into a ball.
4. The burgers cook very quickly. When the burgers turn brown on the edges and the tops are getting wet, quickly flip the burgers.  
5. With about a minute of grill time left, top the burgers with the cheese.
6. Always use a meat thermometer to know when the burgers are done. It is not just for the taste but for your safety.  I typically shoot for 145 Fahrenheit. The burgers are still juicy because we are using an 80/20 fat ratio patty.
7. Take the burgers off the grill and rest for 5-8 minutes.  Resting allows all the juices/flavor to soak back into the burger. During the burger rest, throw your buns on the hot grill with the buttered side down. We want to slightly toast these buns which makes them so much better.
8. Once the burgers have rested for 5-8 minutes, take the toasted buns and apply the burger sauce. Then you can add your patty and any other toppings you desire.  
9. You are done. Enjoy and be proud of making your first burger from scratch. You will be glad you did.

Was that not the best burger you have had? You’ll be glad you decided to make extra patties to freeze and use later in the week. Read our guide on how to grill frozen burgers.

Let us know what you think and comment below. We look forward to hearing from you. If you have any ideas or tips, we are always eager to hear what you have to say.  Check out our other recipes here. Happy Grilling!