How to Prepare Hamburger Patties for the Grill

One pound of ground beef will make roughly four or five hamburger patties.

Even the best ground beef needs a little prep work to help bring out its natural flavors. Following a few basic guidelines will ensure that your burgers cook evenly and are properly seasoned.



If you want to add a little more kick to your burgers, consider mixing in some spicy ground sausage.

Things You'll Need

• Fresh ground beef
• Fresh ground spicy sausage (optional)
• Various herbs and spices
• Foil or wax paper
• Mixing bowl

Instructions

1. Gather any spices that you think would complement the beef or beef and sausage mixture. You can't go wrong with onion powder, garlic powder, oregano, salt and pepper. Freshly chopped garlic, basil and other herbs can elevate your burgers into the gourmet category. Start with 1/2 teaspoon of each seasoning per pound of ground beef.

2. In a large mixing bowl place the beef and sausage and herbs and spices. Wash your hands thoroughly, then slowly mix all of the ingredients with your bare hands. Add more herbs and spices as needed. You want to make sure that every inch of the ground beef has some seasoning. Add salt sparingly, however, especially if you're using garlic powder, onion powder or a spice blend that already includes salt. It's the one seasoning that can overpower a good burger.

3. When the mixture is set, start to form balls about the size of baseballs. Once you have a ball ready, place it on a plate or cutting board and carefully flatten the ball to create a patty shape.

   Remember that the hamburger patties will shrink when you cook them, so make them a little bigger and thicker than you want them.

4. Place the finished patty on a square of tin foil or wax paper. Place another piece of tin foil or wax paper on top of the first patty and continue layering patties and foil or paper --- make several stacks if you're feeding a lot of guests. Your patties are now ready for the grill, or if you're doing your party prep work early, you can cover the plate that they're on with plastic wrap and store them in the fridge for a few hours until it's time to cook them.

Tips & Warnings

• Try using different herbs and spices on different patties to test out recipes so you will be sure to find a winner.

References

• "Barbecue Nation"; Fred Thompson; 2007