Ground Beef Recipes – Team Pagel

It is grilling season! Beef can be an intimidating to cook with, but I’ve got a secret for you, it’s not as scary as you think.

Choosing Ground Beef:

First, choose your ground beef. Whether that be from the grocery store shelf or from your local farmer (we sell beef and eggs directly to customers if you don’t know a farmer), you want it to be thawed out. But, cold (reason coming later).

Equipment Needed for Perfect Burger:

Next, get your things ready. You will need:

Patty maker (if you don’t have this, don’t worry. It makes your burgers cook evenly and probably would be a good investment of your money. They are really inexpensive!)
Grill/skillet heating up
Seasonings, if using. (We use salt, pepper and diced onion for our typical burgers. You can add just about anything you want to mix up the flavor. Sometimes I add in garlic powder and red pepper flakes. It all depends on who I’m cooking for.)

How to Cook Your Patties:

Shape your patties. Pull your ground beef from the fridge right when you need it. It will hold the patty better when it’s cold. Mix in the ingredients that you need/want.

Then throw them on the grill or in your skillet. Cook for 4-5 minutes on each side. This should get you a medium done burger.

Add your favorite toppings and enjoy!

Don’t Be Scared!

Cooking chicken to me is as foreign as cooking beef is to most people. Beef is full of nutrients that you shouldn’t avoid just because you aren’t sure how to cook it.

If you buy direct from a farmer, be sure to ask them for their favorite recipe or way to cook the cut that you’ve bought. Don’t be intimidated by it! What questions do you have about how to cook the perfect burger?

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~Matt & Kelsey

How to make and cook the perfect burger

along with

How to know when the burger is at the perfect doneness

These easy, peasy ground beef burgers will make burgers a staple on your weekly routine.

Y’all, I’m not a chef. Like at all. Period. End of discussion. I’m not. But I like to eat. And while Margaret feeds us a lot, I feel like at some point I should be an adult and take care of myself every once in a while. Plus you asked for easy, weeknight dinner options. Here is one of mine. I’m not a food blogger. Just trying to give you want your want. You’re welcome.

If I have my ducks in a row, I like suppers that are a protein and a veggie. Matt loves burgers. Pair them with veggies of some sort and life is good. Life is even better if you pair them with french fries because french fries are life. Either way or both. You choose. Or don’t. Life is hard. Just eat both.

First, ground beef:

Whether you get this fresh from a farmer (we sell our farm, fresh beef if you don’t know a farmer and can ship directly to your door) or buy at your grocery store, doesn’t matter, just get some ground beef. If it’s frozen, thaw in the fridge. This might take a couple days to get fully unthawed.

Next, round up salt (we like to use Himalayan salt. You can find my favorite kind here), pepper, garlic powder and crushed red pepper. Dice up an onion. I like red onions right now, but use whatever onion you have.

You want your ground beef cold, because cold beef holds a patty much better than room temperature beef. So try to get through this process as quickly as possible after you take the beef out of the fridge.

Home-raised ground beef, with diced red onion, garlic powder, salt, pepper and crushed red pepper flakes.

Mix it UP!:

I’m a very technical chef. I rarely measure which is why I said I wasn’t a food blogger. And I take terrible photos so that really counts me out for food blogging, but y’all asked, so I’m trying. That’s all I can do.

Pour some of everything in (careful with the red pepper flakes. My Forever doesn’t love them, but I still sneak some in). If you like something better, put a little more in, if you don’t omit completely or put a little less in. This isn’t a science. It’s okay. The rest of your life is spinning out of control, these burgers are going to be amazing! You’re fine. You can do it! Mix it up.

Mixed up ground beef, ready for patty making.

Making the Patties

I used to be lazy. Wait, what am I saying? I still am. I’m very lazy. Plus I don’t love cooking, so try to be even lazier with that. However, My Forever has convinced me to use a patty maker to make hamburger patties rather than just using your hands to shape patties. If you don’t have a patty maker, you’re fine. They’re still going to be good, but I saw them at the Dollar Store for $1. Or Harbor Freight. Patty makers are everywhere. You don’t need an expensive one. And if you don’t have one today, it will be okay, but put it on your list, they truly do make a difference.

Again, exact science that I make cooking, divide your mixed up ground beef into clementine sized balls. Or a little bigger. Depends on the size of your clementines. Point is, you want a nice sized burger so it will fit on your bun and you don’t have a bunch of bun without burger.

Patty maker and ground beef balls ready to be made into patties.

Then use your patty maker and make your burgers. The same shape and size burgers will encourage even cooking times and temps. That way your burgers will be perfect.

Ground beef patties ready to throw on grill or in skillet.

Then throw them on the grill or in the skillet. I’m a big fan of our Green Mountain Grill, no that’s not an ad, but it probably should be. We like to cook our burgers on the grill at about 350 degrees for 5ish minutes on each side. Heavy on the ish. My Forever likes his burgers a little more rare than the average human. Some like well done. You do you!

Another tip: DO NOT EVER PUSH DOWN ON YOUR BURGERS WHILE THEY ARE COOKING. The patty maker will help you not want to do this. When the burgers are cooking and you push down on them with the spatula, all the juices get pushed out of the burger and your left with a dried out burger. Thumbs down on that one! Don’t do it!

How Do You Know When They are Done?

The coolest thing I’ve learned about figuring out the doneness of meat has to do with your hand. I always hated cutting in to meat to see what it looked like and then I could never really see and wasn’t really sure if it was done or not. No more. Two options:

A meat thermometer-duh. If you don’t have one, you probably should. I got the digital one, again I’m lazy, for real cheap. I feel like they’re everywhere, but I know it’s right because it matches the temp of our room when I don’t have it anything. Ground beef should be cooked to 160 degrees, so the experts say.
Your hand. That’s right. Let’s say your meat thermometer is MIA. But you have a hand, right. It just takes one. If you don’t have one, borrow a friend’s. Hold your hand out flat. P.S. Don’t judge my uncoordinated hand, it still works even if it doesn’t look pretty. Side note-this is not an exact science and your cooking temps should be. If you’re cooking for the young or elderly, pay more attention. For Matt and I, this method works pretty well. Don’t sue me if you get sick from under cooked meat. You’re an adult, make a judgement call.

Flat hand, got it. Very complicated I know.

Next, take your first finger and and press on your thumb fat or whatever that is called. I’m also not a doctor along with not being a chef. I’m still figuring out what I am. It’s fine, we don’t all have our lives figured out. But take note of how that feels. This is what meat feels like when it’s rare.

Next, take your middle finger and do the same thing. If feels firmer.

Next, your ring finger. Medium to medium well meat. Check.

Last, your pinky. It feels much more firm. That is well done.

Again, your hand is not an exact science and your meat temps should be, but it will get you close. You can tell it gets more firm and less springy. I thought this was a super cool trick to keep from cutting into the meat too much or if you don’t have a thermometer.

ENJOY!

After all that, you can finally enjoy your perfect grill lined burgers with your veggies or fries or both or none. Whatever floats your boat. The burgers are delicious. That’s all I know or care.

Alright, so there you have it. You asked. I tried. My first recipe blog. Did you like it? Was it helpful? What should I do differently or better? Give me all your suggestions, nicely though please.