The Ultimate Homemade Burger

I’ve mentioned it many times before that my husband and I are major foodies. Like some people enjoy various hobbies, such as scrapbooking, video games, and playing an instrument, for us, food is viewed much in the same way. We not only love eating great food, but there is such joy in searching out new amazing local restaurants and sampling their menu. Or creating new recipes in our kitchen. And while my husband and I have many other, more traditional hobbies that we enjoy, this “food” hobby is something we enjoy together. And that’s really important in any relationship…to be able to find something that you love doing together.

Ever since my first pregnancy, I’ve developed a love for burgers. Unfortunately, it started with a Big Mac from McDonalds (one of the very first cravings I ever had). Thankfully, my love for burgers has evolved far past the Big Mac now. We’ve discovered all kinds of amazing burgers, both bought in store and in local restaurants. Our favorite burgers in Toronto are from The Burger’s Priest, P&L Burger and Jack Astors (but I’ll save that for another post!)

We can’t obviously eat out all the time being a family of five, so my hubby started exploring with his own homemade recipe, inspired by his favourites from the restaurants listed above. Let me tell you, as someone who has eaten A LOT of burgers the last five years, my hubby has hands down, come up with the ultimate homemade burger! I would not lie to you about this. This is the ONLY homemade burger recipe you will ever need. Stop buying the pre-made patties…just follow this recipe and your family will be begging for more! Guaranteed!

So what makes these homemade burgers so special anyways? Well, simply put, it all comes down to the beef. If you want to eat good burgers, you gotta let the diet go out the window…story of my life! Seriously, though, in order to make the ultimate homemade burger, you are going to need fresh, ground chuck. This meat comes from the neck and shoulder of the cow and is typically very fatty BUT has an immense amount of flavor. This is why is it the best cut of meat when making burgers. I know that we all hear about lean ground beef and how that’s the best option (when eating beef), but if you are wanting to make this ultimate homemade burger, skip the lean and go straight for the fatty stuff. I promise you, it WILL be worth it. You can sometimes find this in your local grocery store, but often times, you will need a trip to your local butcher to find it. 

The second thing to know when making these homemade burgers is that you do not need ANYTHING other than ground chuck for your patty. People tend to think you need eggs or bread crumbs, amongst other things, to hold the beef together. But it’s not true. You only need to season the beef well with salt and pepper. That’s it, that’s all.

Finally, even though most people think barbecued burgers are king, we’ve come to learn that the best burgers come from either a flattop or a cast iron frying pan. Because you aren’t filling the patty with any “filler”, the meat will likely fall apart more easily. So placing it on the BBQ is not a good idea. But secondly (and probably more importantly) is that when cooking on a flattop or cast iron pan, it seals the meat, locking in all the flavors as it cooks and get caramelized. This step is critical in experiencing the ultimate homemade burger. 

So now that you are salivating at the sounds of this amazing recipe, let’s show you how to make it!

So there you have it, the recipe for the ultimate homemade burger! You can change up the toppings to use whichever ones you like. Same with the buns. But whatever you do, do NOT change up the patty! I’m telling you, this IS the best homemade burger you will ever!

Love & Blessings,