How to make a better home cooked hamburger ?

[Detective D]

There ya go. Corn fed tastes best. Grass fed can taste like dairy cow. Yuck!

Grass fed should be timothy and clover grass. Not canary grass(the stuff that grows by the cat-tails) or quack grass(common grass/weed that moves into corn and hay fields, grows like the dickens though) or crab grass or whatever weeds were growing out in a pasture that hadn't been tended or cycled in years.
Long ago, in the times your Grandfather may have grown up in, people understood what you feed an animal determines the end result of the product you are after. This goes for meat, but also milk, and even down to bees and honey. My Grandfather planted a strip of buckwheat and red clover along the low ground with a horse drawn grain drill specifically for the bees he kept on his dairy farm.
You can find ag videos from UW Madison from the 1950's, when silage was starting to take off, about blended feeds and making sure there is both nutrition and energy value in the feed, but also specific types of grasses and clovers to make sure the milk fat content was good for dairy, and things that could be in the mix to add volume to make the hay crop efficient.

By the time the 90's got here and factory farm was in full swing, this all got lost. My father and I still put timothy grass and clover in with the alfalfa. By the time he sold in the 90's, we were the only one in our township and maybe the county still inquireing about timothy grass and clover seed, they had to order him bags at the coop from out of state.

About this time is when CA decided they were now the dairy state. They started to out produce WI. How? Well, mad cow disease is one way. If you live in CA be forewarned, you may wish to consider if you want to read this and still go to your walmart and grocery chain stores...


Fair warning.
CA decided it was fair game to feed dairy cows, essentially other cows. Waste product from the slaughter house needed an outlet, and bones, blood, guts, they had energy value. Dog food sure, but what started was dehydration to make things into meal and powder and then mix it with mollasus to feed back to cows. Bone meal. Blood Meal. Animal fat in milk replacer for the calves. BGH. this stuff all came out of CA. Some from Canada, a bit from England. Is it a wonder why mad cow disease started? Man in all it's wisdom decided dead cows make good cow feed.
Liquid manure was also dried, mixed with mollasus and soybean flour and fed back. There is energy in there!
They spray the stuff on growing veggies. Ever wonder how Ecoli started becoming more and more in stuff like lettuce and spinach?

"Happy cows come from CA." Their dairy market ad claims, showing a single cow eating grass in the sun under a tree. HA! Canibalistic cows come from CA, and get mad cow disease from it too.

DO NOT buy Walmart meat. Ask your meat counter where the beef comes from. If they say "local" and you live in CA, ask which farm. The USA allows things in our food that are banned in every other country in the world. "raw" foods are not exempt from foul play.

Corn is actually terrible for cattle, a 100% corn diet will rot their stomachs. Corn makes them get fat and heavy, fast, so it is efficient for "growing" the herd to market weight. They have it down to a science, because if they wait an extra few months the cow may actually become ill and die from it's diet. Like a person living on double quarter pounders for every single meal, you only can get away with it for so long.
If a dairy cow tastes "bad" it has been on a diet of either CA origin, or eating a steady diet of quack grass and weeds and whatever else mixed with high energy corn and ground corn/soybeans.
Corn fed makes for very marbled, fatty meat. This of course means it can hold a lot of flavor. It also means it has no "beef" flavor of it's own and you have to add the flavor to it yourself. Timothy, clover, and a few other things make for beef with an actual strong beef flavor, and if they are given some energy to go with it, alfalfa, corn silage, ground corn as a treat, then they marble nice and you get actual good, old school beef. This is RARE nowdays, it is hard to make a profit unless you find an outlet willing to pay for your inefficient feed choice, competing against 100% corn, lot raised beef stock.

Our country needs to go back to how it was 40 years ago. There used to be enough farm kids they outnumbered city kids in rural towns. Family farms with humane practices and pride in quality have been consolidated into factory farms. We all pay that price.

 

[guy gadbois]

^^^^ AMEN!!

 

[toolmanmike]

Grass fed should be timothy and clover grass. Not canary grass(the stuff that grows by the cat-tails) or quack grass(common grass/weed that moves into corn and hay fields, grows like the dickens though) or crab grass or whatever weeds were growing out in a pasture that hadn't been tended or cycled in years.
Long ago, in the times your Grandfather may have grown up in, people understood what you feed an animal determines the end result of the product you are after. This goes for meat, but also milk, and even down to bees and honey. My Grandfather planted a strip of buckwheat and red clover along the low ground with a horse drawn grain drill specifically for the bees he kept on his dairy farm.
You can find ag videos from UW Madison from the 1950's, when silage was starting to take off, about blended feeds and making sure there is both nutrition and energy value in the feed, but also specific types of grasses and clovers to make sure the milk fat content was good for dairy, and things that could be in the mix to add volume to make the hay crop efficient.

By the time the 90's got here and factory farm was in full swing, this all got lost. My father and I still put timothy grass and clover in with the alfalfa. By the time he sold in the 90's, we were the only one in our township and maybe the county still inquireing about timothy grass and clover seed, they had to order him bags at the coop from out of state.

About this time is when CA decided they were now the dairy state. They started to out produce WI. How? Well, mad cow disease is one way. If you live in CA be forewarned, you may wish to consider if you want to read this and still go to your walmart and grocery chain stores...


Fair warning.
CA decided it was fair game to feed dairy cows, essentially other cows. Waste product from the slaughter house needed an outlet, and bones, blood, guts, they had energy value. Dog food sure, but what started was dehydration to make things into meal and powder and then mix it with mollasus to feed back to cows. Bone meal. Blood Meal. Animal fat in milk replacer for the calves. BGH. this stuff all came out of CA. Some from Canada, a bit from England. Is it a wonder why mad cow disease started? Man in all it's wisdom decided dead cows make good cow feed.
Liquid manure was also dried, mixed with mollasus and soybean flour and fed back. There is energy in there!
They spray the stuff on growing veggies. Ever wonder how Ecoli started becoming more and more in stuff like lettuce and spinach?

"Happy cows come from CA." Their dairy market ad claims, showing a single cow eating grass in the sun under a tree. HA! Canibalistic cows come from CA, and get mad cow disease from it too.

DO NOT buy Walmart meat. Ask your meat counter where the beef comes from. If they say "local" and you live in CA, ask which farm. The USA allows things in our food that are banned in every other country in the world. "raw" foods are not exempt from foul play.

Corn is actually terrible for cattle, a 100% corn diet will rot their stomachs. Corn makes them get fat and heavy, fast, so it is efficient for "growing" the herd to market weight. They have it down to a science, because if they wait an extra few months the cow may actually become ill and die from it's diet. Like a person living on double quarter pounders for every single meal, you only can get away with it for so long.
If a dairy cow tastes "bad" it has been on a diet of either CA origin, or eating a steady diet of quack grass and weeds and whatever else mixed with high energy corn and ground corn/soybeans.
Corn fed makes for very marbled, fatty meat. This of course means it can hold a lot of flavor. It also means it has no "beef" flavor of it's own and you have to add the flavor to it yourself. Timothy, clover, and a few other things make for beef with an actual strong beef flavor, and if they are given some energy to go with it, alfalfa, corn silage, ground corn as a treat, then they marble nice and you get actual good, old school beef. This is RARE nowdays, it is hard to make a profit unless you find an outlet willing to pay for your inefficient feed choice, competing against 100% corn, lot raised beef stock.

Our country needs to go back to how it was 40 years ago. There used to be enough farm kids they outnumbered city kids in rural towns. Family farms with humane practices and pride in quality have been consolidated into factory farms. We all pay that price.

That's a great story. My uncle had dairy and fed them clover hay as well as ground corn (whole ear ground corn which just isn't done any more) He had great tasting milk that was sold to the local creamery instead of the regional dairy. That was old school, he is long gone, and that kind of farming isn't done much any more. Like you said, Beef cattle benefit from ground whole ear corn as well as quality hay and clean water. Silage isn't a bad feed but because it is fermented, I can taste it in the meat. Not bad, just different. It is an interesting industry for sure. I am fortunate to have grown up on the farm most of my childhood and was able to experience and learn how it all works. I don't farm but I am part owner in my wife's family farm. Just a few years ago when her dad was still alive, he raised a thousand head or so of hogs and a few hundred head of Black Angus. Since he is gone, Brother in law just wants to grain farm so the only thing left is a few dozen head of cattle. When they are finished, they will be gone. Sad really but at least we were able to keep the family farm together for another generation.

 

[Detective D]

That's a great story. My uncle had dairy and fed them clover hay as well as ground corn (whole ear ground corn which just isn't done any more) He had great tasting milk that was sold to the local creamery instead of the regional dairy. That was old school, he is long gone, and that kind of farming isn't done much any more. Like you said, Beef cattle benefit from ground whole ear corn as well as quality hay and clean water. Silage isn't a bad feed but because it is fermented, I can taste it in the meat. Not bad, just different. It is an interesting industry for sure. I am fortunate to have grown up on the farm most of my childhood and was able to experience and learn how it all works. I don't farm but I am part owner in my wife's family farm. Just a few years ago when her dad was still alive, he raised a thousand head or so of hogs and a few hundred head of Black Angus. Since he is gone, Brother in law just wants to grain farm so the only thing left is a few dozen head of cattle. When they are finished, they will be gone. Sad really but at least we were able to keep the family farm together for another generation.

Whole ear corn still has a spot in WI. Not very common though, they keep making new combines but "corn pickers" are all but a forgotten implement and never expanded into a modern efficient size.
Still there are plenty of guys around with their 2 row New Idea picker and some corn cribs. The COOP will pick the cobs up and grind it.
That is a much healthier feed then "high moisture" corn is, for sure.

You would be a significant minority tasting silage in the meat. I would hazard a guess there was something in the silage that was the cuplrit, not the fact it was silage itself.

Your story about the family farm is the same as thousands of others and the reason we are in this mess. The "walmartization" of absolutely everything in our lives in the 90's needs to get reversed at some point if we want to survive. I see glimpses of hope from people sometimes that they are ready to pay for quality. But other forces out there take issue with that notion and work against it.

 

[toolmanmike]

Whole ear corn still has a spot in WI. Not very common though, they keep making new combines but "corn pickers" are all but a forgotten implement and never expanded into a modern efficient size.
Still there are plenty of guys around with their 2 row New Idea picker and some corn cribs. The COOP will pick the cobs up and grind it.
That is a much healthier feed then "high moisture" corn is, for sure.

You would be a significant minority tasting silage in the meat. I would hazard a guess there was something in the silage that was the cuplrit, not the fact it was silage itself.

Your story about the family farm is the same as thousands of others and the reason we are in this mess. The "walmartization" of absolutely everything in our lives in the 90's needs to get reversed at some point if we want to survive. I see glimpses of hope from people sometimes that they are ready to pay for quality. But other forces out there take issue with that notion and work against it.

Agreed. I have respect for the "Hobby Farms" that have 30 or so acres and do things the old school way. Many market their own finished products and seem to be making a living doing it. There are some of us out there that will pay extra for quality products. We have a dairy close to us that have a couple retail stores in the metro area. They sell their own milk, cheese and ice cream. All delicious. They also are a outlet for farm raised meats, produce, baked goods and the like. They have been in business (retail) for a couple decades now. It's refreshing to buy milk and have to stir up the cream that rises to the top. Most of what they do takes me back to a simpler time. Farmers markets are big and that's a good thing too. I garden a but, eat fresh, freeze some and give excess to friends and family.

 

[1967coronet]

Smaller butcher shops have an actual shop with a meat saw, grinder and the like. They have quarters or sides of beef hanging in the cooler and cut it up to sell. Big stores get their beef in cases from the processor. If the shops have a case of sirloin steak or some roasts that are starting to age, it's time to grind it up into ground beef. That's where the good stuff comes from. Like an old butcher friend of mine used to say, "sell it or smell it". Places like Sams that have a butcher shop behind glass probably grind up the older inventory for ground beef. I do know they don't have a walk in cooler with sides hanging in it. The meat they sell is prepackaged from the processing plant. They do at least sell prime and choice grades of steaks and roasts. You can go in and buy a nice big prime rib roast or filet. $$$$$$ regardless.
FYI The burger in those long tubes for cheap price is exactly that...cheap! Be careful eating the stuff. You may break a tooth on a bone chip or gristle.

Guthrie County Quality Meats | High Quality Meats | Guthrie Center, IA

 

[1 Wild R/T]

So, a few years ago Coral tried a new way of seasoning burgers... And it makes for a really "Tasty Burger" If you decide to try it make sure you get the one that says seasoning, not the Dip Mix... The Dip Mix is way to salty for burgers...

Basically just knead it into the meat before forming patties... She sometimes adds a little extra pepper too.....

 

[64BEL]

Grass fed should be timothy and clover grass. Not canary grass(the stuff that grows by the cat-tails) or quack grass(common grass/weed that moves into corn and hay fields, grows like the dickens though) or crab grass or whatever weeds were growing out in a pasture that hadn't been tended or cycled in years.
Long ago, in the times your Grandfather may have grown up in, people understood what you feed an animal determines the end result of the product you are after. This goes for meat, but also milk, and even down to bees and honey. My Grandfather planted a strip of buckwheat and red clover along the low ground with a horse drawn grain drill specifically for the bees he kept on his dairy farm.
You can find ag videos from UW Madison from the 1950's, when silage was starting to take off, about blended feeds and making sure there is both nutrition and energy value in the feed, but also specific types of grasses and clovers to make sure the milk fat content was good for dairy, and things that could be in the mix to add volume to make the hay crop efficient.

By the time the 90's got here and factory farm was in full swing, this all got lost. My father and I still put timothy grass and clover in with the alfalfa. By the time he sold in the 90's, we were the only one in our township and maybe the county still inquireing about timothy grass and clover seed, they had to order him bags at the coop from out of state.

 

[toolmanmike]

I saw that extra teat right away.

 

[Sahara]

Ten percent fatty beef, an egg mixed in, some black pepper, ninety percent fresh elk seared on the hot grill. Just before taking them off add diced hot peppers from the garden and sharp cheddar. We’ll never go back to beef.

 

[440 4 speed]

Ten percent fatty beef, an egg mixed in, some black pepper, ninety percent fresh elk seared on the hot grill. Just before taking them off add diced hot peppers from the garden and sharp cheddar. We’ll never go back to beef. View attachment 1620074

I am envious!!! Looks like my hunting days might be over. No more white tail, elk, mulies or moose that we used to debone. Can’t walk for birds anymore and no dog any longer.
I think elk is cheap for you, for people like myself, it would probably be cheaper to buy from an elk rancher. Absolutely no comparison to the enjoyment of being out in the field.
( jalapeños ) would be nice on your burger.

 

[Sahara]

I am envious!!! Looks like my hunting days might be over. No more white tail, elk, mulies or moose that we used to debone. Can’t walk for birds anymore and no dog any longer.
I think elk is cheap for you, for people like myself, it would probably be cheaper to buy from an elk rancher. Absolutely no comparison to the enjoyment of being out in the field.
( jalapeños ) would be nice on your burger.

Thank you for that. I am truly blessed or fortunate to have bought 160 acres back when land was cheap. CAN$10k. It has provided fresh meat for my family and two or three others for about 35 years. Land is so expensive now (CAN$200k plus) that I wouldn’t be able to afford that just to have a place to hunt. It is two twenty acre fields seeded to alfalfa, the rest is mature dark timber with a creek across the north end. Animals love it there. I carefully manage the harvest and get an elk and whitetail there every year. All in, licence, fuel, bullet, professional cutting and wrapping I’m into elk for about two dollars a pound. Here in Hay River lean ground beef can be nine dollars a pound, steaks can be as much as forty.

 

[440 4 speed]

We can’t sell wild game as you know. Maybe we could gift you some ham radio stuff and you could gift me something else?? Humour.

 

[Sahara]

We can’t sell wild game as you know. Maybe we could gift you some ham radio stuff and you could gift me something else?? Humour.

I’d be happy to send you some for free. We send it to daughter now in B.C. and used to send it to her in Sudbury, Ontario. We have little coolers and ice packs that wife gets from work and it arrives still frozen. PM me your address and I will get some off to you the same time I send her next care package out.

 

[440 4 speed]

I’d be happy to send you some for free. We send it to daughter now in B.C. and used to send it to her in Sudbury, Ontario. We have little coolers and ice packs that wife gets from work and it arrives still frozen. PM me your address and I will get some off to you the same time I send her next care package out.

Thank you! Will contact you regular Email.

 

[Scott Engelhardt]

We buy 1/2 beef every year. We have been air frying then with a little Cavenders. They are great.

 

[70bigblockdodge]

My wife has been adding dry French onion soup mix to ground beef for burgers for years. Worcestershire is a good additive. Salt and pepper always. Cooked in cast iron skillet is best IMHO.

 

[Lyngne]

While leaner meat is healthier, it can sometimes lack flavor, especially in recipes like meatloaf. Try using ground beef with a slightly higher fat content, such as 20% fat, which will add juiciness and flavor to your burgers or meatloaf. Don't be afraid to season your meat generously with salt and pepper to enhance its taste. You can also experiment with other seasonings like garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, or Worcestershire sauce for added depth of flavor in your meatloaf recipe.

 

[toolmanmike]

My wife has been adding dry French onion soup mix to ground beef for burgers for years. Worcestershire is a good additive. Salt and pepper always. Cooked in cast iron skillet is best IMHO.

I sprinkle that over my beef roast for a little attitude. Good stuff.

 

[YY1]

OK, after five pages- here's my (no longer) secret:

L&P worchester shire sauce.

-and-

Hand patty using just enough hand pressure to form the patty and not a thumb press more.
The less you touch the patty, the better. I like about an inch to an inch and a half of height to a patty.

After pattying, dump on enough L&P to cover them about 90% with some fluid.

-and-

DO NOT smash the patty while it's cooking.



Loose hand pattying and not smashing them keeps the flavorful juices in and doesn't stress the meat.
L&P slightly enhances those juices with a "savory" quality, and gives just a hint of color.

I've used 93/7 and had just as good results as anything more fatty.
You also get less gristle with 93/7. Nothing ruins a good burger like gettin a bite o' gristle.

I get compliments on my burgers almost every time we serve them to others.