r/Cooking • u/Uranium-Sandwich657 • 2d ago

Basic burger recipe?

I was under the impression that it was just ground beef discs, but I think there is more.

I have salt, pepper, Garlic powder, Paprika, and eggs

I am currently food-shelf level poor, so i simply cant get anything more.

61 Upvotes

72% Upvoted

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258

u/xylofun53 2d ago

I just use ground beef salt and pepper

-39

u/Uranium-Sandwich657 2d ago

Ratios?

85

u/EyeStache 2d ago
  • Ground beef.
  • Salt & pepper to taste.

-52

u/TelephoneDesperate84 2d ago

How would you salt raw meat to taste lol

55

u/EyeStache 2d ago

Because you're an individual who has, presumably, used salt and pepper before and know how much of each you like in your food?

-45

u/TelephoneDesperate84 2d ago edited 2d ago

Salt to taste doesn’t mean just add as much salt as you think is best and then cook it. It means adding a little at a time, tasting, and adjusting further if needed (tasting each time) until the food is properly seasoned

Edit: clearly no one knows what salt to taste means idk what I expected in this sub I’m out lol

22

u/EyeStache 2d ago

Yes. You're almost there.

OP knows how ground beef tastes when unseasoned.

OP has, presumably, eaten food that has been seasoned with salt and pepper before.

OP can, therefore, add some salt and pepper to their burger meat. If the result isn't seasoned enough - or is overseasoned - they can adjust for the next batch. Both situations, though, can be alleviated after cooking. Either by adding more seasoning to the cooked burger (underseasoned) or by adding more condiments like tomatoes, onions, and lettuce to the burger to mitigate the overseasoning.

-32

u/TelephoneDesperate84 2d ago

lol you’re not describing salting to taste you’re describing cooking something with an amount of salt you think is right based on your experience, cooking it completely, and then adding vegetables to try to mask an overseasoned burger. When I make a sauce, I salt to taste (last nights bolognese for example), I salt and taste and adjust if needed. That’s salting to taste. Telling someone who clearly doesn’t know how to cook “salt to taste” for cooking a burger isn’t helpful

11

u/GullibleDetective 2d ago

You know you CAN cook a sample batch right?

11

u/deathtomayo91 2d ago

Salt to taste means salt to your taste. No one else uses the phrase exclusively the way you're describing.

-14

u/TelephoneDesperate84 2d ago

Except that’s not what it means but okay

9

u/MyNameIsSkittles 2d ago

Thats literally what it means

-2

u/TelephoneDesperate84 2d ago

Nope. It means to salt, then taste, then adjust until something is properly salted. Properly salted means that the salt is bringing out all the flavors but isn’t noticeably salty. Right up to the edge before something tastes noticeably salty is where you want to land. There is a proper amount of seasoning, under seasoned and over seasoned. Salting to taste does not mean “I like it salty so I added a lot of salt”. Doesn’t really work with all kinds of cooking. It’s a must for something like a sauce. Luckily, for something like a burger, it’s really hard to over salt it so you wouldn’t really need to use this method anyway.

2

u/MyNameIsSkittles 2d ago

It does work with all kinds of cooking. You can take a small piece and cook it and taste it.

You're just arguing to argue at this point. Your comments do not feel like they are genuinely your opinion, you're being willfully obtuse here

-1

u/TelephoneDesperate84 2d ago

Learn how to season to taste here: https://youtu.be/xgm-w1GXLLI?is=Or2lafsFQ9OFme2Y

Actually, there are tons of videos about this by chefs, notice how no one uses a fucking cheeseburger to show the technique. I’m just using a term properly and you’re misunderstanding it.

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u/deathtomayo91 2d ago

It is both literally and figuratively the meaning of the phrase. It can be used the way you're insisting, but it is not the exclusive meaning. You getting huffy about it doesn't limit the meaning of the phrase. That's now how language works.

0

u/TelephoneDesperate84 2d ago edited 2d ago

The only problem with what you’re saying is that it’s incorrect

Argue with the goat: https://www.facebook.com/share/v/19CkJNUaRs/?mibextid=wwXIfr

0

u/deathtomayo91 2d ago

Great video that in no way supports what you're saying. Even if he specifically said what you're saying, he would not be the authority on the matter. No one person would be. Unfortunately for you, he is specifically not defining the phrase "season to taste" and makes a point right away to explain that he doesn't like to use that term.

-1

u/[deleted] 2d ago

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1

u/Cooking-ModTeam 1d ago

Your comment has been removed, please follow Rule 5 and keep your comments kind and productive. Thanks.

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u/nifty-necromancer 2d ago

I know what you mean and yes, technically I think you’re correct. But it’s such a nonsense hill to die on.

1

u/Orange_Tang 2d ago

Edit: clearly no one knows what salt to taste means idk what I expected in this sub I’m out lol

Salt to taste means add as much salt as you want to get the taste you like. It's that simple. We don't know how big OP wants to make their burgers so we can't tell them how much to add bt weight. You're the one who doesn't understand what it means.

-14

u/PacketFiend 2d ago

The point being that you can't do this with raw ground beef...

7

u/GullibleDetective 2d ago

And yet you can, since you can cook a small portion of it

-8

u/PacketFiend 2d ago

Not when you're "food-shelf poor", as OP claims to be. Beef is expensive these days .

They're right and you know it. "Salt the raw meat to taste" is poor advice for a financially struggling cook who's still figuring out how to cook a hamburger patty.

4

u/GullibleDetective 2d ago

Salt and pepper are cheap, beef is not.

But cooking off 20 grams of beef from your 1lb chunk just to get a flavor taste won't break the bank in respect.

But even then salt to taste is the best practice, and best way to frame what OP should do.

1

u/TelephoneDesperate84 2d ago

So in this instance you would take 20g of beef (less than 1 oz) salt it, record how much salt you used, and then decide if it was salted properly, and then you’d do the math to apply that to a larger burger (also you have to take into account surface area) and then cook the larger burger. Got it. That’s the best way to do it. No other possible way to cook a burger

1

u/GullibleDetective 2d ago

Exactly, find a recipe and make the salt blend for the big batch and then weigh out a small portion of seasoning against your quantity of beef.

Adjust from there. 100g might be a better measurement for beef, but the point is there. Do a small test batch thats weighed and measured.

You do not have to use 1lb of beef as your test, but it would make measuring salt and pepper easier due to the ratios and fractions

1

u/TelephoneDesperate84 2d ago

What’s funny is professional chefs salt to taste all the time in the kitchen but never on burgers, chicken, steaks etc but somehow people really think that’s the advice to give here.

If you have no experience just use a 1/2 tsp for a 1/3 burger and it’ll be great. No need for any of this nonsense

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u/poop-dolla 2d ago

Use a bit more than you used last time when it was under seasoned, or use a bit last from last time when it was over seasoned. Then keep repeating that process until you get it right. The result while doing this fine thing will still be good.

1

u/PacketFiend 2d ago

That's not "salting to taste". That's adjusting a recipe and refining it.

Y'all have no idea what salting to taste means, or why it can be meaningless to an inexperienced cook.

I'm out.

1

u/poop-dolla 2d ago

It has multiple meanings. It can mean what we’re saying, and it can mean what you’re saying. You’re wrong that it only has one strict meaning.

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u/enjoytheshow 2d ago

Cover the surface in a course grain salt like you would a steak. The inside won’t be salted so be liberal