The plus and minus of making your own burgers at home.

Pluses: Better food (we make a really good burger), better drinks and without markup or tips, don't have to go anywhere, no need for reservations, you can cook them how you want them, costs less.
Minuses: A bit more work

We're eating out less and less. Restaurant food is pretty indifferent and the costs are high.

We do have occasional burgers and onion rings at A&W however - especially when we have a coupon. A million dollars is made $10 at a time.
 
The whole house stinks of grease for the next 2 days for just one burger.
That's what a gas grill is for. 😖

Pluses: We buy good ground beef on sale, make our own patties and freeze them with a vacuum thing.
Nobody else touches our food.
Being retired a little extra time doesn't matter.

Minuses: 0
 
Grilling them is the way to go. No odors in the house. Simple cleanup afterwards.
Yeah, we just bought a new Weber propane grill. It's our second new grill after 45 years of grilling. We've had 4 grills altogether with 2 being hand me downs (one from a neighbour who couldn't figure out how to replace a worn out burner, and a pretty good one inherited from my father in law).
 
Grilling them is the way to go. No odors in the house. Simple cleanup afterwards.
Fine if you making a bunch for a crowd, but too much hassle for one burger to drag out the grill from the basement. Maybe twice a year when I get an itch for one. Not to mention I'm trying to cut down on food like that.
 
I like a thick patty. Have not figured out how to make one yet. I can make a huge ohmne but when I cook it it ends up the size of an oreo.
All meat shrinks when you cook it but if it shrinks too much the meat has a very high moisture content because it's nasty meat or you cook at too high a temperature, or both.
 
Fine if you making a bunch for a crowd, but too much hassle for one burger to drag out the grill from the basement. Maybe twice a year when I get an itch for one. Not to mention I'm trying to cut down on food like that.
Why keep your grill in the basement? Ours is right outside the patio door ready for use.

Grilled food doesn't have to be bad for you. We've had chicken on skewers (Souvlaki style and Barbecue style) in the last 3 days. The other day was rare tuna with a large Mediterranean salad. All grilled on the barbecue.
 
I love thick burgers that are still quite pink inside. I guess medium rare.

If that scares you, just buy a cheap chuck roast, sear the outside quick and grind it into burger yourself.
I would not do it with store bought hamburger.
 
I source my ground beef from the Amish community in bulk frozen so it’s pretty good stuff to start.

I season my hamburger before forming patties and grill them (gas grill or my 22” Weber charcoal grill with lump charcoal and a wood chip smoke flavor addition). I find they come out pretty good this way. Or even fried in a large skillet on my range during the cold winter months. Not a high heat so you don’t “fill the house with burned grease smell”. I haven’t had that problem.

I’m considering a flat top grill but I don’t want to get that yet until I complete the deck expansion (wraps around to my front door from the sliding door side). 😎
 
Fine if you making a bunch for a crowd, but too much hassle for one burger to drag out the grill from the basement. Maybe twice a year when I get an itch for one. Not to mention I'm trying to cut down on food like that.
I cook for two. I tend to cook eight at the time and vacuum pack and freeze those we don’t eat right away.
 
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My kids and their friends told me my smash burgers are better than Shake Shack…that’s good enough for me.
 
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