Texas Size Burgers

One thing we love to do here in Cotterville is cook out on the grill!  We do this year round.  We have been known to fire up the grill when it's 105 outside and when its 30 outside.  The only time we put our plans off is if there is rain, which does not happen that often in Texas.  My husband Chris is a great grill master!!

Over the years I have tried many different things when making burgers.  We have played with the seasonings and how we pattie them.  We've adjusted the amount of meat we use and how big or thick we make the patties.  We have also gone from charcoal to gas and then back to charcoal.  We have gone through at least four grills.  Finally after 8 years , I think I'm happy with how I make them.

Let's start with the basics.  After using many different grills Chris has found his love.  We purchased a Weber and will NEVER own another brand of grill. (Disclaimer: Weber has no idea I'm writing this.  I am not being paid to advertise for them.)

Another must have if using charcoal (which why would you ever use gas...) is a charcoal starter.  This is very important because you can use the charcoal without having to use lighter fluid.  Lighter fluid greatly alters the taste of your food!

How it works is you fill the  container with charcoal and place either newspaper or wax underneath to light.   Make sure you have the starter sitting on a flat surface and when you go to empty the coals into the grill you use extreme care.  The starter is metal and gets VERY hot!  When you go to pour the coals out there will be some sparks that fly up so make sure the kiddos aren't around.

So now that we have the grill getting ready, it's time to patty the burgers.

I have never gone out and bought a hamburger press.  I don't really see the point when i have two very capable hands.  Some people mix in the seasonings with the meat and then patty the burgers.  I don't do this. 

I purchase one of the prepackaged meat rolls.  The three or five pound.  You can get very lean meat even in the tubes.  I cut the paper off and leave the meat in it's nice tight roll.  I then use a very sharp knife and slice the roll into equal portions.  Then using the palm of my hand I gently flatten out each portion.  Because the roll was round to begin with, this makes for nice big round burgers.  You can make them as thick or thin as you want.  One important note is that meat shrinks while cooking, so be sure to make your patties a little bit larger than the bun.  

I then use a little seasoned salt and some Worcestershire sauce. (some do not have the sauce of them, I ran out!)  That is all there is to it.  They are very easy to make and VERY yummy to eat!

This picture is the done patties all ready for the grill.  I would tell you the cooking process but grilling out is not my area.  Chris does that and I ask no questions about how it is done!