Hello friends!

How many of you purchase hamburger patties from the freezer section of the grocery store? If you do, I want to show you how easy it is to make my Amazing DIY Hamburger Patties at home that taste way way better, save you $$$ and cook up nice and juicy! I’ve been making these all summer for my family and they love them :0)

Back to school time is approaching, but that doesn’t mean you have to put the backyard barbecue grill away. There’s plenty of warm weather cooking to be done before the chill of fall sets in. If you’re able to purchase ground beef in bulk at say, Sam’s Club, Costco, Winco, etc., making your own hamburger patties makes a lot of sense. You may think the only thing involved in making a DIY beef patty is buying and shaping the ground beef into round patties and storing them in the freezer. Well, there are a few more steps that will ensure that your patties turn out amazing every time. And one of those involves a weird secret ingredient!

Amazing DIY Hamburger Patties Recipe

One of the coolest things I love about cooking is that every time I (or you) cook or bake, I’m essentially participating in a chemistry experiment. One secret to my Amazing DIY Hamburger Patties is something called a ‘panade’ (french word), which is essentially a slice of bread mashed up into a bit of milk. Weird, I know. But it’s all about the chemistry and proteins and crazy science stuff. The panade is the secret to getting really juicy burgers. So I’ll make my panade first, then add in my seasonings and an egg, and whisk it all together.

I’m not afraid to get my hands dirty for the sake of great food (and great rocks, after all I was a geologist in my former life) and I’ll mix in the ground beef by hand. You can use a spatula or large spoon if you like, but it takes longer to mix in thoroughly. So put your big girl/boy pants on and get the job done! Hahaha, I’m just teasing of course :0)

I use my super handy Shape + Store from Burger Master. It forms 8 quarter pound patties at once, so it saves me a bunch of time. It’s designed to go right into the freezer, and has a nice air-tight seal to keep freezer burn out. When I’m ready to grill them, they pop out super easy and right onto the grill! I love this product so much I’m giving away a brand new Shape + Store to a lucky reader! Be sure to enter the Rafflecopter Giveaway below!

A Few Tips

If you don’t have a Shape + Store, shape each patty by hand or use another burger press. You’ll use about 1/2 cup of meat for an average sized patty (I say that very loosely, you’ll discover what size you like). When I make mine by hand, I’ll make a little depression in the center. When the meat cooks, it contracts and the depression evens out so your patty looks more like a flat patty than a puffy pillow :0)

If you plan on storing them in the freezer without a handy Shape + Store, be sure to separate each patty with a square of parchment paper and place them in an airtight container. I’ll cut up a bunch of squares and keep them handy when I’m making patties in bulk. They’ll separate much easier when you’re ready to pop ’em on the grill.

Here’s a sneak peek at what’s next for these Amazing DIY Hamburger Patties…

a Rafflecopter giveaway