Low – fat, down – sized burgers
I like burgers. I love burgers. But I don’t like soggy burgers. I dislike even more those with too much extenders, a trick becoming so popular among restaurants. So, I prefer making burgers at home. I use ground sirloin so that I get meat instead of fat. And I grill my burgers instead of frying them.
And in a world obsessed with up-sizing everything, I down-size my burgers. See, my doctor recommends eating five to six small meals a day rather than the usual three regular sized meals. So, instead of the usual hamburger buns, I use the smaller pan de sal which I toast before assembling my sandwich.
Making burgers might seem like the simplest kitchen project — and maybe it is — but here are a few tricks to enjoy better-tasting and less fattening burgers.
Start with good-quality meat. Commercial burger patties are convenient but you really don’t know what’s in them. From experience, they taste terrible, the texture even more so. It isn’t so hard making burgers from scratch so why settle for something inferior?
To make 12 burgers to fit into pan de sal, you will need 550 grams of ground sirloin, a large onion, 4 cloves of garlic, a teaspoonful of salt, half a teaspoonful of pepper and a teaspoonful of your favorite herb. I recommend tarragon.
Peel and finely chop the onion, peel and grate the garlic then mix all the ingredients together. Divide into 12 equal portions and, with your hands, form each portion into a ball. Flatten the meat ball between the palms of your hands, pushing the sides in to make the patty more compact. Keep at it until the patty is less than half an inch thick.
Preheat the grill then arrange the patties so that they aren’t too close to each other. This will help them brown more evenly because the amount of hot air circulating between each is uniform.
Why grill them? You already chose sirloin because it is low in fat; why defeat the purpose by adding more fat during cooking? For best results, choose a ribbed grill instead of a flat skillet (the kind used in fat food joints which are coated with oil prior to cooking). A ribbed grill means the burgers do not touch the fat that drips off during cooking.
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Hi Connie, you made me crave for burgers…
hmmmn… looks good! pero i will add pipino, tsalap! :p
Hi Connie! I read a burger recipe that included oatmeal for the patty. Ever tried it?
Oatmeal in meat loaf, yes, not in burgers. Meat loaf tasted weird, Nick.
hi connie. where can you buy a stove top grill? and how much? thanks.
In most stores selling cooking utensils. In Gourdo’s, Living Well, Cooks Exchange… how much depends on the material and the brand.
Naku, ang sarap nito, lalo na kapg may ice-cold soda pa. hay.
i just bought my ground sirloin this afternoon for the burger that i’m craving for.almost the same recipe tayo connie. i just add some fresh milk to the beef mixture and an egg (turo ng nanay ko). i store it overnight then bukas kakainin.i also prefer the small sized patties pang pandesal, masarap yung medyo tostado. yummylicious!
Try dry-roasting then crushing a teaspoon or so of fennel seeds to mix into the hamburger mixture, it’s amazing! I’ve also read a recipe where they add crumbled feta cheese into lamb burgers – I haven’t tried it yet though because lamb mince tend to be really fatty.
Here’s a tip for anyone worried about the fat content in cheese – if you absolutely can’t give up full-fat cheese for low fat (no-brainer for me tbh, low fat cheese tastes like cardboard), go for intensely flavoured, preferably hard cheese e.g. vintage cheddar. A little goes a very long way. I also buy the best I can afford… cheap cheese is made with less quality ingredients, and the price keeps me from buying them too often. I’m a budget shopper, lol.
When I’m without cheese I use avocado or hummus for the rich buttery texture. Avocado on toast is yummy!
In Australia a hamburger with everything includes
beetroot
egg
bacon
and pineapple
The beetroot makes a good hamburger great….
Ang cute naman ng burgers mo Ate Connie! I love the idea of pandesal for burgers.
i do the same, ii make my own burger.
it taste better, and make my own fries too
from scratch. love the oven sweet potato fries.
lots of recall of ground meat lately, so i grind my own.i choose kitchen appliances for christmas and birthdays instead of jewelry,i got this kitchen aid
with meat grinder attachment and pasta maker.
hey, thanks for this! i’ll try it out rightaway
it looks like something i can store in the freezer to cook some other time
Re oatmeal in meatloaf: actually your meatloaf would taste better if you’ll first grind your oatmeal in a blender, soak it in milk and let it rise a bit before you mix it in your meatloaf. Here in Sweden we use oatmeal in Swedish meatballs to save a little on meat and to add that cholesterol-lowering effect. These meatballs are to die for.
Connie, I am an avid fan of yours! More power!
Angie, I see. I’ll try doing that and give it a go next time I make meatballs or meat loaf. I just cooked meatloaf for tonight’s dinner. Sayang, I didn’t see your comment earlier.
I’m sure your burger taste much better and healthier than BK, McD or Wendy’s. I can eat at least 6 of that in one setting.
I’ll second the loving burgers thing. They might not be cool in posh restaurants but there’s nothing better than a perfectly home cooked version (but NEVER the fast food chain variety)!
I just couldn’t help but laugh out loud at a typo you made above “…the kind used in fat food joints..” hahaha! they are FAT food joints! Homemade burgers are certainly healthier and yummier!
LOL I didn’t realize… I usually correct typos but I’ll leave that one in. LOL
parang WHITE CASTLE burgers ah
dear ms. connie,
i noticed that tarragon seems to be your favorite herb. i checked it on internet, and according to wikipedia, it tastes like anise? i don’t like the taste of anise, could you give some other herb for this burger recipe?
i’m living in japan and some herbs i noticed i noticed in the supermarket are parsley and oregano. can’t remeber the other herbs but i did not see tarragon.
thanks and more power!
rea
Try thyme, Rea. But before you balk at tarragon, I suggest you try it first. “Tastes like” is often subjective.
Hi Ms. Connie! Wow!!! Kakagutom! I will definitely try this one tomorrow. I have a few questions din po. A teaspoonful of tarragon means fresh or dried tarragon? If fresh po, gaano po karami if dried herbs ang gagamitin ko? I’m sooo excited for tomorrow. I’m making a bunch for my friends at work as well so my next dilemma would be to bring it to work assembled already or if we assemble it when its time to eat. Worrying kse about presentation and if it will be soggy by the time we eat it at the end of our shift. But i guess, i’ll try bring it assembled and wrapped in wax paper then if it doesn’t work, no choice but to have a picnic at the pantry. Thanks a lot Ms. Connie for sharing your wonderful and yummy creations.
Rule of thumb: If recipe calls for dried herbs and you’re using fresh, use twice as much.
I normally use fresh herbs.
Thank you po.. its much easier to remember yung dried to fresh conversion than fresh to dried. This time, i wont forget. Thanks, thanks po!
Wowwwww!!!! Just cooked a batch for baon later… Didn’t have a stovetop grill and didn’t know how to use the grill we had na de uling. Was afraid na it might break up and fall between the grill bars. Pero it tasted so good! I used thyme instead kse akala ko meron akong tarragon, la pala. Sarap to the max! Can imagine na mas masarap if I grilled it.
Why buy burgers when you can make your own at home? I’m thinking of combining your smoked ham and cheese toasties with this. Just thinking about it feels like heaven na. Haaaaaayyyy. 
Will send you pics soon of the reasons why my friends at work love me so much… heheheheh…