Lean Burger Patties
This easy-to-make juicy extra lean ground beef burger patty recipe is so tasty that everyone will love it.
Ingredients
- 1 pound extra lean ground beef
- 1 medium-size grated onion
- ½ tsp. baking soda
- ½ tsp. garlic powder
- ½ tsp. onion powder
- 2 tbsp. avocado oil
- ½ tsp. kosher salt or to taste
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper or to taste
Instructions
- Grind the onion. Use a grater or food processor to grind the onion. Place the extra lean ground beef in a bowl and add to the grated onion.
- Combine the ingredients. Add the onion, garlic powder, baking soda, salt, and pepper to the bowl. Mix all the ingredients well to combine, do not overdo it.
- Divide and shape. To make the burger patties, take a knife and divide the mixture into eight equal portions and shape them into balls, and flatten them using your hands.
- Cook to the desired doneness. Let the cast iron skillet heat up well over a medium-high flame over the stovetop. Add frying oil to the skillet. Let the oil heat until shiny. Transfer burger patties into skillet four at a time. Let them cook for about 4-6 minutes until the desired doneness is on each side or until golden brown.
- Serve. Serve it with your favorite side dishes, and ENJOY!
Notes
Tips
- Use a cast iron skillet. To make the perfect burgers, fry burger patties in a cast-iron skillet. This will make for better searing to create a browning crust.
- Use avocado oil. Use a high smoking point cooking oil like avocado oil.
- Make a double batch. Double the cooked recipe and save the rest in the fridge for another day or make a freezer stock. Use the same recipe to make turkey burgers.
- Do not skip onion and garlic. Add onion powder and garlic powder to boost the flavor.
- Let it rest. Let the patties sit in baking soda for five minutes before frying them. This will tenderize meat further.
- Adjust cooking time. If you want your burger patties medium and red inside, cook them for less time.
- Turn them once. Let the burger patties fry evenly on one side before turning them over.
- Make them flat. Using baking soda in the recipe makes the burgers somewhat puffed up which I like. But, you can make an indent/depression in the middle of the patties before cooking them so that they will stay flat after cooking.
- Customize protein. Substitute ground beef with ground chicken breast or turkey breast, or salmon fillet.
- Make them into the desired thickness. Make burger patties thin like mine for dinner hamburger patty or thick as a steakhouse burger. Adjust for cooking time.
- Make them vegan. Use grounded chickpeas instead of meat and 1 tbsp. flour to hold the patties together.
- Make them Vegetarian. Use grounded chickpeas or your favorite grounded legumes. In this case, you can use 1 egg to hold the patties better together.
- Use other seasonings. I made my burgers simple as a basic recipe. Use your favorite spices and herbs, and sauces to your taste. This is an easy way to customize the flavor without adding calories. (e.g. cayenne pepper, cumin, turmeric, paprika, Italian seasonings, steak seasonings, scallion, dill, cilantro, or parsley. Worcestershire sauce, ketchup, bbq, or soy sauce).
- Make them spicy. Use more black pepper, chili powder, or red pepper flake.
- Add in other vegetables. You can add almost any vegetable to make these burger patties more nutritious. 4 tbsp. of crunchy or starchy vegetables all work great. Finely chop carrot, celery, pepper, spinach, or kale or ground potatoes, peas, beets, or butternut squash well using a food processor and remove their liquid. you can use 1 egg to hold the patties together better.
- Use other cooking methods. Another great way to use this recipe is to bake the burger patties on a baking sheet in a super hot oven ( 500 °F), air fryer, or grill them in the oven or outside. Follow the above instructions for the perfect and juiciest hamburger patties regardless of the method of cooking every time.
- Use them in a stew, soup, chili, meatball, or meatloaf. Shape them into tiny little balls and add them to your favorite sauce, such as tomato sauce, and make a stew. You could add them to your favorite soup recipe for an additional protein bonus. Or add them to your beloved chili recipe. Use them in your meatball or meatloaf.
- Substitute baking soda. Mix 4 tbsp. of bread crumbs/crushed crackers, 1 egg, and 1 tbsp. milk and add it to the meat mixture. This helps to hold the meat's natural juice in the burgers.
- I used this 10-inch cast-iron skillet to fry the burger patties. Everything tastes extra delicious when cooked in cast-iron cookware.
- Grater.
- Store these cooked extra lean ground beef burger patties in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Whenever ready to serve them, let them heat up low and slow on a stovetop or microwave them for a few seconds.
- You can freeze them cooked in a freezer-safe bag for up to 3 months. Let them thaw in the fridge the night before, then heat them on the stovetop or microwave them.
- Serve them as a classic burger. Serve them like classic burgers with hamburger buns, slices of tomatoes and onions, cheddar or mozzarella cheese, lettuce, and fried potatoes with your favorite hamburger patties toppings, sauces, and condiments- e.g. pickles, mayo, mustard.
- Serve them with grains. Rice, quinoa, biscuits, naans, or flatbread are great options.
- Serve them low-carb. Serve them with sauteed green beans, broccoli, slaw, or spring salad.
Note: The provided nutrition information is an estimate for the entire recipe, the calorie accuracy nutritional facts, unit and portion conversion are calculated by a third party app. and are not guaranteed.