How does Bubba do it?

G

GeorgiaPeach18

New member
Bubba Burgers don't curl up when cooked in a pan starting with the patty
frozen. The burgers I make from ground beef, that are about the same
size, curl up and end up browned around the edges and gray in the center
or having to be flipped several times to get even color. I tried some
other brands of 1/3 pound frozen burgers to see if it was me, and they
all curl up. Bubba burgers don't.

It's bloody convenient to be able to throw frozen burgers in the pan and
have them come out nicely rather than having to thaw them first, but
having them cook unevenly counters that convenience.

So, anybody have an idea how to make them lie flat other than putting
another pan on top of them?
 
On 2/28/2011 8:42 AM, J. Clarke wrote:
Bubba probably uses a burger press, a cast iron flat piece that sits on
top of the burger to hold it down and cause it to cook quickly. It is
heated on the grill and then put on top. Used to use one in my
grandmother's cafe back in the fifties, neat gadget for cooking burgers
quickly and still getting them brown and crusty. Here's a cast iron one
made by Lodge: http://tinyurl.com/4c932tp
 
On Feb 28, 11:45?am, George Shirley wrote:


Just to help keep Lodge afloat, (remembering recent Pyrex and Le C
thread), I'm ordering one. Thanks for the link.
 
In article ,
[email protected] says...

Meaning no offense, but I really don't see how your response has the
slightest relevance to the question posed. Please reread the question
carefully.

Perhaps you are unfamiliar with "Bubba Burgers". If so, here is the
link to the manufacturer: .

Since Bubba does not cook the hamburgers in question, there would seem
to be no opportunity for them to apply the technique you describe.
 
In article ,
[email protected] says...

I have wondered why the Bubaburgers don't cook the same as others
anyway. In the old days I cooked a burger till the juice ran out of the
top, then turned it over and finished it.. The Bubaburgers (TM) don't
ever raise juice to the top, they will just sit there and burn if you
try to use that timing method...
 
In article ,
"J. Clarke" wrote:


Looks to me that they make them like hand-formed burgers, thicker in the
middle and thinner on the edge. When they try to swell on the edge,
which frozen things like to do, they can't raise the burger up, because
the center is thicker. Other frozen burgers I've seen are more the
shape of hockey pucks, perfectly flat across. That's just my guess from
looking at the web site, and frozen burgers I've bought over the years.

--
Dan Abel
Petaluma, California USA
[email protected]
 
"J. Clarke" wrote:

patty
center
and


It's probably the way they're pressed, with the checkerboard stamp
pattern. I'd guess they're stamped after being frozen under some amount
of extreme pressure.

I enjoy the reduced fat 1/4 lb. bubba burgers.

I use the microwave to cook them. For one medium rare burger, take a
paper plate and put down a folded paper towel (or two of the select-a-
size sheets), then the burger, then another equal paper towel to cover.
Nuke on high (1,100W here) for 45 seconds. Grab the paper towels and
flip the burger over and nuke anther 45 seconds. Fast and tasty and much
of the fat is left in the paper towels. And of course, zero clean-up. I
add cheese after cooking.

Andy
 
On Mon, 28 Feb 2011 12:58:50 -0500, "J. Clarke"
wrote:


I've never heard of Bubba Burgers and their web site is not at all
informative; says nothing about how they are formed, nothing about how
much each weighs, and nothing about their physical size
(diameter/thickness). It's a real mystery meat mystery.

Their curling tells me that they are relatively thin and formed in a
mold under the pressure of a bus rolling over... heating releases the
pent up internal pressure causing them to curl. That they warn about
not defrosting before cooking or they'll fall apart tells me that
their meat is not ground by conventional means, more likely a
mechchanically separated product.

I've been making my own burgers for most of my life, never had one
curl yet... why pray tell do you buy (and EAT) that crap, don't you
have any self respect.
 
On Feb 28, 2:31?pm, Andy wrote:

Anybody new reading this should know that Andy is a pig with zero
cooking talent, but that's OK for him, since his standards are so
low. No reasonable person would cook a hamburger in a microwave.

--Bryan
 
In article , [email protected] says...

Interesting thought. Inspecting the ones in the freezer I find that
they are indeed slightly thicker in the middle, with one side flat and
the other about 1/16 inch convex. I'll have to try making some like
that and see if it works.
 
"J. Clarke" wrote in message
news:[email protected]...

I don't know either. I've been getting some precooked ones at Costco
although I've seen smaller packages at other stores. They are Quick N'Eat.
I get the plain ones but there is some other kind, maybe with cheese in
them? I don't remember. They don't curl and cook for just 1 minute in the
microwave.

My mom's patties never curled but as she cooked them she pressed down hard
on them with a pancake turner which in those days was likely metal. I know
this is the thing you are *not* supposed to do because it presses all the
juiciness out of them. And indeed it did. In those days I think the meat
was about 20% fat. We still wound up with dry burgers. But they were flat.

When I started making them, I put ice in the middle. I can't remember if I
saw this on a cooking show or read about it. I only did this a couple of
times because I don't recall it helping any. It was supposed to keep them
juicy but I think it is a rather silly notion because you are only adding
water to the meat. My burgers did curl a little but worse than that, they
often fell apart. Mine were also thicker than those that you buy frozen
because I don't like messing with the meat. I would shape it by hand and I
didn't care if it came out round or whatever because I don't usually put the
meat on buns. My mom had a little round shaping device to make the patties.
 
"George Shirley" wrote in message
news:[email protected]...

I have one of the Slider Stations that Billy Mays advertised before his
untimely demise. It has the piece that you put down on the top. My patties
still seem to curl up a bit and they really shrink. I have to put in a lot
more meat than you'd think you'd need. The measuring scoop they give you is
useless. They tell you to put a level scoop. That will give you a cooked
patty that is one bite's worth. Not enough to put on a slider bun. I have
to use a heaping scoop to get the right sized patty in the end, and I use
really lean beef.
 
"J. Clarke" wrote in message
news:[email protected]...

I have bought the Bubba Burgers. They are REALLY good! I love the ones
with the onions in them. I have tried to put onions in my burgers from
scratch and I have nothing but a mess that falls apart.
 
"Bryan" wrote in message
news:854ddd29-4c8c-4edb-82a2-2f8f07f5e47a@a11g2000pri.googlegroups.com...
On Feb 28, 2:31 pm, Andy wrote:

Anybody new reading this should know that Andy is a pig with zero
cooking talent, but that's OK for him, since his standards are so
low. No reasonable person would cook a hamburger in a microwave.

---
When I first got my microwave, I got a microwave cookbook and I did try
cooking a few things in there, including something with ground beef. I
can't remember now what it was. I didn't like the way meat came out in
there. It made nice moist muffins. Was fine for scrambled eggs and
pudding. Great for melting chocolate. But mostly I just use it for
reheating. I don't even boil water in it any more except for steaming up
the inside for cleaning. I have an electric kettle for that.
 
Re: [email protected]

Dan Abel wrote:


That is the opposite of how I've been taught to form a burger. It should be
a bit thinner in the center than the edges, because it's going to draw in
towards center. This technique helps the burger cook flatter and more evenly
with less splitting. Give it a try. And I never buy frozen machine made
burgers. I mean really, why?

MartyB
 
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