How much meat in the ideal hamburger?

[Conan The Librarian]

The original McDonalds hamburgers started as 1/10th pound of burger, then cooked. 1/4 pounders started as four ounces uncooked. Now the weight is creeping up to 1/3 pound as a normal larger burger. Of course there are doubles and triples of everything available. How much meat do you like in your burger patty? I've seen people make them up to about a pound on their home barbecues.
 
When I make them at home, I'm using right around 1/4 pound. That gives me a good size burger that's very satisfying, and I only have them occasionally. Melted cheese? Ah, but of course! Kraft deli deluxe American slices, a truly superb topping for a burger.

[flintlock]

One third of a pound for me....I dice onions and cook them inside and melt cheese over them...I like sweet pickles and catsup as a topping...

In a restaurant I go Carolina style with slaw, onions, chili
and mustard...

[Old Syko]

One third of a pound for me....I dice onions and cook them inside and melt cheese over them...I like sweet pickles and catsup as a topping...

In a restaurant I go Carolina style with slaw, onions, chili
and mustard...

Yep!  This pretty much covers it.  If the slaw is made with red cabbage, so much the better and lots of onions.

[m-g Willy]

1/4 pound here with a clove of garlic miced and one jap pepper chopped mixed in before cooking.
Top with a thick slice of tomato and smear cream cheese on a toasted bun (that's right CREAM CHEESE)  a shot of mustard and you got the best burger in the world!

[kynardsj]

Every burger I've grilled for a long time has been deer burger. I take a 1 pound package and make 3 burgers or 2 HB steaks from it. Very little shrinkage. I chop onions and mash them into the meat and then turn the patties black with Southern Flavor seasoning. Throw a slice of sharp cheddar on them when they come off the grill. My wife and friends call the seasoning gunpowder. Mighty fine eating.

[hunt-m-up]

About 1/3 pound grilled with garlic pepper to season. Saute' some onions and mushrooms together, throw them on top add a slice of provolone or swiss and put it on a toasted bun.

[PowPow]

...turn the patties black with Southern Flavor seasoning...My wife and friends call the seasoning gunpowder...

kynardsj, on my last batches of venison baconburgers (1/3 lb each for the record) and backstraps, I used Mis' Rubin's Original Black Magic Charcoal Seaoning. It looks like gunpowder, also. Probably because of the charcoal in it. When I was a kid, my dad would buy steaks at Penny Profit on S Hull St in Montgomery, and they put it on the steaks when you bought them. I think the store is closed now, but they sell the seasoning in B'ham. Probably the same basic recipe you are using.

[hillbill]

ill pull out a pack of deer burger, i grind and pak my self but dont weigh it. they prob ave around 1.3 lbs.add a bit of oatmeal, soy sauce, chopped onions, garlic and salt and pepper and maybe hot sauce.it makes 3 good burgers or two huge ones.grill them and add big slabs of homegrown maters,homegrown lettuce and slices of oinoins and yu got a burger!if i got sum bacon ill throw a strip or two on the grill and add that also.if your talkin 1 pound of meat im sayin 2 burgers.or 4 if yu make them thin like  a lot of people do.add a grilled jalapeno or two and yu got a feast.

[Curtis]

I make each patty about 1/2 pound before it is cooked.  I  was kind of  a hamburger purist before I tried the bbqpitboys.com whiskey burger recipe: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4haX9vRwX7w  Now I make them like this except I don't grind my own beef and I use a little bbq sauce instead of the 'chup.
 
Curtis

[kynardsj]

PowPow, I've had those steaks too from Penny Profit but it's been a while. The seasoning is close to Southern Flavor. Used to be a Gastons IGA grocery in Selma, Al that had a seasoning like it too. Just the smell of them in the cooler would make you hungry. The Southern Flavor seasoning is made in Selma too. All this talk of steaks and burgers has got me hungry.

[spikehorn]

I would have to agree on 1/3 pound burger. My wife and son like to make them small and eat two of them. Thiers are probly under 1/4 pound. I just like a big juicey burger with some season salt, bacon and blue cheese.

[powderman]

I like MEAT, the bigger the better, 1/3-1/2 lb each. For the grill I mix terriyaki, worsheshire  and soy sauce, garlic pwdr, either blackened seasoning or mccormicks pwdr steak gravy mix, dried onions too. Mix it well and I usually let it chill in the fridge for several hours, but not necessary. Form into patties on foil, top with mushrooms and sliced onions. Wrap well and put on low to med grill wrapped side dwn to cook the onions first then turn at 1/2 way point. The whole thing needs 12-15 minutes with the meat being about an inch or so thick. Yummy on bread or just as it is. POWDERMAN. 

[chefjeff]

Well! lotsa good replies. Been grinding my own deer,pig,and cow for over 25 years.Today I put it up clean and lean,just enough fat to make it good.Mostly mix a little with it later,not taking room up in my freezers and not freezer burning. When you talk weight in a burger, lets talk FINISHED weight.Like when the burger meets the bun! Then it needs to be .25 to .50 pounds,to your preference,with your choice of premium surroundings.A good cheeseburger is one of lifes most rewarding culinary experiences.

[Bugflipper]

I don't know how much they weigh but I would say they are 2" or so when done. I don't want the extra bread for two burgers. I use ground chuck with a bunch of seasonings mixed in, usually steak seasoning salt, garlic powder, salt and pepper. 2 patties with a slice of cheese in between then pinched on the sides. Apple, plum or peach for smoke. When the cheese starts bubbling out it's done. Lettuce, mayo, cayenne, tomato, pickles and onions to top it off.

[Empty Quiver]

1/3 pound , idealy it will be about 1/3 beef and 2/3 elk venison, it needs the fat for a decent burger. Cook these to medium over a hot bed of coals. They don't need any smoking, that is for chicken or pork. Start a good 1/4" thick slice of colby cheese a melting on the patty, give it a minute or so and pull it off the grill.
 
Put those burgers on a good bakery fresh roll with a slice of Vidalia onion, some bread and butter pickles, brown mustard, and lettuce, fresh garden tomatoes or none at all. A side of mustard potato salad, and two ice cold Leinenkugal Red Lagers. For a bit of a change I'll add a few more of the Leiny's.
 
That gentlemen is a perfect burger meal. Argue amongst yourselves about the brand of mustard, the rest is non-negotiable. Imperfect meals may substitute any of the above ingredients.

[Conan The Librarian]

I have taken a liking to sliders lately, about 1/8 pound on a Kings Hawaiian dinner roll. Two of those. Fried minced onion, two pickle slices, yellow mustard, and ketchup for toppings. Yum.
 
(Kings Hawaiian is loaded with chemicals to presumably preserve it, so I avoid it except as a treat food.)