Hamburger

Camp tips

• • You can add a pat of butter or some cheese to the center of each burger before cooking.
• • You can use almost any type of minced (ground) meat to make hamburgers, including pork , chicken , turkey , lamb , bison , venison , ostrich , or even a meat substitute such as Quorn . Some variations of hamburgers call for mixing different types of meat (e.g. ground beef and ground pork).
• • Optional additions to burger patties prior to cooking include: black pepper , chili , Worcestershire Sauce , soy sauce , basil , oregano and parsley , minced garlic or garlic powder, onion flakes or diced onion, mustard , olive oil , cheese , butter, hot sauce , kosher salt, bread crumbs , and crushed crackers.
• • Depending on the quality of your local beef, for example, you may wish to add some beef stock to improve the flavour. If you add any liquids, mix the ground beef well then squeeze out the extra juice when forming patties.
• • Do not over-mix the meat—the burger will be tough, dense, and dry. If you mix herbs or spices in, do so by hand and be sparing. You can season the outside of the patties.
• • Burgers can also be smoked on a grill. Smoked burgers will appear red and glazed on the outside, but browned on the inside. Smoking a burger before grilling it is an excellent way to seal in the flavorful juices.
• • Hand-made burger patties change shape during cooking, with the edges shrinking in toward the middle. This causes the burger to be more ball-shaped than originally formed. To circumvent this, press the raw patties down much thinner than you want the finished burger to be.
• • Let the meat get to room temperature before cooking. This will help the burgers cook evenly and fully.
• • Keep perishables at 40°F (4°C) or below in a monitored cooler. Discard food left above that temperature for over 2 hours, or 1 hour above 90°F (32°C). Use potable water, wash hands, and pack out scraps. Never cook inside a tent. Check local fire restrictions. Cook ground meat to 160°F (71°C).