With Labor Day coming fast I wanted to share a couple tips to help you take your regular hamburgers and hot dogs to the next level. Don’t get me wrong, there is nothing at all wrong with some cheap hot dogs and buns from the grocery store. I would throw back 3 or 4 of those almost any time they were set in front of me. But occasionally it is worth the money and effort to take things up a notch.
Labor Day is the perfect time for this, especially this year. Chances are you aren’t going to a big Labor Day cookout (and you shouldn’t!!!) but this is still a great time to fire up the grill for an end of summer fling with the family. Take this opportunity to treat your family to something special before school starts back up, the fall hits, and we have to deal with what is sure to be a crazy election.
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Tip 1: Use better buns
99% of the time when it comes to hamburger and hot dog buns I use some simple buns I grab at the grocery store. More than once I have just used some slices of white bread. But if you want to make a small change that has a noticeable difference for your burgers and dogs spend a few bucks and get some high quality buns.
Bakerly Brioche Hot Dog buns are a great alternative to the $0.99 cent buns you can pick up at your local grocery store. Brioche is a french style enriched bread which means it contains eggs and usually more fat (butter in most cases) than regular bread. The eggs and fat give the bread a more delicate texture and bring some great flavor as well.
I tried these Bakerly buns for the first time a couple months back and was sold on the first bite. My wife and kids loved them too. They run $4.99 for a 6 pack of hot dog buns and a 4 pack of hamburger buns.
If you look at the ingredients on these buns they are fairly simple: wheat flour, eggs, sugar, water, canola oil, nonfat milk. natural flavor, butterfat, salt, mono- and diglycerides, yeast, milk protein, deactivated yeast, enzymes, beta carotene (color), acerola extract.
At $5 a pack these aren’t the buns you will want to use all the time but if you do want to treat your family they are a great little splurge now and then. They ship free on orders of $30 or more so you will need to get a few packs to hit that threshold. Bakerly also sells other products like rolls, bread, croissants, and some great lunchbox treats like crepes and pancakes.
Give Bakerly buns a try for your next cookout and taste the difference a good bun can make.
Tip 2: Use Better Meat
Of course you knew this was coming. Using quality meat is probably the biggest upgrade you can make if you are wanting to improve your burgers and dogs. Again, nothing at all wrong with grocery store hot dogs or a pack of frozen burgers most of the time. But do you really want to make a special hamburger or hot dog? Get better meat.
For hamburgers one way to get better meat is grind it yourself. Grinding your own beef allows you to tailor the fat content and flavor to your personal taste. I tend to like burgers on the fattier side so a 70/30 lean to fat ratio (even 60/40 when I am feeling dangerous) is my preference. Most grocery store ground beef is 80/20 or maybe 73/27 at the most. My go-to blend is 2 parts chuck, 1 part brisket flat, and 1 part short ribs. The chuck and short ribs bring some fattiness and the brisket brings a great flavor. Feel free to add in some sirloin if you want an extra beefy punch.
Of course to grind your own meat you will need a meat grinder. There are attachments you can get for your stand mixer that can do the job. Some people even use their food processor in a pinch. But a high quality meat grinder will give you a better finished product. The Meat! .5 hp grinder pictured above ($349.99) is a great option. It will grind over 5 lbs of meat a minute. Speed in grinding is important. The faster you can grind the colder the meat and fat will be which is essential to turning out a good grind. If you are going to grind meat regularly invest in a good grinder. For once a year? Yeah, you can get by with the mixer attachment.
But chances are most of you aren’t interested in grinding your own meat. Well, you are in luck. There are some great sources to order some high quality ground beef and hot dogs.
Porter Road ground beef is some of the best I have tried for burgers. I did a burger taste test and Porter Road came out on top.
You can buy a pound of ground beef from Porter Road for $9 or you can get one pound packs of premade patties in half pound, third pound, or quarter pound sizes for $10. These burgers have a great beefy flavor to them and also a good amount of fat. All Porter Road beef is dry aged for 14 days which is right about where beef starts to take on some of the complex dry aged flavors.
Another great option is American Wagyu ground beef from Snake River Farms. Since this American Wagyu beef the fat is on a different level than most other ground beef. This gives the burgers an almost silky texture. Snake River grinds their beef a bit finer than Porter Road. I prefer a bit coarser grind but again, the smooth texture of the Snake River Farms beef is an awesome experience.
The Snake River Farms American Wagyu ground beef will run you $14 a pound but if you want to save a bit and stock up they also have a 12 pound pack for $125. Trust me, you will want to get the 12 pack.
If you want to try something totally different give some grass fed bison burgers from The Honest Bison a shot.
But let’s not just get some high quality burgers. High quality hot dogs deserve some love too.
Snake River Farms also sells some American Wagyu gourmet hot dogs. When I normally cook hot dogs I usually go with something like Nathan’s or Hebrew National. These Snake River Farms hot dogs are on a totally different level. Once you take a bit you will understand. The texture and flavor are just about exactly what you want from a good hot dog. Spices don’t overpower the beefy flavor and the meat is a nice, smooth texture with a good bite to it.
The 5 pound pack of Snake River Farms hot dogs (25 dogs) will run $49 or you can buy a 1 pound pack (5 dogs) for $12.
So get some great buns and some great meat to take your next cookout up a notch. You notice I didn’t mention condiments or toppings here. Honestly, it is hard to beat French’s Yellow Mustard and Heinz ketchup on a burger or hot dog. Yeah, I do occasionally throw some ketchup on my hot dogs. High quality hot dogs like the ones from Snake River don’t really need it but if you do decide to go with some cheap dogs? Go ahead and give it a squirt of ketchup. I won’t judge you.
As far as burger toppings American cheese, bacon, and some pickles are about all I need. Blue cheese is awesome too. Some grilled pineapple also brings some great flavor and texture to the party. Garden fresh tomatoes are ripe now as well.
You have been stuck at home most of the summer to now is a great time to treat yourself and your family to some high quality buns, burgers, and hot dogs.
