I Learned the Best Tip for Making Burgers at Church

Here's how a smart money-saving tip became a go-to grilling hack.

This summer my goal is to make burgers just like Allrecipes Allstar Bri Evans. She has all the tips you could possibly need, including one secret ingredient she learned about from a friend at church. “I mentioned to a friend that I had a pound of beef thawed at home, but was considering buying more so I could make meatloaf,” Evans says. “She suggested adding some minced carrot to stretch the meat.” After giving this trick a try for meatloaf, Evans found it works equally well in a variety of ground beef recipes. “Burgers, tacos, meatballs–the options really are endless,” she says.

As we head into the heart of grilling season, her tip for making burgers with grated carrot deserves the spotlight. After all, according to The Hill, beef prices have gone up almost 8% since 2023, and are predicted to soar even further in 2024. Now more than ever, home cooks are looking for clever ways to feed their families economically. Evans uses this tip when she’s cooking for her husband and two children, “They all are fond of this recipe! It makes it overall cheaper and it sneaks in veggies. Win, win!” Plus, once cooked, you can’t even tell the burgers are chock-full of carrots, she says. “I haven’t had any of my picky nieces and nephews catch it yet! Seems to pass the picky eater test with flying colors!”.

Ingredients for the Best Burgers

Ground Beef: Evans uses high-quality beef that is 80% lean. She finds the high fat percentage is the ideal ratio for juicy burgers.

Carrots: Evans uses ¼ to ½ cup of minced carrot for every pound of beef. To get the perfect consistency, she uses the food processor to mince the carrots into small bits, similar in size to the ground beef. This ensures that the carrots are small enough to tenderize at the same rate at which the beef cooks. While Evans loves carrots since they are usually on hand, she has also used zucchini with similar success.

Pepper: Evans has a very clever method for seasoning her burgers. She freshly grates about 1 ½ tablespoons of black pepper onto a small plate, then she presses both sides of the raw burger patty directly in the pepper before cooking. “It looks like way too much pepper but actually intensifies the beef flavors," she says. Seasoning the burgers in this manner develops a beautiful seasoned exterior, much like you might find on a steak.

Butter: “Once the burgers are cooked, I immediately put a little butter on top. Beef LOVES fat. They’re total BFFs and again, this intensifies the beef flavor,” Evans says.

Salt: Much like she uses pepper, Evans has a unique approach to seasoning her burgers with salt. She likes to sprinkle the burgers with salt after they have been cooked, and dolloped with a little butter. “This makes it so much easier if you have family members who need to avoid salt,” she says. “Also, salt dries out meat. It’s used as a preservative to dry meats so it makes sense that it will remove some of the juice from the burger. Adding the salt after the meat has cooked allows all the juiciness to stay inside, plus the burgers are still hot enough to fully dissolve the salt and flavor everything. For those who adore salt, season the top and bottom.”

Bri Evans’ Best Burger Recipe:

You can divide the mixture into 4 or 6 patties, depending on your preference. Evans likes to grill hamburgers on a charcoal grill for added smoky flavor, but a gas grill works as well.

• 1 pound 80% lean ground beef

• ¼ cup to ½ cup finely minced carrot

• 1 ½ tablespoons freshly ground black pepper

• 2 tablespoons butter, cubed

• Salt, to taste

In a large bowl, combine the beef and grated carrots and mix until well combined. Form the beef mixture into 4 or 6 patties.

Add the pepper to a small plate, then coat both sides of each burger with pepper by pressing the patties directly into the ground pepper.

Prepare a gas or charcoal grill for medium-high heat grilling, or until you can hold your hand about an inch over the grates for 1 second.

Lay the burgers on the grill and cook with the lid down for 5-7 minutes. Raise the lid, flip the burgers, and continue grilling with the lid down for another 5-7 minutes, depending on how hot your grill is and how well-done you prefer your burgers. Cook until the internal temperature is 140°F for medium rare, or 160°F for well done.

Remove from the grill and top each burger with 1 or 2 cubes of butter and a sprinkle of salt to taste. Allow the residual heat of the burgers to melt the butter and dissolve the salt before serving. 

Read the original article on All Recipes.