Josh's secret recipe for the best ever homemade beef burger patties. Perfect for burger night - especially if you put them in homemade hamburger buns!
This post was originally published in April 2015 – it has been retested, rephotographed, rewritten, and republished (to make it better for you!) in January 2019.
I do most of the cooking in our house but when it comes to homemade burgers I am given my marching orders.
I've made burger patties before, and they're ok I guess, but when Josh gets in the kitchen and makes a burger, I'm telling you, it's like no other burger you will ever eat. This is a big call, but I'm making it. Josh makes the BEST burger patties around. And I've eaten a lot of burgers.
Before I declared that I needed to post the recipe here, I'd never even watched him make the patties before. And I'll admit, even as I was watching I was thinking...hmmm, that is not how I would do it. I take it back. I take it all back. If I ever have to make a burger again (and I hope Josh always makes them for me) this is exactly how I will do them. And how you should too.
Here's what you need
I know that a lot of burger enthusiasts consider anything other than just ground beef and a bit of salt and pepper the wrong way to make a burger, but if that's you, let us try and convince you otherwise with this recipe! The ingredients list is a little longer than that but everything that goes into these burger patties helps to make them incredibly tasty and not at all dry like some burgers can be!
- Minced beef or ground beef/hamburger
- Eggs and breadcrumbs to help bind the burgers together
- Mixed herbs - this is a pre made mix of herbs that we can buy from the supermarket in New Zealand that is made up of any combination of thyme, rosemary, basil, oregano or sage. You can substitute this with your choice of herbs
- Crushed garlic - this can come from a jar or a crushed fresh garlic clove, your choice
- Beef stock cube or 1 teaspoon of powder
- BBQ sauce - this can be swapped for tomato sauce/ketchup or Worcestershire sauce and a little bit of brown sugar
How to make Josh's burgers
There are a couple of little tricks that Josh uses when he makes burgers. One is to combine all the ingredients except for the mince first. Crack 2 eggs into a bowl and whisk up. Add the breadcrumbs, mixed herbs, beef stock cube (don't leave this out...I'm pretty sure it's the secret ingredient) crushed garlic and a squeeze of BBQ sauce and mix that all up.
Then add your mince and get in there with your hands and mix it all together. Split the mixture into 4 and shape into patties. It's important to note that normal people might make 6 patties out of this much mince but Josh likes to make man patties so we get 4 jumbo patties out of it. Big is good! If you are making your own burger buns, make this recipe into 6 buns instead of 8 - this will get you the right sized bun for the bigger sized burger patties.
Now that we have a tribe of tiny people who also love to eat these burgers, we typically make them slightly smaller and I have also made them into mini slider patties which the kids love!
Coat them lightly in flour and put them in the freezer for about 30 minutes. Josh tells me they hold together much better this way and apparently they stay juicier when you cook them! I would definitely agree with that.
If you are making the burgers with fresh mince that hasn't already been frozen, you can freeze the patties at this point.
Once they've been in the freezer, take them out and put them in the frying pan over a medium heat. Fry for about 7-8 minutes on either side until they are cooked through.
✨Top Tip
Covering the pan with a lid will help the patties cook through better.
You can also cook them on the BBQ if you prefer - we love doing this in summer, especially if we are entertaining and are making a larger number of burgers!
Add all of your favourite burger fillings - homemade dill pickles are essential and serve it up with a side of fries with my homemade tomato sauce or a big bowl of potato salad if you are feeding a crowd, for the most epic burger night!
No other burger will ever compare!
Made this? Tag me on Instagram @thekiwicountrygirl and hashtag it #thekiwicountrygirl.
Josh's Homemade Burger Patties
Ingredients
- 500 grams minced beef
- 2 eggs
- ½ cup breadcrumbs
- 1 teaspoon mixed herbs
- 1 ½ teaspoon crushed garlic
- 1 beef stock cube (about 1 teaspoon powder)
- 2 tablespoon BBQ sauce
Instructions
- Crack 2 eggs into a bowl and whisk together. Add the breadcrumbs and whisk again. Add mixed herbs, garlic, beef stock cube and BBQ sauce and combine.
- Add mince and mix it all together using your hands.
- Split the mixture into 4 (or 6 if you prefer smaller burgers, see notes) and shape into patties. Coat each patty lightly in flour and place on a baking tray in the freezer for 30 minutes. This helps the patties to hold together better when cooking and makes them much juicier!
- Heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a frying pan over a medium-high heat and fry the patties until cooked through (about 7-8 minutes each side).
- Put the burger in a bun, add your salads and sauces and enjoy the best burger ever!
Notes
If you tried and loved this recipe, please leave a comment and a rating below!
Natty says
Truly this is the best burger patty recipe ever. Thank you for sharing. I made them for dinner last night, following the recipe exactly, with gluten-free flour due to wheat allergy. They turned oh la la so good.
So flavourful and juicy and just perfect.
Jimmy says
AMAZING 😻 I use this recipe every time I want burgers
Annabell Lane says
Very tasty
C King says
I'm sure I've written about this recipe before. I first made it around the time you published it, I can't remember exactly when. Seems I didn't print it out. As it's my favourite recipe, I'd like to know what you've changed please, I've always like it as it was. In support of my waistline and hips, I make the patties and freeze them, then eat them as part of a main meal with a salad or veggies. Such a quick flavorsome meal.
Laura says
Hi Colleen, we haven't made any changes to the recipe since it was originally published, I just updated photos and the actual writing in the post for this one! He nailed the recipe first time so we won't fix what ain't broke!!