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!
Janette says
This is my go to beef pattie/rissole recipe. Thank you.
Karen Spencer says
THE best ever patties....my 'to go to' recipe!!!
Barry says
Hi
These are the bomb. Goes well with venison as well.
Del Boy says
Hello Kiwi Girl. Far North here. This recipe works for me. I dislike BBQ sauce, preferring a little more bite. So brown sauce and a slurp of Lea n Perrins Wocestershire sauce did the trick. Think about a small amount of Cayenne pepper.
Brett Young says
I know I've commented here before maybe a couple years ago.
But where does it stop?
Now I change stuff up.
I double the mix so I can make 1/2 lb burgers now
Add chopped garlic cloves and onion, maybe a healthy teaspoon of crushed chillies.
Why stop at BBQ sauce?
I'm from New Zealand 🇳🇿 so we have Whitlock's Tomato chutney.
Also a favorite from the south is Tuimato sauce (be sure to Google them, yes, it's a thing).
Maybe a splash of 'The original HP sauce' (that's an English flavor).
These are singular changes and not all at once of course.
But whatever happens, I always start with the original guide.
I Google search Josh's burger recipe.
With this, Christmas is going to be fantastic.
Regan Taylor says
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Absolutely the Best Burger Patties Ever!
Josh’s Homemade Burger Patties are hands down the best recipe I’ve ever tried! They’re super easy and quick to make, yet taste like something straight from a top restaurant. Juicy, flavorful, and perfectly seasoned — they’ve completely replaced any store-bought option and even outshine a lot of burgers I’ve had dining out. They’re now my go-to for every BBQ or homemade burger night. I can’t recommend this recipe enough!
Alain Quenette says
Good thanks for homemade Burger patties
Baxter says
If that is your best burger, you've been missing out. There are two issues with this, the first is the frying, BBQ is the only way to cook a burger pattie, the flavour profile means you don't need to add all the extra gubbins. Salt, pepper, some garlic powder.
Binding by putting in the freezer and adding egg and crumbs? I've never found that necessary with good mince, the mince itself holds together fine whether I smash it or keep it a fattie.
What sets a burger apart is the salad you add and the sauce, and of course frying or raw onions, I prefer raw, the Mrs prefers cooked. Burgers are our go to Friday night meal after a spa, we've tested a lot of varieties from chicken, lamb, beef, fish cakes, fish fillets, and you can't beat a good simple beef burger that tastes like beef.
Laura says
I've eaten a lot of burgers in my time and the fact that someone else usually makes these for me, make them the best!!
Rowland says
Is it a problem if I don't have breadcrumbs?
Laura says
You can use rolled oats instead if you have them. If not, it's a pretty forgiving recipe, I would try leaving them out and only using 1 egg
Ellen says
100% our go to pattie recipe everyone loves them thanks!
Morgan says
Another fantastic recipe! Thank you! I used it at the last minute when I realised I didn't have any store bought ones in the freezer like I thought I did, and they were very easy to make, used ingredients I already had, and were very delicious. Will absolutely be making these again.
Ivan Ballin says
Amazing patties.
I'll always use this one now - juicy and full of flavour.
Anna McMillan says
Very nice. I have hardly ever made burgers but these worked for me :). Used panko & lots of herbs .
Natasha Bazil says
I made ur Hamburger Patties Brooooo Dam!! So Yummy I made them for my Ozzie and he goes these are Great where did u buy them, i said i made them he didnt believe me!!! LOL...So from now on i follow Josh's recipe for Homade Patties
Ka Pai
Kat says
Delicious and so easy. The flour and chilling in freezer really makes a difference!
Jane Norton says
I will be making patties this way from now on as they held together and were beautifully moist, however, will put something other than mixed herbs in as they really spoilt them, they actually made the flavour quite nasty, for us anyway. Followed the recipe to a tee.
JB says
Nothing short of first class!!
Holds together well, great texture, and very easy to cook perfectly every time.
Great trick with freezing and the flour.
Thank you (and Josh).
George P says
My wife said that these were the best burgers she's ever had and she's definitely a foodie as they say. Many thanks for the recipe.
I used bread crumbs with garlic and mixed herbs which worked out just great.
Sandy says
Well done Laura, these burger patties are amazing! 😍
craig says
I also add one large diced onion a splash of soy and Wiltshire sauce and instead of beef cube I used a 3/4 packet of French onion soup mix everyone absolutely loves them. Cheers craig from Adelaide south Australia.
Trish says
I’ve made this recipe now a lot, I was never much of a fan of beef patties but these are so good we now have almost every week! I freeze the extras we don’t need and cook them direct from frozen when can’t be bothered cooking, thank you!!
DEBORAH SMART says
These sounds delicious. I'm wanting to make and freeze for our boxing day bbq. Might be a silly question but Would I still put the flour on before freezing. Thanks
Laura says
Not a silly question - I would still add the flour before freezing, then they are ready to go!