Burgers For a Crowd

In college, one of my favorite places to eat was Dirty Martin's Kum-Bak Hamburgers. (If you are in Austin, Texas, GO THERE).  There was an old diner-style counter with a man (Dirty Martin?) standing behind it flipping burgers on a hot griddle.  To this day, my favorite burger is a simple griddle-fried patty, bun or no bun. 

I've been trying to replicate Kum-Bak Burgers at home for 20 years, without success.  My burgers were always too dry, too done, too raw, or too plain.   In a pan they would never get done.  On the griddle they would be swimming in grease and steam before they browned.  Under the broiler they would ooze too much fat and flame up.

Then one day I was at a cooking demonstration where we learned a technique for making fish for a crowd.    Two steps: (1) brown the fish in a pan on both sides; (2) transfer the fish to a 200 degree oven to finish gently cooking until ready to serve.  Wait ... could I do this with burgers?   Yep.

Makes about 25 patties, 2 inches in diameter
Make a whole batch and freeze for lunches

3 lb ground beef (2 lb chuck, 1 lb leaner, like sirloin)

3 Tbsp worcestershire sauce

2 tsp salt
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder

Preheat oven to 200.

Mix meat gently with hands until seasoning is mixed through.  Use an ice cream scoop (disher) to scoop out balls of meat onto wax paper.  Place another piece of wax paper on top and press until patties are about 1/4 inch thick.

Preheat pan over medium (to medium-high; depends on stove).  Lightly grease pan with coconut oil.   Flop 4-5 patties into pan (don't crowd the pan).  Let cook 2-3 minutes, or until lightly seared.  Flip and cook on other side for 2-3 minutes.

Transfer burgers to a foil-lined baking sheet in oven (the lipped kind - no grease rollover).   Repeat with next batch of 4-5 patties.  Continue to transfer browned patties to oven.  (If you are cooking all the patties at once, pour excess fat out of the pan every batch or two.) Let bake in oven until ready to serve.  I usually let mine hang out in the oven at least 30 minutes (last night I actually grabbed a shower while they cooked).  

If you want cheese on top, pop some cheese slices on there about 5 minutes before removing from the oven.

Serve as a Burger Bar (a la Fuddruckers).  Some of our favorite toppings:
-shredded lettuce
-sliced tomatoes
-sliced onions
-ketchup
-mustard
-mayonnaise
-sriracha hot sauce
-pickles (Bubbies)
-sauerkraut (Bubbies)
-pickled jalapenos

My favorite combo: lettuce + kraut + mayo + sriracha + burger on top!