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Kbear: Great question. I always look for 80 percent lean ground chuck (20 percent fat content). The leaner you get, the less juicy the burger will be. Jason Perlow of foodblog Off the Broiler recently weighed in with his ideal burger patty when I interviewed him on A Hamburger Today:

as a general rule, I prefer to start with meat with a higher fat content—80 percent lean chuck with 20 percent fat is a good start, although sometimes I even mix in a bit of bacon grease to add that extra oomph if we're making them at home, especially if we're using a hot outdoor grill, which tends to dry out the meat. Beef trimmings are probably best if you have a good butcher who can grind up hamburger for you fresh—sirloin isn't a bad burger base either, but I wouldn't use it exclusively as a burger mix, as it needs more fat thrown. So I would only use it as about 50 or 60 percent of a hamburger mix, mixed with other stuff like chuck and even a little bit of brisket. Wagyu-style beef makes phenomenal burger meat because of the perfect marbling, but it's insanely expensive. I also prefer a coarser hamburger grind.

It's chateaubriand? I always thought it was sirloin and brisket. Now that I have a kitchenaid mixer, we'll have to share recipes anil.

At Schnack, we have always used a ratio of 80/20. It' ground fresh daily by our butcher. At Water Taxi Beach we grind out own, and we simply grind 100% cerf. black angus chuck. The butcher tells me it will yeild a 80/20 result but it's worth pointing out we are not trimming the fat from the beach and the weighting each.... and with decently marbled meat, like black angus* it would be hard to do.

* cert. black angus means the meat in the "top 8% of the market." That's what the black angus people say.. meaning meat from the Prime rating (the top 3%) and the top 5% (from choice). Of course it's not a government rating.. it's their own.. how they pick the "top" 5% of choice..

90 questions. Fresh or frozen burgers? There is a mix ratio for the cooking method. For grill 80/20 and I like to freeze them, even for just a few hours. They can be leaner for griddle or frying pan. I like ground chuck. Its got the best fat marbling for grounding. Leaner meats make good burgers but the best burgers are greasy. Oh God, I am getting a yen for one right now.

"90 questions. Fresh or frozen burgers? "

I never use frozen burgers. Ever, when making them at home. I know many of the fast food places we know and love do, but if I am going thru the trouble of making my own burgers, I use freshly ground meat.

KBear: Email me, and we can chat about grabbing a burger while you're here: adam@seriouseats.com

would love to get some more thoughts on this one~!

what kind of ratios do the burger joint @ le park and corner bistro use? blue nine?

I'm in the 80 percent Chuck camp myself. However, if I want a leaner burger (like now after three weeks of Holiday partying) , I use leaner beef, grind it coarsely with the Kitchenaid grinder attachement, and add a handful of coarsely chopped fresh blueberries. Yeah, I know. But trust me, try this and serve it to someone who isn't aware of your secret ingredient and they'll gobble it up and want another!

You'll never taste them ThatGirl153. It's just a trick I use to make leaner, dryer cuts of beef juicy and tasty for a burger.