Please help...my burgers are tasteless

I use ground sirloin and cook them sous vide for a few hours 126 degrees then sear them 1-2 minute per side in a smoking hot iron skillet. So juicy. Publix sells ground Kobe but it was too greasy for us. Some day Ill grind brisket and chuck together with some pork.

Since I home grind my meat for burgers, sausages and pates I control most of the process and it makes me happier. So many tasty ways to season burgers and many of them have been discussed above. Another possibility is to finely grate an onion and pour the juice into the meat before forming the patties. Finely minced garlic can be nice as well.

SWMO wrote:

Never pack a patty, shape it. Don't make it too thin. Make a small indention with your thumb in the center. Flip it once and don't overcook. It must be a little loose and be packed to just hold together.
As far as flavor goes,good burger doesn't have to have anything else. The flavor is in the fat and if its its there.

X2

I can agree with almost all of the suggestions so far. Another one? Prepare a good FALAFEL mix and combine it with your ground beef! Start with 1/4 falafel to 3/4 burger and experiment. Hey, it's one more flavor sensation.

SWMO wrote:

If you buy from a market that has a loose ground burger, preferably with a little pork in it, and it is 80/20 you're 75% of the way there.
Never pack a patty, shape it. Don't make it too thin. Make a small indention with your thumb in the center. Flip it once and don't overcook. It must be a little loose and be packed to just hold together.
As far as flavor goes,good burger doesn't have to have anything else. The flavor is in the fat and if its its there.

I was going to say the same ^^^. I would add that for me, the best burger is med rare to med.

I do season with garlic salt and pepper. I like my burger to taste like beef, not all the other additives - I add those on top of the bun.

DutchmenSport wrote:
A good burger begins with good meat. Donot buy from Wall Mart. Go to a local mom and pop grocery store that still dresses their own meat from local farmers. The quality is world's apart from big chain stores. Then cook with only saltand pepper. We Americans have forgotten what real local grown beef taste like. Go local. How will not be disappointed.

X10 more. We found a farm down the road from us we buy our beef and pork from. The cattle graze in open paddocks and fed hay when the weather dictates. They are antibiotic free (when it’s needed they separate the ones that get it from the ones who don’t and sell them to the grocery stores), hormone free with no added nitrates or nitrites. The meat tastes amazing and every piece we’ve ever bought has been tender.

1 package of lipton onion soup mixed per pound of hamburger. Sometimes we add and egg, bacon, and A1 steak sauce. Excellent.

fla-gypsy wrote:
Just because you use 80/20 beef means nothing. Different cuts of beef have different flavors. The problem is not the seasoning, it's the beef!

Absolutely! You first have to ignore the fact that Walmart other big chains use pink slime, they don't. They along with other chains use meat ground from meat destined to be hamburger. The only real questionable meat is from the big chubs, you won't ever get a decent burger from meat jammed into a tube.
If you buy from a market that has a loose ground burger, preferably with a little pork in it, and it is 80/20 you're 75% of the way there.
Never pack a patty, shape it. Don't make it too thin. Make a small indention with your thumb in the center. Flip it once and don't overcook. It must be a little loose and be packed to just hold together.
As far as flavor goes,good burger doesn't have to have anything else. The flavor is in the fat and if its its there. Softened onions and or peppers are good as are a lot spice mixes from lemon pepper on. I'm partial to Webers Deluxe hamburger spice.
We buy what is know as Boston Burger here which is 80/20 beef and pork. we have to buy it from one location that grinds its own, others have introduced a pre-packaged that sucks.

DutchmenSport wrote:
A good burger begins with good meat. Do not buy from Wall Mart. Go to a local mom and pop grocery store that still dresses their own meat from local farmers. The quality is world's apart from big chain stores. Then cook with only saltand pepper. We Americans have forgotten what real local grown beef taste like. Go local. How will not be disappointed.

X10

Remember the expose of pink slime in all of Walmarts hamburger and other stores?

Well...it's due soon to be back in your meat again!

The maker of the beef product dubbed "pink slime" by critics is reopening a plant that it shut in the face of bad publicity two years ago.

http://money.cnn.com/2014/08/13/news/companies/pink-slime/index.html

A good burger begins with good meat. Donot buy from Wall Mart. Go to a local mom and pop grocery store that still dresses their own meat from local farmers. The quality is world's apart from big chain stores. Then cook with only saltand pepper. We Americans have forgotten what real local grown beef taste like. Go local. How will not be disappointed.

I crush up some "DARE" vegatable flavored crackers, chop up a yellow onion and add Worchester Sauce. Once I form the pattys I spinkle Lawrlys seasoned salt when they are on the gas grill. Tastes great if I say so myself. :-)