Steakhouse Burgers

Tested & Perfected Recipes Cookbook Recipe
Steakhouse Burgers

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Replicate your favorite steakhouse burgers at home — these are packed with flavor and reliably juicy, even when cooked to well-done.

Steakhouse burger on a plate with burger toppings.

Who doesn’t love a big, tender, and juicy steakhouse burger? Problem is, they’re difficult to replicate at home because most steakhouses blend different cuts of beef, like sirloin, chuck, and short ribs, to customize the flavor and fat content of their hamburgers. While it’s possible to grind your own meat or ask your butcher for a special blend, there’s an easier way. By combining ordinary supermarket ground beef with a panade — or mixture of bread and milk — and lots of seasoning, you can make steakhouse-style burgers in no time. This recipe has made me a star among my kids’ friends. My daughter’s friend Allie nicknamed them “Segal Burgers” — it stuck, and now we all call them that too.

What You’ll Need To Make Steakhouse Burgers

burger recipe ingredients

Step-by-Step instructions

Begin by making the panade. In a large bowl, mash 2 pieces of white sandwich bread (cut into small pieces) and 1/3 cup milk together with a fork until it forms a chunky paste.

panade or bread and milk paste for burger recipe

Add 2-1/2 teaspoons kosher salt, 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, 3 minced garlic cloves, 1-1/2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce and 2 tablespoons of ketchup.

adding seasoning to panade for burger recipe

Stir until well combined.

seasoned panade in mixing bowl

Add 3 pounds of 85% lean ground beef and 3 finely sliced scallions (if using).

adding ground beef and scallions to panade

Mix everything together until just combined.

meat mixture for burgersDivide the mixture into 8 equal portions and shape into balls. Flatten each ball into a 3/4-inch-thick patty that’s about 4-1/2 inches across. (Keeping the burgers thick ensures a nice char on the outside without overcooking the inside.) To prevent the burgers from forming a domed shape on the grill, create a slight depression in the center of each patty.

burgers ready to cook on baking sheet

Grill the burgers 2 to 4 minutes on the first side until nicely browned. Flip and cook on the second side a few minutes more, until desired doneness is reached. The panade in these burgers keeps the meat tender and juicy, even when overcooked, so these burgers are ideal for kids, the elderly, pregnant women, or anyone who just prefers their burgers well done.

burgers on the grill

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Steakhouse Burgers

Replicate your favorite steakhouse burgers at home — these are packed with flavor and reliably juicy, even when cooked to well-done.

Servings: 8
Prep Time: 15 Minutes
Cook Time: 10 Minutes
Total Time: 25 Minutes

Ingredients

  • 2 pieces white sandwich bread, crusts removed and cut into ¼-inch pieces
  • ⅓ cup milk
  • 2½ teaspoons kosher salt
  • 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 3 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1½ tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
  • 2 tablespoons ketchup
  • 3 pounds 80 to 85% lean ground beef
  • 3 scallions, white and green parts, very finely sliced (optional)
  • 8 hamburger buns

Instructions

  1. Preheat the grill to high heat.
  2. In a large bowl, mash the bread and milk together with a fork until it forms a chunky paste. Add the salt, pepper, garlic, Worcestershire sauce and ketchup and mix well.
  3. Add the ground beef and scallions and break the meat up with your hands. Mix everything together until evenly combined. Divide the mixture into 8 equal portions and form compact balls. Flatten the balls into ¾-inch patties about 4½ inches across. Form a slight depression in the center of each patty to prevent the burgers from puffing up on the grill.
  4. Oil the grilling grates. Grill the burgers, covered, until nicely browned on the first side, 2 to 4 minutes. Flip burgers and continue cooking for a few minutes more until desired doneness is reached. Before serving, toast the buns on the cooler side of the grill if desired.
  5. Freezer-Friendly Instructions: The uncooked burgers can be frozen for up to three months. (Freeze the burgers on a baking sheet or plate so their shape sets, then transfer them to a sealable plastic bag for easy storage.) Defrost the burgers overnight in the refrigerator prior to serving and then cook as directed.

Pair with

Nutrition Information

Powered by Edamam

  • Serving size: 1 burger
  • Calories: 517
  • Fat: 27 g
  • Saturated fat: 10 g
  • Carbohydrates: 28 g
  • Sugar: 5 g
  • Fiber: 1 g
  • Protein: 37 g
  • Sodium: 567 mg
  • Cholesterol: 116 mg

This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.

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Comments

  • WOW, a simply delicious burger! You may think that a recipe is not needed for a burger but you are mistaken. This makes a perfect burger!

  • I’m trying to up my homemade burger game so I tried this recipe. Jenn’s recipes have never failed to impress in the past, and this one is no exception. I used an 80/20 grind of burger and followed the instructions to the letter. I even made sure I didn’t compress the burgers too much when forming them. No problems with them falling apart, they were tender, juicy and flavourful. The burgers didn’t have a meatloaf texture, not sure why it didn’t work for others. I only had table salt so I erred on the side of caution and added less than half of the kosher salt amount. It was still great. I grilled until 160F (checked with my instant-read Thermapen) and let the carryover bring it up to 165F. Steaks I’ll do rare, but hamburger has too much surface area for bacteria to multiply.

    Not sure why others had problems, this recipe and technique is a winner. Thanks Jenn!!

  • I’ve made these twice, both times they were amazing! I made them gluten free using Trader Joe’s brioche gluten free bread and GF Worcestershire sauce due to my son having Celiac disease.

    Follow the recipe exactly as it’s written. I form them using a 1/3 cup measuring cup to make smaller burgers. Very high heat on the grill (650 degrees) and about 2-3 minutes per side.

    Best burgers I have ever had!

  • This recipe is a win! The burgers came out so delicious. Thank you for such a foolproof and fantastic recipe.

  • Best homemade burger! perfect!!! Nice juicy and flavorful!!!

  • Ingredients for a kilo of ground beef, please.

    • Hi Diane, Math is not my strong suit so I can’t say for sure, but it sounds like you’ll need to cut the ingredients by about a quarter.

    • You can toggle the button at the top of the recipe for metric.

  • These are really VERY Good! VERY Tasty! I love that they don’t shrink in size! Thank you for sharing the trick of pressing them in the center so they stay the proper size! I will always make the recipe & happy I can freeze them before cooking! 😊 Colleen

    • — Colleen Gauthier
    • Reply
  • Awesomeness! I didn’t have the Worcestershire sauce so I substituted with BBQ Sauce and threw some green olives in there. I used cashew milk since I don’t use diary and still fab outcome. This recipe is sooooooo yummy and yes, moist even if you like your burgers well done! Definitely recommend.

    • Oh and they were husband and 6 year old approved.

  • We’re on vacation in the mountains this week and I’ve been cooking a new dinner recipe every night. Made burger bowls last night using this recipe with a very lean ground beef (93% is what I had on hand) and the burgers stuck together and were moist and flavorful. Only bread around was some homemade sourdough but it worked just fine. Thank you, Jen, for making me a better home cook!

  • I’ve never made a panade for burgers before, and after reading your recipe I decided to try it for a made up recipe loosely based on a Juicy Lucy.
    I put white pepper, paprika, bit of salt, a load of crushed garlic, crushed green chilli, coriander, a glug of Lea and Perrins Worcestershire Sauce, a spoonful of Marmite (for unami) and a dash of olive oil into a panade made from wholemeal bread. Mixed it all up with some really good minced beef and shaped into burgers which I formed around thick slices of Cheddar cheese, and then put in the freezer for 30 minutes while getting the BBQ ready.
    We have just had the best burgers we have ever eaten!
    Thank you for the inspiration 😊

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