Good Meat, Right Seasonings Make Great Burger, Says Waukesha Chef

Justin Fuhrman, a chef at Weissgerber’s Gasthaus, 2720 N. Grandview Blvd., said there are a few key things that make a great burger. The Gasthaus, where the burgers are popular, and served on delicious Miller Bakery pretzel buns, makes that happen, he said, and he shared some tips with Patch. 

We start with choice ground beef, with a 70/30 fat content. We hand patty all of it ourselves and then we season with some coarse kosher salt and a mixture of three different peppercorns. It's a mélange of pink, green and black. We sprinkle some of the pepper mix and salt, and then grill them.

He shared the basic recipe for the restaurant's popular surf and turf burger.

The surf and turf burger, is actually it’s our 8-oz ground beef patty on the Miller pretzel bun and we top it with a crab cake.

Our crab cake mixture is crab claw meat, some red and yellow bell peppers, red onions, cilantro, panko bread crubs and Old Bay seasoning. That's pan seared, and it goes right on top of the burger, with a couple of slices of avocado and fresh-made hollandaise sauce. 

When making burgers at home, Furhman said these are the things he is sure to do:

When I make burgers at home I try to make them a little bit thicker. If they're too skinny, it’s too hard to get any kind of medium rare temperature out of it. They're kind of around a half pound, but without making them into a ball.

Always use fresh ground pepper and kosher salt. Always kosher salt.

For me, the 70-30 fat content ground beef is so much better. Ground sirloin is OK if you're making chili, but there’s just no fat in it, so burgers tend to be a little dry. Even with 90-10 or 80-20, they still end up being a little dry. With 70-30, they do end up shrinking a little bit more, but they stay nice and juicy.

At home, it’s got to be charcoal. Propane grill works nice, lot easier, but from a flavor standpoint, it’s got to be charcoal. 

See what other local burger experts have to say.

Lizz Fabel, The Traveling Chef, Caledonia

Matt Flintrop, Marx Pioneer Inn, W180 S7808 Pioneer Dr., Muskego

Mike Toman, Butcher Block, 9340 S. Chicago Road, Oak Creek

Dennis Weber, Wendt’s, 6031 W. Layton Ave., Greenfield