This thought came to mind while making hamburgers for the holiday. I remembered the commercials for ranch burgers & I had a packet of the ranch dressing mix, so I looked up their recipe. It contained breadcrumbs. I always thought breadcrumbs belong in meatballs or meatloaf, but not hamburgers. Then there’s egg. I put it in meatloaf but not in meatballs or hamburger. They’re all almost the exact same thing… but then they’re all completely different.
I generally always throw them all together without a recipe. They’re easy to do that way. I guess everyone has their own way to do things. I make them all the same sometimes, but sometimes I add something different for fun.
I’m just wondering how other people do things?
I’d love some feedback in the comments below. I’ll share how I generally do things. These aren’t really recipes, and I don’t measure much, but this is typically what goes in each:
Hamburgers
- Ground Beef
- A1
- Season All
- Black Pepper
- Sometimes, only sometimes… some shredded cheese mixed in or as a filling.
Meatballs
- Ground Beef (Sometimes Turkey)
- Crushed Croutons (Whatever we have for the salad if we’re having one, or a nice mix of spices or whatever.)
- Parmesan/Romano “shake” cheese
- Kraft Roasted Red Pepper Italian Dressing (It spices them well, keeps them nice & moist!)
- Black Pepper
Meatloaf
- Ground Beef
- Egg
- Bread or crushed crackers. (I like the bread ripped up more than the crackers.)
- A1, Ketchup, Mustard, or BBQ sauce… or a combo of all of them.
- Season All
- Black Pepper
(Click here for a crazy meatloaf recipe.)
Of course sometimes I add garlic, or onion powder, or something crazy. That’s the fun if it though, isn’t it? So, what goes in your meatballs, hamburgers, or meatloaf?
Raw Ground beef (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
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I’d dig it.
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So, For Hamburgers it is usually just ground beef. I prefer grass fed, but it can be a few bucks a pound more expensive. Depending on my mood I might at powdered garlic, cajun seasoning, onion soup mix or wostershire sauce. But mainly I go for just beef.
Meatballs are 2 parts(pounds) ground beef,1 part ground pork, and 1 part veal (yes, baby cow is yummy and does make a difference). Enough breadcrumbs… this is an as much as needed part of the recipe. Around 5 cloves of garlic, finely minced. Dried minced onions… once again …enough. Basil, oregano, a bit of hot sauce, and a bit of milk. (Hey, I can’t give everything away.)
Meatloaf is again about a 2-1-1 mix although I will occasionally go 1 1/2-1-1 1/2. breadcrumbs. milk, 1 or 2 eggs, powdered garlic, powdered onion, dried parsley, basil, a bit of ketchup and mustard.
All three do get salt and pepper added….. at this point in my life they pretty much go with out saying. And my Dad doesn’t use breadcrumbs for the meatballs but crushed potato chips instead……
Good luck Cuz……
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Thank you for the advice, I have heard of the meat mixes, and they sound great. I think Giant Eagle actually sells all 3 in one pack.
I think I like the milk idea… and the hot sauce!
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I’ve never heard of croutons in meatballs or meatloaf! But I have heard of plain potato chips in it and I wanna try it. And thanks for linking the other recipe; the bread on the bottom is a great idea!
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Mmm… I might try the potato chips in Meatballs. Sounds good!
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Or MeatLOAF.
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Italian dressing in the meatballs. Stealing that.
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Ha ha, it is great. The Roasted Red Pepper Italian has a super kick to it, if you’re into that.
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