Learn how to grind your own burger and take your backyard bbq to the next level of epicness! Your very own DIY designer burgers will be sure to impress!
You've met Tyler, right?
Of course you have.
He's a great friend. The techie-brains-designer of Shared Appetite. And he's my partner in crime for our wedding photography business, Ashe Photography Studio.
Little known fact. Tyler won the Pinewood Derby as a kid. It's his claim to fame.
But he doesn't just have one award on the mantle. No way. The dude's talented. Like, just-won-a-very-fierce-burger-competition talented. That's right. Granted, it was a contest among his friends. More of a backyard bbq get-together. But still, it was crazy competitive.
And what secret recipe earned him the title of King of the Burger?
That's right... the Fat Tyler.
There he is. And for those of you who know Tyler, that little smirk on his face is actually a HUGE smile. And he did it just for you. Be impressed. Feel special.
Tyler has a few culinary obsessions...
First, he built himself a wood-fired oven in the backyard. It gets to like 1,000 degress. No, that's not figurative... literally 1,000 degrees. He cooks up some hashtag legit pizza in that thing.
He also just got his hands on a sous vide machine for his birthday. Tyler's working on perfecting steak and soft-boiled eggs as we speak.
And what we're here to celebrate today... How To Grind Your Own Burger: The Fat Tyler.
So let's break it down...
That's the slaw. It's tangy-mustardy-spicy crunchness in a bowl. It's a bit in yo' face by itself, but when slathered on a juicy, rich beef patty... hello flavor party in your mouth.
And now let's talk about grinding your own designer burgers. Why? Because it's cool. And right now, artisan/small-batch/DIY is all the rage. And we want to act cool and be a part of the rage.
You have 2 options for creating your own DIY burger. First, have the butcher grind the meat for you. That'll probably work for you if you:
- have an awesome butcher
- have a good relationship with your butcher
- are a butcher
- know somebody that is a butcher
But your local dingy grocery store meat department probably isn't going to do it for you. And if they do, that's amazing and you live in a much nicer, caring part of the world then NYC. But NYC still rocks and I wouldn't trade it for your super nice meat department butcher anyway.
The other option, and the more fun option, is to grind the meat at home with your KitchenAid Food Grinder Attachment
And a word of warning... sometimes the grinder likes to splurt out some meat juice. Yea, kinda gross. We just held a disposable plastic cup close to the dial (with enough room for the meat to fall out into the bowl) and that caught all the juices. Make sure you plan accordingly. I'd hate for your kitchen to look like a scene from Dexter.
And remember, you don't want to pack the meat tight. That's one way to guarantee a compact, tough burger. Handle it with care. Treat it with some TLC. Talk sweet nothings into its ear (don't do that).
And do yourself a favor and make a tiny depression in the middle of each patty with your thumb. Burgers tend to puff in the middle as they cook, so that indentation helps to make the patty stay flat.
And then boom, cook up those burgers and you have yourself a Fat Tyler.
Now, for it to be a certified Fat Tyler burger, you need a couple things:
- a mix of sirloin, short rib, and brisket for your burger blend
- the spicy-tangy-mustardy slaw in the recipe below
- a brioche bun
- melted cheddar or american cheese
- cooked to a perfect medium-rare... medium maybe. Maybe.
Nothing more, nothing less. The man is particular about his burger.
And listen, for the record, no... it's not called a Fat Tyler because he's fat. That's just a complete coincidence. This burger is actually Tyler's riff on Michael Symon's famed burger, the Fat Doug.
Hey. Guess what? You can now have your very own personal recipe box! To save this recipe, simply click save below the thumbnail image below? Once you start storing all your favorite recipes from around the interwebs in your Recipe Box, you can create Meal Plans and the ingredients will automatically be added to your Grocery List! Download the app to your phone and boom, welcome to the 21st century age of grocery shopping 
How To Grind Your Own Burger: The Fat Tyler
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
Ingredients
For the Burgers:
- ½ pound ground sirloin
- ½ pound ground brisket
- ½ pound ground boneless short rib
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 4 slices Cheddar or American cheese, medium thick
- 1 ½ tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- 4 brioche or egg buns, split
For the Coleslaw
- 1 head napa cabbage, shredded
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- ½ small red onion, thinly sliced
- 1 jalapeno pepper, sliced thin
- 3 tablespoons champagne vinegar
- 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
- 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 ½ teaspoons salt
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
Instructions
- Cut meat into approximate 2" cubes. Using the food grinder on your Kitchen Aid Stand Mixer, grind your burgers on the larger "coarse" dial into a medium bowl. Sometimes the grinder likes to spit out a bit of meat juice, so it helps to put a cup close to the dial to catch any spurts.
- Using your hand(s), gently combine the meats, taking care not to compact the meat to much. Form burgers into 4 equal-sized patties and season liberally with Kosher salt.
- If using a grill: Grill the burgers over high heat until medium rare, 3 to 5 minutes per side. Add a slice of cheese to each burger during the last 1-2 minutes of cooking. Brush buns with butter and grill until lightly toasted.
- If using a cast iron skillet: preheat over high heat until very, very hot. Place butter in pan and cook burgers over high heat until medium rare, about 3-5 minutes per side. Add slice of cheese to each burger during the last 1-2 minutes of cooking. Remove burgers and add buns to toast slightly.
- Let bugers rest for a few minutes, then place onto each bun and top with a few spoonfuls of coleslaw.
For the Coleslaw
- In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the vinegar, mustard, mayonnaise, Worcestershire sauce, sugar, and salt until fully combine.
- In a medium mixing bowl, mix together the cabbage, garlic, onion, and jalapeno. Pour the dressing over the slaw and toss gently to combine. Cover and refrigerate 1 hour.
- Prep Time: 30 mins
- Cook Time: 10 mins
Mike says
I want the Sriracha t-shirt Tyler is wearing. Seriously, I need it, like I need air. It's the most amazing t-shirt I've ever seen.
Can you please ask him where he bought it?
I've seen similar ones but always white tee with red print, never red with white print. Thanks, I appreciate it!
Oh, the burger looks amazing too! 😉
Tyler says
Fat Tyler here... my wife bought me the t-shirt from Target http://www.target.com/p/sriracha-men-s-t-shirt/-/A-14839069#prodSlot=medium_1_1&term=sriracha
Also try the burger it will change your life
Chris says
Wow, Fat Tyler himself makes an appearance on Shared Appetite. Ladies and gentlemen, this is a special day!
Chris says
Tyler said he got it here: http://www.target.com/p/sriracha-men-s-t-shirt/-/A-14839069#prodSlot=medium_1_1&term=sriracha
David says
Dude! I love grinding my own burger meat, but I agree that it's a bit...uh...messy. But the flavor is oh so worth it! The Fat Tyler sounds incredible man. I made a burger last Fall that included bacon. In the burger. Yup...grind your own burger but include bacon in the mix. Incredible! Now I'm inspired to make this Fat Tyler, though! #WolfpackEats
Chris says
Bacon in the burger? Genius. I would expect nothing less from Grilling Troll! I think we need to have a burger cook-off. Not virtual blog edition. Like, real meet-up and chow down. Let's make it happen. #wolfpackeats
Melanie says
My father in law is a butcher. How cool is that?
LOVE how good this looks!
Chris says
SWEET! That's like, a super win-win. You must get awesome cuts of meat!
Shashi says
That slaw won't make it on to a burger if I had my way with it!!!
🙂
Chris says
Hahahaha 😉
Beth says
I lol'ed several times during this post. This burger looks awesome! I haven't ventured into the meat-making side of recipes, but if I ever do, the Fat Tyler is the first thing I'm going to make. 🙂
Chris says
Do it, do it, do it. A little peer pressure hahaha
CakePants says
Oh man, I want that burger. I don't even usually like coleslaw, but it looks so.freaking.good on that burger! Me thinks I shall have to cultivate a relationship with my local butcher...
Chris says
Hahaha yes, yes you do.
Laura Dembowski says
I've always wanted to grind my own beef and make a mouth watering burger like this. It looks sooooooo good!
Chris says
Thanks so much Laura!
Ashley says
A wood-fired oven in the backyard??? I am soooo jealous!! 🙂 haha
This burger looks outrageously good - and you also now have me wanting some coleslaw asap!
Chris says
I know... I'm pretty jealous too. At least I get to go over for pizza 🙂
Bri | Bites of Bri says
So can I get a Fat Tyler burger to go:) ? I have the KA attachment but haven't ground a burger myself yet. Now I've got to try! Ps- the t shirt rocks!
Chris says
Hahaha sure I'll ship one your way lol
Kathy says
I need that tshirt, my hubby is going to love it.
I have the grinder attachment, can't wait to try making my own burger meat now.
Chris says
Hahaha Tyler said he found it at Target he thinks. I've been trying to find it too... it's so awesome!
nicole ~ Cooking for Keeps says
Must.Try.ASAP. I have a bunch of gift cards to C&B from our wedding still, I think meat grinder attachment and pasta attachment is next up on my purchase list!
Chris says
Ooooo pimping out that stand mixer! Sweet!
Kelly says
Whoa, now that is a serious burger - I have that meat grinder attachment and definitely need to try this. Haha and love that shirt 🙂
Chris says
So cool that you have the meat grinder attachment too! Try it out! Haha, it is a pretty awesome shirt.. he said he found it at Target!
Kristi says
Oooooo... I could totally go for a Fat Tyler! And, I have to admit - having a pizza oven like Tylers sounds pretty awesome too! And Kelly is right - that shirt is the bomb!
Chris says
It's so awesome... he makes some amazing crust in that thing! Hahaha, everyone always loves that shirt!
Sam says
This is very good to know, I'm definitely bookmarking for later!
That pizza oven sounds fantastic!
Chris says
Thanks Sam! Yea, he's a pizza making wizard!
Pamela says
I need this burger in my life so bad!
Chris says
Yes you do... yes you do haha
Alyssa says
Never have I ever ground my own burger. That needs to change soon though! There's nothing like the first bite into a burger. So good! Also that coleslaw sounds delicious!
Chris says
Thanks Alyssa! Totally try it sometime! It's worth the extra effort for sure!
GiGi Eats says
I never even thought about buying a meat grinder, but now I am totally intrigued and I would make legit amazing burgers. I'd mix beef with ostrich... Or beef with turkey?? AH HA HA!
Chris says
Ostrich.. that's legit!
Claudia says
Consequently delectable! That seems to be irresistible!
Chris says
Thanks Claudia 🙂