Help me make a good hamburger!

Cafe Society
1

I’m not even asking for a great hamburger, just something enjoyable unlike the hockey pucks I end up with. I’ve tried lean meat and thought that was why they ended up dry. So I tried fattier meat, way bigger than the bun, with a divot in the middle like Bobby Flay says, and to get it nicely seared on the outside and pink but not raw pink in the middle; again it shrunk up and got too brown before the inside finished.

I tried a griddle pan and that burnt badly so I try using a frypan but that hasn’t worked out. I have cast iron pans if that’s better. Should I just sear them and then put them in the oven? I like a nice big thick burger but maybe that it my issue. Maybe I should just do flatter burgers and double them up? If I let it sit, how much residual cooking happens as it rests? Maybe that would help with the middle.

So, yeah, what is your meat mixture and cooking technique for a classic hamburger? Please assume I know nothing and include all details!

2

It looks like you should just turn the heat down a bit.

3

Use ground beef with ~15% fat. Gently form ¼ or ⅓ pound balls. Put one ball at a time between two sheets of waxed paper. Whack with a heavy, flat-bottomed saucepan. You want your frying pan hot – but from the OP, it looks like yours may be too hot. Season the patties with salt and pepper. Don’t get fancy. Fry until done. Thin burgers (which IMO are better than the fat ones you get at most restaurants) should be crispy around the edges and cooked all the way through.

Lightly butter your buns. Toast them in a pan or, as I do, put them under the broiler until they’re toasted. Stack your burger and condiments as desired. If you use mustard, the meat should be in contact with it.

4

Absolutely thin is in. I don’t think the pan can be too hot for thinner patties. I get ours around 625-630 and don’t have a problem with dryness.
However, if you are mashing the patties down with the spatula, you are a bad, bad person and should stop.
:wink:

5

Since I can’t select your burger meat for you, ask your butcher for his recommendation. Tell him you would like juicy, 1/2" thick burgers. Trust his/her judgment.

I only add salt and pepper.

I cook hamburger on the grill, or under the broiler, for four (4) minutes per side, and flip them with a spatula. Do Not Pierce The Meat.

If you would like them more well-done, put 'em back on/under the flame. If eight minutes makes them too well-done, well, there’s always next time.

I add cheese JUST before I take them off the heat so there will be no drippy cheese to clean up.

Hope this helps.

6

First, find a great meatloaf recipe: egg, garlic, breadcrumbs, Worcestershire sauce, you get the idea. Second, just put that concoction on a bun.

No, really.

7

LOL, you’re going to get a bunch of advice. Here’s mine:

Start with 80/20 meat-to-fat ratio. A pound of hamburger should yield 3-4 patties.

Always use a charcoal grill. If you choose to use something other than a charcoal grill, accept that your burger will be all right, but not groaning awesome. :wink:

Here’s my best secret, and believe me, when I first learned about it I was skeptical. But it makes an enormous difference and works a treat: Add a teaspoon or two of olive oil to your hamburger. Gently mix it in. Don’t overwork the meat, but make sure it is blended in. This is such a simple step, but it keeps the burgers from falling apart on the grill and leaves the meat extremely juicy.

Form 3-4 patties, depending on how much meat-to-bun ratio you prefer. I like 4 patties to a pound, but some people want a bit more meat on their buns. I like to form the patties to about a 5/8th thickness. Flatter than that and it’s too hard to keep the pink. Thicker than that and they’ll be too raw.

Personally I like seasonings, but with a light touch. Sprinkle lightly with smoked salt. My favorite is Manuka-smoked sea salt, but other types are fine and probably easier to find. Sprinkle next lightly with Montreal steak seasoning. Flip the patties and repeat.

When your grill is ready, meaning medium hot coals, lightly oil the grill. Place burgers on grill over direct heat. Cook for 3 minutes. Flip once, cook for an additional 3 minutes. Never flatten or smash the patties during cooking. If the grill flares up during cooking, move the patties away from the direct heat source, but only far enough to keep them from getting burned. If you have to move them all the way off the direct heat, then your grill was too hot when you started.

If you want cheese, add a slice to each patty for the last minute.

Remove patties from the grill and add buttered buns face down. They will brown quickly – very quickly! – so watch them closely.

Place a patty on each prepared bottom bun, then pile on your preferred condiments and toppings.

Burger perfection!

8

If they’re dry, then they are over-cooked and under-fatted, or just way overworked. Medium is about as done as you want it. Use an instant read thermometer and pull them off at or before 145F in the middle.

9

Pans are for eggs. Grills are for burgers.

10

My technique is similar to that of TOWP.

Pound of ~85% lean beef (or turkey), egg, bread crumbs, Worcestershire sauce, Parmesan cheese, a bit of tomato paste (usually from a tube), salt and pepper, and form into half-pound patties, nice and fat. Five minutes on a side in a hot skillet. Yummy!

Or make them into meat balls and bake. Just as good.

11

Dammit! Now I want a burger. But the only thing around here that resembles one is Wendy’s. So salty.

12

I don’t know when it started by I had come (not grew) to despise catsup, mayo, or even my fav mustard on any meat. Now I go for cheese melts. So my advice is, make sure the burger is juicy. Burger juice mixing with melted cheese is orgiastic.

13

I’ve done some great burgers in my cast iron skillet :blush:.

14

I caved and ate a baconater. Now I wish for death. And also still for a good burger.

15

I tried a Baconator once.

Once.

16

Lies! Cite. The Ultimate Smash Cheeseburger Recipe

You just have to smash them the right way. :cool:

Honestly, I never made a hamburger I liked until I read that article. (actually an earlier article which is updated there, but same idea) Genius is inside.

17

Thatsameatloafsandwichnotahamburger!!! :mad:

18

Get some 80%-85% ground beef.
Don’t freeze it.
Form loosely into patties about 0.4 pounds. (I do put a divot in the middle.)
Season with salt and pepper.
Heat a frying pan (not non-stick) on the stove. (On my stove, the perfect setting is a little above medium.)
Cook 4:30 per side. (When it’s time to flip, the cooking side should have formed enough of a crust to release from the pan without too much trouble.)
Drain on a paper towel.
Assemble burger with your choice of accoutrement.

But here’s the thing, for me at least; have a plan so you can re-do it and make improvements. My burgers weren’t very good when I was just playing the whole thing by ear. I don’t know if they’re great now, but they’re better. If you want a little more crust on the burger, turn up the heat a little bit next time. If you want them more done in the center, cook them a little longer.

19

Disagree. For even caramelizing, a heavy pan works best; same for steaks. Although I’ll agree that eggs don’t work well on the grill.

20

Meat mixture? Just meat that is at least 20% fat. Anything 20-30% fat is fine for me. Hell, even fattier is okay. If you want to get more serious, then any mix of ground chuck, short rib, or brisket. I love pure ground short rib, but it’s quite rich and fatty.

Don’t add a damned thing to the meat. You’re not making meatloaf. None of this eggs and breadcrumbs shit. I mean, if you like a meatloaf sandwich, go for it. Just don’t call it a hamburger.

Form a loose patty. Just enough to bring the meat together. More on this in a second. Salt and pepper generously. You can also add onion powder or garlic powder or whatever you like. These days, I’ve been doing salt, pepper, onion, and cayenne.

For pan fried burgers, I like them thin, like anywhere from 1/8 to a quarter pound. Make a loose ball of meat (like I said above, don’t overhandle), place it between two sheets of wax paper, and smack down with a heavy object (I use a small cast iron pan.) Season as above. Get a cast iron hot pretty much blazing hot (medium-high heat to high) and fry about 1 1/2 - 2 minutes per side. You want it to crisp up and fry. With this thinness, you’re going to be ipretty close to well done territory, but it’ll be fine, as you’re developing a nice brown crust and all sorts of Maillard-y goodness, and the looseness of the patty and thinness will keep it from feeling hockey-puck-like in the mouth.

Now, if you like it thick and don’t want to do it on a grill (for grilled burgers, I usually do 1/3 lb - 1/2 lb patties), this is what I do if I want them rare to medium rare. Set oven to 275. Make the loose patties, no dimple required, and season well. Cook for about 20-25 minutes. You can use a thermometer and pull them when they read somewhere around 115. Get a cast iron pan nice & hot, and finish them 2 minutes a side on the pan. With a grill, it’s a similar technique; I start them on the cool side, and finish them with the heat maxed out on the hot side.

There really is no trick to it other than: use meat with a decent amount of fat, handle the meat gently, season generously, and cook them intelligently (using the techniques above, or similar, for what style you’re going for.)
The thing about handling them gently is that you want the looseness of the meat and the air pockets to be maintained when you cook the burger. This is part of the loveliness of a great burger–it holds together but its almost falls apart in your mouth as you bite it. You are not making a sausage where you knead the crap out of your meat to achieve a springy texture. Be gentle with your meat. And please, please, please for the love of god, no binders or fillers.