It may appear simple to heat up the grill and cook some burgers, however, there are different things to consider when trying to make the perfect burger. This includes meat quality, temperature, bun type, and toppings.
Your burgers will move from OK to extraordinary if you focus on a few details. Even if you don’t utilize all 13 of the below suggestions, each one of them will improve the quality of your burger, so use as many as you want.
Here are some expert recommendations from the eatery and top chefs on how to make the ideal burger (and, perhaps more significantly, how not to make it).
- The Right Meat
Get ground chuck that has at least 18% fat content for juicy burgers. Tough, dry burgers are made with lean and extra-lean meats. (This approach also applies to turkey or lamb burgers—look for grinds that are around 18 percent fat.) It’s all about locating the best burger beef.
The burger will be more tender and tasty if the beef is freshly ground. If your supermarket has a butcher on staff, request that the meat be ground fresh for you.
- Don’t Overwork The Meat
When it comes to creating a great hamburger patty, keep in mind that the more you manipulate the beef, the harder the burger will be. Tear the meat apart into bite-sized chunks in a large mixing basin, season with salt or other ingredients, and mix lightly with fingers spaced apart until freely mixed.
- Prepare Burger Patties With A Dimple
Distribute the meat into equal amounts and shape it into patties that are 3/4-inch thick on the outside and 1/2-inch thick in the middle. Because burgers compress and fold in as they cook, this indentation will even out, giving in a patty-shaped burger somewhere at the end.
- Use Wet Hands
A little moisture at the start helps keep your hands from drying out.
- Keep Burgers Cold
Unlike most meats, which benefit from being kept to room temperature prior to grilling, you really want these patties to be cold to keep them together and as juicy as desirable. Whilst the grill heats up, place the patty on a tray or platter and cover with plastic wrap. You can also use quality takeaway burger boxes to store your patties securely. This allows more flavor-carrying fat to remain in the meat.
- Use A Clean Cooking Grate
Debris, as well as a totally non-oily surface and a low temperature, increase sticking. Your burgers should sizzle fast, harden up quickly, and then be removed off the grill.
- Use A Hot Grill
Maintain a constant high heat on the grill (for 2 to 3 seconds, find your hand way 1 to 2 inches just above grill level.). If you’re using charcoal, you’ll want ash-covered coals for equal heat distribution. Keep a lid down on a gas grill while cooking; leave the lid off on a charcoal grill.
- Flip The Burgers Once
The meat will stiffen and dry up if you keep flipping it, and burgers will stick if you flip them too quickly. Cook for two minutes per side if you want it rare, three minutes if you want it medium-rare, four minutes if you want it medium, and five minutes if you want it well-done.
- Avoid Pressing
This is an all-too-common burger cooking blunder. It’s also a painful experience to behold. When the cook presses down on each burger with a spatula, the juice simply streams out onto the fire, taking all of the moistness and flavor with it. Allow your burgers to retain their genuine juiciness and grill in peace!
- Toast The Bun
A journey to sog city—and perhaps your dry cleaner—is a foregone conclusion when you serve juicy hamburgers on a loaf of untoasted, mushy bread. Put your bread in the toaster to protect it from dissolving into a pool of fat. Putting your cucumber and celery under the burger rather than on top can help safeguard your bun by acting as a meat liquid blockage.
- Use Simple Sauces
Only mustard, ketchup, and mayonnaise should be used. Sweetness, richness, acid, and flavor are all added by this triad. Put on a few extra layers than you think you’ll need. For better taste, choose only the best sauces that are tightly packed with the right bottle or can packing techniques. A sealed container traps the aroma and flavor in the best possible manner.
- Let Them Rest
Burgers, like all beef, benefit from resting because it allows the liquids that have gathered on the top during grilling to redistribute within the patties, resulting in maximum juiciness. Because burgers are often small (in comparison to large roasts), 10 minutes will be enough.
- Eat It Upside Down
Place your fingers somewhere under the bottom bun and next, place your thumb on the bun roof, then pull the burger to your lips in an arc. Because the denser contents are normally closest to the bottom bun instead of just on the top, picking it up in this manner and bringing it to your lips upside-down is much more natural.
Doing so will also ensure no sauce drops or any stuff leaks out only to spoil your favorite and the best down jacket. This procedure also aids in the preservation of the bottom bun, which might have swallowed some of the meat’s juices.
