The Mistake You’re Making When Shaping Burgers For The Grill
Mesut Zengin/Getty By Jennifer Mathews/Dec. 5, 2022 9:54 am EST
We may receive a commission on purchases made from links. Americans love burgers! On average, we consume 50 billion yearly, twice as many as our other favorite summer food, hot dogs. That’s a whopping 140 million burgers a day, each of us doing our part by eating roughly 156 meat-sweat-inducing burgers a year. “All-beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions on a sesame seed bun” have become an integral part of our ’national cuisine’ per USA Today.
According to Burger Web, 71% of all beef consumed in a restaurant is as a burger. The traditional hamburger of ground beef served between two burger buns is not the only way to enjoy this sandwich. As some Americans embrace a healthier diet, leaner burgers are made with unexpected ingredients like ground bison, turkey, chicken, and chopped fish like tuna, salmon, and shrimp. These tasty alternatives can be found on fast-casual restaurant menus nationwide (per Upserve.) Unlike meatballs or meatloaf, which contain binders like breadcrumbs, burgers should contain ground beef and seasonings like salt and pepper, and that’s it. According to the USDA, hamburgers cannot contain “by-products or nonmeat extenders” (per Brittanica).
While the humble hamburger is a simple food to prepare, like any recipe, it begins with quality ingredients and proper technique. Whether your preferred cooking method is to pan-fry, steam, smash, broil, or grill your burgers, and whether you like it plain, topped with cheese, or piled high and dripping with sauce, shaping the burger is critical to your success.
The Mistake You’re Making When Shaping Burgers For The Grill
Mesut Zengin/Getty
By Jennifer Mathews/Dec. 5, 2022 9:54 am EST
We may receive a commission on purchases made from links. Americans love burgers! On average, we consume 50 billion yearly, twice as many as our other favorite summer food, hot dogs. That’s a whopping 140 million burgers a day, each of us doing our part by eating roughly 156 meat-sweat-inducing burgers a year. “All-beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions on a sesame seed bun” have become an integral part of our ’national cuisine’ per USA Today.
According to Burger Web, 71% of all beef consumed in a restaurant is as a burger. The traditional hamburger of ground beef served between two burger buns is not the only way to enjoy this sandwich. As some Americans embrace a healthier diet, leaner burgers are made with unexpected ingredients like ground bison, turkey, chicken, and chopped fish like tuna, salmon, and shrimp. These tasty alternatives can be found on fast-casual restaurant menus nationwide (per Upserve.) Unlike meatballs or meatloaf, which contain binders like breadcrumbs, burgers should contain ground beef and seasonings like salt and pepper, and that’s it. According to the USDA, hamburgers cannot contain “by-products or nonmeat extenders” (per Brittanica).
While the humble hamburger is a simple food to prepare, like any recipe, it begins with quality ingredients and proper technique. Whether your preferred cooking method is to pan-fry, steam, smash, broil, or grill your burgers, and whether you like it plain, topped with cheese, or piled high and dripping with sauce, shaping the burger is critical to your success.
We may receive a commission on purchases made from links.
According to Burger Web, 71% of all beef consumed in a restaurant is as a burger. The traditional hamburger of ground beef served between two burger buns is not the only way to enjoy this sandwich. As some Americans embrace a healthier diet, leaner burgers are made with unexpected ingredients like ground bison, turkey, chicken, and chopped fish like tuna, salmon, and shrimp. These tasty alternatives can be found on fast-casual restaurant menus nationwide (per Upserve.) Unlike meatballs or meatloaf, which contain binders like breadcrumbs, burgers should contain ground beef and seasonings like salt and pepper, and that’s it. According to the USDA, hamburgers cannot contain “by-products or nonmeat extenders” (per Brittanica).
While the humble hamburger is a simple food to prepare, like any recipe, it begins with quality ingredients and proper technique. Whether your preferred cooking method is to pan-fry, steam, smash, broil, or grill your burgers, and whether you like it plain, topped with cheese, or piled high and dripping with sauce, shaping the burger is critical to your success.
Avoid this mistake when making hamburgers
Valeri Pavljuk/Shutterstock
According to Eat This, Not That, shaping your burgers is critical to cooking the meat evenly. Gather the beef into a large, even patty without compacting the meat. The tiny spaces left between the beef will fill with rendered fat as it cooks to create a juicier burger. Resist the urge to overwork the meat. That will bind the muscle fiber creating a tough bite, and the heat from your hands will melt the fat in the meat (per First We Feast).
