6 Methods To Achieving Quality Tasting Burgers From Scratch
Everybody loves a good burger. In fact, burgers are one of the most popular food items in today’s society. Not only is it delicious, but it is also easy to prepare. While we have shared before three simple tips to achieve the ideal gourmet burger like a pro chef, these methods that we have gathered will show you how to prepare good burgers from scratch, from shaping a raw patty to cooking it.
1. Use only freshly ground meat
Regardless of what meat your burger patty is going to be, freshly grounding them yourself is the way to getting tasty burgers. The issue with store-bought ground meat is that you are never quite sure which part of the animal they used and when it was grounded. In addition, factors such as freshness, rough handling, tight shrink-wrap packaging that can cause the ground meat to become hard, as well as bacterial growth, such as E. Coli, can affect the overall ground meat “health”.
Unless you have a trusted source for freshly ground meat, it is always recommended to ground them yourself. Whether you own a dedicated meat grinder or a food processor, one trick to getting tasty meat patties is achieving an excellent meat-to-fat ratio by purchasing meat that has a minimum of 20% fat content.
2. Keep your patty cold
Until you cook your burger, heat is the primary enemy. Heat makes the fats in the patty go pliable and soft, causing it to stick to your work surface and hands. That means that the patty loses a lot of flavour in the process. Hence, keep your meat and work surface cool.
3. Do not spend too much time with your meat
Despite how it looks, your ground meat is “alive”. The meat changes drastically the moment you start kneading and seasoning it. As you shape the meat patty, the proteins start to cross-link with one another, getting tighter and denser with every knead. If you want to achieve a soft juicy burger, ground your meat fresh and knead it as tenderly as you can. If you ever need to add additional ingredients to your patty, do so before you ground them. The key is to reduce time man-handling your patty.
4. Never salt your meat until after forming your patty
The salt will break down muscle protein and draw out essential moisture, which will end up turning your patties from tender and juicy to springy, sausage-like textures. The best time to salt your burger is right before you grill them.
5. Season generously
No matter how you ground and blend your meat, without adequate pepper and salt, you will never achieve good-tasting burgers. Rather than using pre-ground black pepper, use freshly ground whole peppercorns for more flavour. Also, when salting the meat patty, kosher salts are an ideal option. Just like cooking a steak, you want your burger to be well and evenly seasoned. So, do not stinge on your salt, and ensure even coverage.
6. Medium-rare is the way to go
There is no set rule as to how many times you can flip your burgers. Flipping them every 15 seconds enables faster cooking time and more even internal doneness. If you are cooking a beef patty, most will enjoy their beef patty like a good steak: medium-rare. Hence, getting a good meat thermometer is the way to go. Here is a rough temperature guide to help you achieve the degree of doneness you desire:
● 49 degrees Celcius and lower for rare
● 54 degrees Celcius for medium-rare
● 60 degrees Celcius for medium
● 66 degrees Celcius for medium-well
● 71 degrees Celcius and higher for well-done
Conclusion
There you go, six methods to helping you achieve quality tasting burgers from scratch. With these methods, you will realise that making a burger is not as complicated as you think. To top it off, you can put anything you like with your patty in your burger. From gourmet cheese or American cheese to pickles or homemade sauce, never let anybody tell you what can be or cannot be put in a burger.
If you are looking for an example of quality tasting burgers, then do give Wildfire Burgers a visit. Apart from quality patties, we also take pride in other components, such as using quality fluffy brioche buns, flavourful sauce like chipotle mayo, and a perfectly cooked caramelised onions to top it off. We can be found at two locations. We also provide burger delivery in Singapore, no matter where you live. Visit https://www.wildfireburgers.com/ to check out our menu today!