How To Cook A Hamburger
This Is How You Cook A Hamburger
Ok, there's a ton of ways to cook a hamburger. From grilling, pan-frying, broiling, baking and microwaving, you'll find very different results employing each method.
Let me tell you what burgers like. Burgers want to be grilled, broiled or fried. Period.
Here we'll cover frying and grilling. For more on broiling, check out my page, Can Hamburger Patties Be Broiled?.
Put microwaving right out of your mind. Yuck. I don't even want to talk about it. And you shouldn't even consider it.
No matter which manner of cooking you choose, first start with fresh, quality meat. The way to a great burger is all about amazing ingredients. You should insist on it!
About Pan Frying
Since the surface of your frying pan is flat, you'll want to press your hamburger patties flat until they're about as big around as the bun. If your patty is too small, just add more meat.
The trick is to keep a consistent thickness at about one-half inch. This helps the meat cook evenly throughout.
Also, use what I call the "one-flip" rule. The idea is to only flip the burger only once during cooking. Meanwhile the patty retains as much of it's juices as possible and reduces the chance of the meat breaking up while you're flipping it.
To start cooking, set your non-stick pan on the burner set to about "7" or medium-high. After letting the pan warm up for about 5 minutes, set down your burger to cook.
You'll see that after about 6 minutes, the edges of the patty will begin to brown. When the browning gets about a third of the way up, you'll know it's time to flip.
Give the other side the same treatment for the same amount of time. When the sides are almost completely brown, cover the pan and let the patty "bake" for a few minutes. (Or up to 8 minutes for a well-done burger.)
Take off the cover and viola! A perfectly cooked hamburger!
Note - this will generally cook a medium-well burger. For something a little more rare, cut down the time by a minute on each side.
About Grilling
To grill the perfect hamburger you going to use much of the same logic we used to pan-fry...
- Uniformly flat patty (for even cooking)
- Use the one-flip rule
- Cover the burger at the end of the cooking cycle for "done-ness"
And some different tips to make sure things turn out perfectly...
- Always use a clean grill
- Never press on the burger while cooking
- Note - The Beef Council recommends an internal temperature of 160 degrees before eating. If you're ever unsure, use a meat thermometer to check for proper temperature.
I really hope you enjoy these tips.
Let me know how you've modified them to work in your home!
Have A Great Recipe, Tip or Story?
Share your thoughts here. We'd love to hear about it!
Click here to view the submission form.
Featured Video
I can't stop laughing. It's the little tiny cows that make me shoot milk out of my nose every time I see this commercial.
Disclosure
This site occasionally features advertisements. The income from these ads help pay for the hosting and maintenance of this site. My promise to you is that I'll always be sure that none of these ads are overly-obnoxious.
And if you have a notion, help me out and click an ad. I'd appreciate your support! :-)
Second promise - When you sign up for my newsletter, I promise to keep your information safe. I absolutely hate spam, just like you do.