A while back, someone asked about forming burger patties at home… I said I'd take pictures whenever I made burgers again. I don't use a burger press. I form my patties by hand. You want them all to be pretty uniform so they cook evenly and at the same rate.
I start by cutting pieces of wax paper to form the patties on. I put a piece on the scale, weight out portions of 100% ground beef for patties (this is 80/20 ground chuck), 4 oz (~113.5g) is usually a pretty good size for most people. If someone wants to go wild, they can just double up on patties. Then, I form the patties right on the wax paper, on top of a cutting board so it's against something flat. I don't know how much it shows in the picture, but I make them a bit concaved. I'll roughly round it out, flip, then complete the rounding. I try to avoid overworking or compacting them too much; We're making burger patties, not meatloaf. I salt one side when they're formed, and I'll salt the other side after I place them on the grill.
The final picture is a cut open patty. It's uniformly cooked through, it's moist and tender, and it's perfectly seasoned by only salt. You can use whatever seasonings you prefer, but I'm good with just the salt on the beef. No burger press, no egg, and no breadcrumbs needed.
I hope this helps anyone who could use a little help with refining their burger patty process.
by ettonlou
2 Comments
Throw them over the fire for the last minute
This is super helpful! Quick question, how far in advance do you usually form the patties before cooking? I sometimes worry about them drying out if I prep them too early, but I love the idea of batching them ahead for a group.