Some tips for making better burgers

There are few American foods more popular than the humble hamburger. With summer grilling season upon us we thought we'd share some easy-to-follow tips for making better burgers.

burger311 (photo credit: mygourmetconnection.com)
burger311
(photo credit: mygourmetconnection.com)
Start with the right ingredients:
• When choosing your meat, consider the fat to meat ratio. Leaner is not always better.
Ground beef with at least 15% fat content works best and ground round and ground chuck are both good choices.
• If you decide to go with lean ground beef, ground chicken or turkey, add 1 tablespoon of olive or vegetable oil per pound of meat.Easy tips for great tasting burgers:
• Make sure your meat is well chilled and don't overwork the meat with your hands. The warmth of your hands can start melting the fat resulting in a less juicy burger.
• If you're adding other flavoring ingredients to the meat, make sure they're chilled as well.
• Gently form the meat into round balls (4 to 6 ounces each), then press them into patties between two sheets of wax paper using the back of a flat spatula.
• Make a depression in the center of each patty with the back of a tablespoon. This will help the burger retain a flat shape during cooking.
• Oil the grates and preheat your grill completely. Medium-high heat is best.
• Don't try to turn burgers over too quickly. Allow the meat to properly sear to prevent sticking.
• Never press or flatten your burgers during cooking. This squeezes out all of the juices, increases the possibility of flare-ups and results in a dry burger.
• Toast your buns lightly and have your toppings ready to serve.
• Cooking times will vary depending on the size and thickness of your burgers and the heat intensity of your grill. As a rule of thumb, a 5-ounce, 1-inch thick burger, cooked over medium-high heat will take 4 minutes per side to cook to medium doneness.
For more great burger recipes goto mygourmetconnection.com