Week 2 - Burgers!

Hey everybody-- Week 2 brings us burger, or rather, ground beef, and I thought I'd share my approach to turning ground beef into burger.

First, defrost. Seriously, it doesn't work otherwise. Either in the fridge overnight or put the cryovac package of ground in a pot under cold running water for 20 minutes or so. If you have a lot of faith in your microwave defrost settings, that might work but in my experience I end up with some parts hot and some frozen.

Second, divide the meat. I like to put a little oil on my hands, mix it all well, and first form all the meat into balls so I end up with even-sized burgers--or the right mix of bigger and smaller ones for the kids. This is also the time to add anything, like cheese, onion, mushrooms, etc. Because I like to cook burger medium-rare, I pre-cook any onions or mushrooms so they don't prevent the meat from cooking evenly, and make sure to let any cheese warm at least to room temp before adding it. I have been known to throw in a dash of salt, fresh cracked pepper, garlic, etc, but less is more when making additions so that the grass-fed flavor will shine through and the burger will hold together.

Third, I make the patties about 3/4" thick, and then I firm up the outer edges if they have cracked by pressing a dimple into the centers while compressing from the outside in. The idea is to get the outer edge nice and smooth while leaving the centers a little bit thinner, to help them cook evenly without puffing up.

Finally, cook over medium-hot heat, about 2-3 minutes on the first side and about the same plus 30 seconds more on the second side. They stay juiciest if they only get flipped once and never pressed. Ideally that little dimple puddles up with juice and helps keep everything moist. As I noted above, Des and I like mine a little on the rare side, medium for the kids, which usually works out if I give them the thinner ones and we take the thick ones.

Cheers,
Jesse