Properly prepared homemade burgers can be as tasty (or even better!) than those served in restaurants or food trucks. How to make a delicious homemade burger? Read the following tips.
Choose the right meat
Good quality meat is a must if you want to make really tasty burgers. Definitely avoid minced meat or meat cut into small pieces – you are not sure what you are choosing. It is best to use a large piece of meat to make burgers.
The following meats are especially recommended: rack, brisket, pork neck or sirloin. It’s best if the meat to fat ratio is 8:2, so if the meat is too lean, buy some beef fat.
Grind the meat yourself
When making homemade burgers, it’s best to grind the meat yourself, once, using a food processor with a coarse mesh strainer – this will give you a thick burger texture. If you grind it too fine or grind it twice, you will end up with a patty – and you want to make burgers, not patties.
Do not overdo the seasoning
Another important issue is proper seasoning of meat. A common mistake turns out to be an excess of spices – contrary to appearances, they do not serve burgers. You may be surprised, but the best and completely sufficient spices for seasoning meat for burgers are our traditional Polish set, that is pepper and salt.
Freshly ground black pepper is definitely recommended here. If you like your food spicier, you can also sprinkle the shaped burgers with pepper just before frying.
Shape the burgers well
Speaking of shaping, remember that meat loses its volume when it is heated up, which means that the burgers will shrink when fried. Therefore, when shaping the burgers, make sure that their diameter is at least 2 cm larger than the diameter of the buns you put them in. It’s also advisable to flatten them a bit when forming them as they will become rounder after frying.
Fry the burgers instead of baking them
Now it’s time for the heat treatment, namely frying or baking. The former is definitely better for burgers as they will be juicier and crispier on the edges. Baking them in the oven will dry them out and you won’t get the effect we want – a burger like in a restaurant.
By frying the burgers we can keep more of their juices. It is best to use a sturdy cast iron skillet. Remember to heat up the fat well first and not to press the meat during frying – it will lose its juices unnecessarily. Fry the burgers for about 3 minutes on each side.
Prepare the right sauce
Now we come to the last point, which is serving burgers. What is best to serve them with? Apart from vegetables, which we can choose according to our taste and preferences, an absolutely necessary element of a good burger is a proper sauce.
What sauce will be the best for homemade burgers? Opinions may be divided here, especially among domestic fans of this delicacy. In the U.S., however, the undisputed number one choice is a traditional burger sauce made from a mixture of mayonnaise, ketchup, mustard, finely chopped pickles, onions, garlic, a little lemon juice, salt, pepper, and a pinch of paprika.
main photo: unsplash.com/Ilya Mashkov
