How Long Should You Cook A Hamburger Patty

How To Make Burgers on the Stovetop

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If you're craving a juicy, tender, cheese-topped burger — 1 that you tin really sink your teeth into — so y'all've come to the right place, my friend. No dry out hockey pucks hither! Just the kind of burger y'all'd unremarkably pay large bucks for at a restaurant.

Today we're talking burgers. From the all-time kind of footing beefiness to utilize to tips for shaping the patties, with a step-by-step recipe for simply the best burgers you've ever had — at abode or elsewhere. Fix?

The Best Beefiness for Burgers

Afterward playing around with adding this and that to the ground beefiness in my quest to make a ameliorate burger, I finally realized that it'southward actually simply well-nigh the beefiness. Purchase good beef, and you'll accept a great burger. Information technology's that simple.

The ideal footing beef for burgers should be 80% lean and 20% fat, though I can often but find 85% lean and call back this still makes keen burgers. Just avoid anything bacteria than 90% — those burgers can easily end upwardly dry out and crumbly.

If you tin, buy freshly ground beefiness from the butcher example. Not only does this tend to exist a bit fresher than the packaged meat, simply information technology's likewise less compressed, which is important for my next point. (Go along your eye out for deals on good-quality footing beef, too — y'all can stock up and freeze the shaped patties for later meals.)

Use a Light Bear upon

Maybe even more than the fat content or the quality of the beef, I've constitute that using a lite impact is the existent difference between a burger I savour eating and i that becomes tough. The more than you handle and mash the beef equally you shape the patties, the more compressed and tough the finished burger.

Instead, endeavor to handle the beef as piddling as possible as yous form the patties. Break off large fist-sized chunks of the footing beef and printing them into crude patties confronting your piece of work surface with the palm of your hand. Then gently pat the edges into a uniform round shape. Don't worry if the edges wait a little lumpy or have cracks — resist the temptation to make the patties look not bad and tidy. Those cosmetic imperfections are all in the proper name of a supremely tender burger.

(Epitome credit: Emma Christensen)

Practice the Dimple

Our food editor Christine taught us all this dimpling fob, and I oasis't looked back since. By pressing a shallow "dimple" in the center of the patty, you lot avoid the trouble of the burgers shrinking to half their size and doming up in the middle. Afterwards years of tiny, round burgers, this feels similar magic.

To make the dimple, just use your fingertips to pat the eye of the patties slightly thinner than the outer edge — perhaps a quarter of an inch more than shallow, at most. I always recollect the finished patties look like tiny frisbees.

(Image credit: Emma Christensen)

Listen for the Sizzle & Flip with Confidence

Cook your burgers in a apartment pan over medium-loftier heat. The patties should sizzle when they hit the pan, and when yous flip them, you should see a nicely dark, gold-chocolate-brown sear on the underside. That's the sign of a good burger!

Too, a wide, very thin spatula works best for flipping — it lets y'all quickly slide under the burger and flip it without messing upwards the nice crust you just formed. It also keeps these looser burgers from falling apart every bit you lot flip. (Though if they do fall apart, only printing the pieces together and deport on — tiptop with cheese and no 1 will ever know.)

I observe that the spatulas sold for cookies or pancakes work all-time. A fish spatula would also do a fine job in a pinch.

Practise Not Overcook

Stovetop burgers are a quick weeknight meal — very quick. Even if you prefer your burgers well-done, burgers will exist set up in 10 minutes tops. Cook any longer and that's when y'all wind upwards with dry, crumbly hockey pucks, no matter how diligently you followed the advice given higher up.

Information technology's a little nerdy, but I commonly ready a timer and then I don't accidentally get caught up in chat or another part of the meal and forget well-nigh the burgers. You tin can also go along an eye on the sides of the burgers — when yous meet simply a bit of pinkish-red in the very middle, medium-rare burgers are ready; the second that pinkish line disappears, your burgers are medium.

(Image credit: Emma Christensen)

We'll show yous how to make juicy, totally tender burgers on the stove top, start to finish. No need to get out - stay in tonight and accept a homemade burger!

shellfish-gratuitous
fish-free
alcohol-free
peanut-gratis
pork-free
tree-nut-free
soy-costless
egg-free

Per serving, based on

servings. (% daily value)

Calories 241
Fatty 15.4 g (23.vii%)
Saturated half dozen.0 one thousand (29.8%)
Carbs 10.seven g (3.vi%)
Fiber 0.v 1000 (2.0%)
Sugars 1.3 1000
Poly peptide xiii.8 g (27.half dozen%)
Sodium 150.1 mg (6.three%)

Ingredients

1 1/two pounds
basis beefiness (80% to 85% lean)
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
iv to 6
hamburger buns, split
Butter or oil, for the pan
4 to six slices
cheese, such as cheddar, swiss, American, or provolone (optional)
Burger toppings: sliced tomatoes, sliced onions, lettuce, ketchup, mustard, BBQ sauce, pickles, relish

Equipment

Griddle or big skillet — cast iron, stainless steel, or nonstick
Wide, apartment spatula

Instructions

Separate the basis beef. Split up the ground beefiness into 4 or half dozen portions, depending on the number of burgers y'all would like to make.
Shape the patties. Gently press each portion of ground beef into a disk about 1-inch thick. Press the middle to create a shallow "dimple" and pat the edges into a round — the patty should look like a frisbee and be slightly larger than your burger buns. Don't worry if there are some cracks in the edges; try not to mash the beef too much as you shape the patties.
Warm the pan. Heat a pat of butter or a teaspoon of oil in a griddle or big skillet over medium heat.
Toast the buns. Working in batches if needed, identify the bun halves cutting-side down in the warm butter or oil. Toast until the surface is golden-brown. Transfer the toasted buns to a serving plate.
Increase the rut to medium-high. Increase the oestrus to medium-high, and keep a careful eye on the pan. When you run into the first wisp of smoke, you're set up to cook the burgers.
Melt the burgers for 3 to 5 minutes. Place the burger patties in the hot pan, leaving a picayune space between each one. Work in batches if necessary. The burgers should sizzle on contact — if they don't, nudge the heat up a picayune. Generously flavour with salt and pepper, and melt for iii to iv minutes.
Flip the burgers and cook another 3 to 5 minutes. Quickly slide a spatula under the burgers and flip to the other side. You should see a nighttime brownish sear on the underside — if not, increase your rut next time. Season the other side generously with table salt and pepper, and melt for another iii to five minutes to your preferred doneness. If the burger falls apart when you flip, just press the edges together and bear on — your burger volition all the same be great!
To make cheeseburgers. If making cheeseburgers, top the burgers with cheese as presently as you flip them. If the cheese isn't melting fast enough, encompass the pan with a lid or other dome to encourage the cheese to melt.
Finish the burgers. When the burgers accept finished cooking, transfer them to the toasted buns and finish with your favorite burger toppings.

Recipe Notes

Burger Cooking Times

Medium-Rare (reddish in the middle): half-dozen minutes total
Medium (pink in the middle): 7 to 8 minutes total
Medium-Well (a smidge of pink in the middle): ix minutes total
Well Done (no pink): 10 minutes full

Double-batch of burgers: If you lot're making burgers for a crowd, cook the burgers in batches and cook the burgers to simply under the desired doneness level. Transfer the cooked burgers to a blistering sheet and proceed warm in a 300°F oven while you finish the balance of the batches.

Storage: Leftovers can exist stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to iii days.

Sink Your Teeth In

Despite all this talk about what makes the "best" burger, a stovetop burger is really a very quick and simple thing. I just love burgers so much that I tend to get carried away — don't let all my jabber intimidate you. Bottom line: Buy ground beef with a bit of fatty, utilize a light bear on when forming the patties, and pay attention and then they don't overcook. Do these things and I think you'll be very happy with your burgers!

What are your all-time tips for stovetop burgers? Any favorite toppings or mix-ins to share?

Emma Christensen

Contributor

Emma is a former editor for The Kitchn and a graduate of the Cambridge Schoolhouse for Culinary Arts. She is the author of True Brews and Mash Better Beer. Cheque out her website for more cooking stories.