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Burgers on the stove - Help!
Magus`
The fun has been DOUBLED!Registered User regular
The fun has been DOUBLED!Registered User regular
So lately I've been getting into cooking, and while it has gone ok, I must admit I'm having a devil of a time with cooking burgers on the stove top.
The issue is that they feel too mushy. They are very much cooked (brown all the way through) and I've tried both slow cooking and flash cooking (cough cough smoke augh) and while the flash cooking makes the outer parts pleasantly resistant the insides still feel like I'm biting into the buns again.
Is there a certain type of beef that would work best, certain additives or whatnot? Please halp me, I want mah burgers aughasag
The issue is that they feel too mushy. They are very much cooked (brown all the way through) and I've tried both slow cooking and flash cooking (cough cough smoke augh) and while the flash cooking makes the outer parts pleasantly resistant the insides still feel like I'm biting into the buns again.
Is there a certain type of beef that would work best, certain additives or whatnot? Please halp me, I want mah burgers aughasag
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I can has cheezburger, yes?
When you are dividing the meat mixture into pieces for each burger, I roll it into a ball, sort of like a big meatball and then pat it into shape with my hands. This helps bind them, are you doing something like that?
And yeah, I'm doing something similar for how I prepare them.
Adding cheese to the mix is an interesting idea though.
And I'm fairly sure it's close to 80/20. Think it said 81% lean on the packaging.
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If you're not using a cast iron skillet, you're doing it wrong.
Get some cast iron. Heat it up for half an hour on medium-high before cooking. Get the metal nice and hot. It's the only way.
CUZ THERE'S SOMETHING IN THE MIDDLE AND IT'S GIVING ME A RASH
How big are your patties? I usually make mine between 4 and 5 ounces each. Form them so they stay together, but try not to mash them into shape - the more texture of the meat you can get to come through, the better. Salt on both sides before they go on the pan.
You'll probably get some smoke if your pan is hot enough - it helps a lot to have a ventilation fan/hood. If you don't have one of those, open a window and point a fan out, and disable your smoke alarm.
Going to second this. I have one of these. Cast iron is absolutely the way to go for an indoor burger. Hell, sometimes I think I prefer this method to a grill.
Not sure if a whole half hour is necessary (probably depends on your hardware), but heat it up until you can drip a bit of water on the surface, and it takes just a second or two to boil away and evaporate. 80/20 beef for sure, preferably ground chuck, and make sure when you form the patties that you don't mush it too much, just enough to get a good, reasonably thick patty. Be certain to salt and pepper both sides generously too (I also do a light coat of olive oil), as this will help form a very nice crust.
Happy burgering!
Your problem is that a burger is a big chunk of cold or room temperature meat. Your thin (probably teflon'd) cookware conducts heat fine, but it doesn't hold a lot of heat, so once you chuck the relatively cold meat, the meat will cool down the pan and you'll end up boiling your meat rather than cooking it properly. Once cast iron gets hot, it STAYS hot, so when you add the meat, it'll immediately start cooking at whatever temperature you've set it too.
Having your meat at room temperature rather than cold when you add it to the pan helps a lot too, but you need to be a little more careful with cleanliness there (burger insides get exposed easily to the outside environment and don't cook at a very high temperature, for solid meat, always room temperature unless you're in a massive rush).
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From what I understand, if you're on an induction stove the thing will be ready in like 45 seconds.
Ah, that must be it. My stove has an induction range, and it doesn't take all that long.
I do know that if I put my oven on high, the pan becomes hot enough to basically blacken the meat upon putting it down in a very short amount of time.
It's electric, too.
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Not that this is necessarily bad, it almost improves the flavour of the meat. But if you've got smoke detectors nearby...
CUZ THERE'S SOMETHING IN THE MIDDLE AND IT'S GIVING ME A RASH
I'll try using it next time.
Steam Profile | Signature art by Alexandra 'Lexxy' Douglass
For steak you'll never, ever beat cast iron. For burgers, it's a close one between a charcoal bbq and a cast iron skillet. For bacon and eggs. Man. First you do the bacon, then you pull it out with tongs, leave the oil in, crack a half dozen eggs and whip 'em in a bowl, pour 'em into the pan, and kick 'em about with a metal lifter until they're cooked and you're looking at the best fucking eggs you'll ever fucking eat.
Use bacon purchased from (and made by) a butcher's shop instead of grocery store bacon for extra win.
CUZ THERE'S SOMETHING IN THE MIDDLE AND IT'S GIVING ME A RASH
I'm pretty sure the method for seasoning a pan is to lightly coat the inside with oil, and then bake the pan in the oven. I'm afraid I don't know for how long, or at what temperature.
that's why we call it the struggle, you're supposed to sweat
Basically, you just need to remember not to wash it with soap - a little bit of water in a hot pan and a bit of scraping will keep it clean (a flat-ended sharp metal scraper is best to get under things and dislodge them).
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Not really. A tablespoon of crushed breadcrumbs will help your meat bind, if it is too loose, and will not be tasted.
I have done the egg thing, but I don't think its needed, and often it adds too much liquid. Maybe if you just used the egg yolk, it would be ok.
Cast iron is a good idea, if you are wanting to fry your burgers on the stove top. I think broiling gives you a better burger, but ymmv.
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Get a skillet of the right size (iron or non-stick, doesn't matter) and add something to grease it IF NEEDED. Thaw the meat (lower fat meat the better, by the way) and make it into relatively small patties... heat the pan up to "medium" or so and flip the burger FREQUENTLY. Eat only after all pink is gone.
Or... do what I did. Go out to a local Goodwill store and buy a George Foreman Grill. They're usually two, three bucks. Turn on the grill, thaw the meat, make the patties, and grill away! You won't need to filp it as often, or grease the grill in any way (probably). Make sure you have something to catch the grease drippings!
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Obviously high quality meat tastes better, but if you're like me and frequently make burgers with cheaper beef, the foreman yields sort of a tasteless product (IMO and etc.)
I actually don't use the whole egg in the meat; normally what I'll do if I'm in the mood is crack and egg, split the yolk and use half of it, along with some white, in the meat. Then I'll fry the rest of the egg while the burger cooks and use it as topping.
that's why we call it the struggle, you're supposed to sweat
I clean mine by tossing in some kosher salt and wiping the pan with a paper towel; no water at all. Kind of like muddling mint with sugar for mojitos. Got a gorgeous coating of char all around.
Most places sell pre-seasoned pans. That's not to say seasoning it is a bad idea. There are many guides online, just google it.
Also re: burger contents.
I don't use breadcrumbs. I use instant oats. The texture is better, and they actually add flavour. I only add enough to make the meat mixture hold together without sticking to everything it touches.
If I have extra lean or even slightly dry feeling lean ground beef, I'll add an egg.
I prefer to use soya sauce over salt, but if I'm going to use salt it'll be kosher salt.
I like to finely mince green onions and crushed garlic to add to the mixture. I like to use a lot of ground cumin in my mix. I also like to add a dash of chili powder in there. Not a lot, just a touch.
Lastly, I feel that it's important to make your mix the day before you make your burgers. Keep it in the fridge (obviously) for a full day and the flavours in there will be more pronounced and better distributed. Pull your meat about 30 minutes to an hour prior to cooking (depending on if you formed it into patties already, or if it's a big bowl o' meat still).
CUZ THERE'S SOMETHING IN THE MIDDLE AND IT'S GIVING ME A RASH
This works best if you clean your pans right away, I've found. If I get lazy and forget to until the next day, I'll heat the pan up and splash in just a bit of water, and use a steel wool scrubber held by tongs.
The salt method works better for building up the seasoning over time, though.
CUZ THERE'S SOMETHING IN THE MIDDLE AND IT'S GIVING ME A RASH
Yeah, you do need to get it right away while there's still some heat. A 10 or 12" cast iron pan is the only cooking tool you ever need.
I've done this for steaks, so might work for burgers; instead of heating the pan on the cooktop, put it in the oven at 500F.