I have only been grilling for the last 2 months ever in my life. Been using a Weber genesis 2 and have been loving it so far
Any tips on how to make the perfect burgers ? I use fresh ground beef and season it. I pull out the burgers once they reach 155F
Been trying to get the perfect shape for them lol. What are peoples thoughts about using a burger mold press
by Slip-Crafty
30 Comments
I like using a press. Makes portioning easy. Usually I mix in an egg with 1lb ground beef and put in the fridge for an hour when possible. This helps everything stay together.
The less you handle ground beef, the better the burgers’ texture and flavor. I stay away from presses because you tend to want to compact it so much, making for a dense burger.
Get a pound and a half of 80/20 beef, season with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and some Worcestershire sauce. Mix it all up with your hands and form 4 balls of equal size. Gently squish them down into patties. Don’t worry so much about getting a perfect shape; burgers are supposed to be rustic!
You’ll see some folks saying to use your thumb to make a large dimple in the middle. This is supposed to keep the burger from becoming a meatball as it cooks, but I’ve never had a problem with it.
Cook for 6 minutes a side, flipping only once if you can. About 2 minutes before you pull them from the grill, throw your cheese on them so the cheese has a chance to melt.
– Upgrade your meat mix (chuck/brisket ground beef)
– Get one of those metal culinary rings to make burgers the same size.
– Push a dimple in the middle so they don’t plump (I hate a burger with a mountain in the middle, dang condiments don’t stack right!)
Burgers are something I don’t use a thermometer for unless I’m smoking them.
Otherwise, throw them on a super hot grill for 3-6 minutes each side, depending on how thick your patties are and how well you want them done. After you flip, put the cheese on, and I also use the time post-flip to toast the buns on the grill.
For seasoning, find something you like. I put Worcestershire sauce, salt, pepper and garlic powder on after I make the patties, on both sides. I also do the dimple in the middle of the patty thing. I’ve never had a dissatisfied customer.
I need to try Worcestershire sauce. Everyone’s recommending it.
My burgers tend to stick to the grill and don’t easily come off in 4-5 mins. Have to try spraying the grill before placing the patties
I just use paper salt and some garlic and through some Hickory and mesquite wood in there give some smoke flavor and uuuhh damn good.
Use a digital meat thermometer. 125 to 135degrees. I grill four times a week for 40 years and never cook any thing with out one. Everything is cooked perfectly
Flatten them out and get some decent cheese🤷🙄
For the cheese i like to use either sliced American (not singles), cheddar or colby. Fold them in half and make a cross like you did the American single slice in your picture. Less of the cheese will drip off this way and more will be on top. You have a gas grill and I have a charcoal grill, but what I like to do is close all of my vents and put the cheese on the burgers for about a minute, then remove them while the cheese is melty enough to look great but hasn’t all dripped off because they were in there for too long. You might want to consider turning off your gas burners when you do this, because the ambient and radiant heat will be more than enough to finish the cheese.
Weighing the meat and preforming the patties with a patty press makes them cook more evenly, and consistently.
It will help make the adjustments to your method as you gain more experience easier and more effective.
I’ve been grinding my own meat and it makes a world of difference. I find chuck roasts or brisket flats with great marbling on sale, and grind them once with a medium die. Afterward, I play with my meat for a couple minutes to get it nice and tacky, but not overworked. Then I make my patties in a press lined on top and bottom with parchment paper, and then I rest my patties in the fridge for a few hours or overnight. Before I throw them on the grill I’ll dimple them with my thumb, and once they’re on the grill at around 275-300 degrees, I season the top side. When the bottom is nice and seared, I flip and season again. When the other side is seared, I move them to the indirect side of the grill to finish. Add cheese before removing from heat completely. Make sure to let your burgers rest a little while before taking a bite or slicing. While they’re resting I’ll sometimes toast my buns.
I’ve been using a packet of Ranch (dip) with two lbs of ground beef (White Oak Pastures Grass Fed). Sometimes I’ll throw some dried onion flakes in with a drop or two of Worcestershire sauce .
One thing I learned about burger from using my weber is that they are mosly always going to come out a bit dry. If not then they will be medium and still a bit dry on the outer parts and reddish center. I hand form them I once used foil and they turned out juicy
Remember, the “perfect” burger is the one you think is perfect, not a bunch of elitist on the internet.
Whatever you’re doing with that cheese is a war crime. Melt it
Not gonna lie, you have a long ways to go.
I don’t see the need for a press.
The key (IMO) is to use a high fat content beef, at least 20%. Fat is your friend and if it’s sticking to the grates that probably means your fat content is too low.
Season it well, more coarse kosher salt than you might guess, and don’t overwork it. You want the patties to be a little loose, not dense at all.
Make the patty a little bigger than the bun to account for shrinkage, and not too thick – not more than about 1/2 to 3/4 inch. Grill as hot as your grill can go, fast, and don’t mess with it until you flip once. Put on good quality cheese a little after the flip. Shoot for medium doneness or a bit more to keep them moist. Resting for a couple of minutes when thet come off helps (as with all grilled meats).
Make an indentation in the center before you place on the grill. It’ll cook more evenly that way.
You’re getting great advice. Your burgers look good to me, I’d eat them.
As for the sticking just make sure that grill is piping hot before you put them on. And let the burgers come closer to room temp. Don’t throw them on straight out of the fridge
My only advice is melt that cheese on the grill … 😆
Lose the cheap cheese. Please.
Put cheese on last minute before taking off grill/pan
You want perfect burgs? Smash em, smash burgers are the best and they cook super quicj
I’ve been loving smash burgers! I use a 16”x9” Lodge griddle that I place on my grates. I get 80% lean and 20% Fat and mix this Webber brand Cajun seasoning in the meat. Throw some onions on the griddle and prep raw ones too. I press a something between a golf ball/ racquet ball size lumps into the griddle and let them cook until juice rises up it’s typically like 2/3 minutes. Flip em and throw cheese on. Butter and place the buns on the grates, rotate 45° after a few min for the diamond cross hatch. Finish er off with tomato and pickles. I also pour an astounding amount of Bachans bbq sauce on.
Suggest you start with store-shaped patties. It’s cheaper to learn on.
And what we learn is that thickness matters. A thicker burger will both “meatball” and will also be more difficult to get evenly done, especially with the last cheese melting step.
Store bought ones are pretty easy because at that thickness, outside char is a pretty good hint at how done that are inside. I like to flip 3 times and immediately add cheese after the 3rd flip. Total of 8-10 mins on a Weber gas grill.
I like to add two slices of cheese each, the bottom one with the corners folded in so it doesn’t hang over at all, the second just slapped on top.
Get that reliably good then move onto shaping your own (and also grinding your own)!
Processed cheese is trash. But if you like it…go for it
Depending on the flavor profile, Worcestershire sauce is great for savory. I also like to add molasses to the mixture when making patties, really sweet/juicy turn out
I reccomend using cheese instead of plastic
I use a burger press because I am just not good at shaping patties by hand but just don’t press them too hard or they get a bad texture. I aim for 6oz per patty and they stay juicy without being huge. You can also add a tbsp of mayonnaise per pound of ground beef before you form the patties to add some more moisture, learned that from a Malcom Reed video. I do his other method to put a pat of butter on each patty. The cooking method he recommends is 6 minutes indirect heat with the lid on, flip and cook 6 more minutes with the lid on, then cook over the coals to your desired doneness. They come out perfect every time. Link to his video: https://youtu.be/ywzGmKJDjhk?si=CHJmXyz05DS_j2ex
That is the whitest cheese I’ve ever seen 🧀⚪️