What makes a good burger? Seriously. Is it the bread? The blend of meats? What about the cheese?
I’m a firm believer that any sandwhich can or burger is make or break soley on the bread. I want to be able to confidently hold on to my sandhwich without any fear of losing half of its contents out the rear. Its honestly a problem not enough people consider, and here they are serving just a mess on a plate. We’ll get into proper bread ettiquette in later posts. Second to the bread, I’m a sucker for a good meat blend. Give me something that doesnt get lost in all of the fixins. Somethings thats juicy, not tough or over mixed and you get extra points if it even bleeds. This rant is soley going to be focused on the ideal meats for burger consumption.
Rule #1: You can take the shortcut, sure, but nothing will compare to grinding your own meat.
*When you grind your own burger meat, you know where the beef is coming from, plus you are in control of the fat content and can customize the cuts of beef used. While these may seem like small factors, they make all the difference in the world. Basically, grinding your own beef ensures the freshest meat possible with the perfect fat ratio! It will also elimate any guilt of serving your burgers rare.
*Before we get into meat blends, lets go over some grinding 101.
Make sure your grinder is cold. You want your grinder attachment (all of it: shaft, tube, plate, die and screw) to be extremely COLD. You need to place it in the freezer at LEAST 1 hour before you plan on using it. I will put mine in the freezer the night before I am going to use it, or sometimes well before that, if I know I want to use it sometime during the week to come.
Make sure your meat is cold.After you cut the meat into 1’’ cubes, spread them evenly on a baking sheet and place in the freezer until the meat starts to get firm, but not frozen throughout, about 20-30 minutes. (Do you see the theme here?Cold = a must! )
Make sure you have a cold bowl to catch the ground beef. To ensure your meat remains out of the temperature “danger zone” while you are grinding, fill a large mixing bowl with ice and a little water. Place another large mixing bowl inside the bowl of ice. Place this underneath the attachment to catch the meat as it falls from the grinder. Also, you will want to work quickly here, so don’t plan on taking any business calls or dilly-dally-ing about. However, I understand life happens. Worst case scenario, if your meat or grinder become too warm, simply place the meat and attachment back into the freezer for another 10-15 minutes. Then proceed to grind the meat again.
Run the meat through the grinder twice.Running the cubes of steak through the meat grinder twice, first with a coarser disk and then a slightly finer disk, will give your burger blend the perfect texture, especially if you are making smashed burgers or burgers on a griddle!
Shape burger patties gently. When forming your burgers DO NOT compact the patties too tightly, use a delicate touch. And, make sure you make a small dimple, using your finger or thumb, in the center of each burger to prevent burger bulge.
Keep your burger patties cold.To be on the safe side, I like to transfer my formed burgers onto a sheet pan and place them in the freezer for 10 minutes.
What is the best meat to grind for hamburgers?
While there are endless blends of different cuts of beef to make your own burger, all great hamburgers have a few things in common – texture, flavor and fat.
Regardless of what meat you choose to use in your burger blend, make sure you have 25% to 30% fat. When tailoring your burgers to taste, keep in mind that the 25% to 30% fat percentage applies to burgers being cooked from medium-rare to medium, respectively. Burgers being cooked to medium-well will need more fat (about 40%), while a rare burger will need less fat (20%).
The best cuts of beef for burgers:
Chuck steak. Chuck is the most commonly used cut of beef in burger blends. Marbled throughout and well-balanced in flavor with a decent lean-to-fat ratio, chuck steak is generally the primary cut used in burger blends and is supplemented with one or two other cuts of meat.
Sirloin or Tri-Tip.Sirloin is a relatively lean cut of steak, but has a good amount of flavor. You will need to supplement sirloin with another cut of meat that has a higher fat content, such as chuck, brisket, or short rib.
Round.Round is extremely lean and very cheap. If you are looking to adjust your protein-to-fat ratio or lean out your burger, round is a great choice.
Brisket.With a distinct beefy flavor and high fat content, adding brisket to your burger will yield a beautifully rich burger.
Boneless Short Rib.With a high fat content and rich flavor, adding short rib to your burger blend will produce an incredibly moist burger.
Plate (Skirt and Hanger Steak). A tougher cut of beef with a tart and tangy flavor, this cut is a good choice if you feel like getting a little fancy with your burger.
