Tips and recipes on how to make homemade burgers

 


There's nothing better than eating a juicy, flavorful burger, and it's amazing to be able to recreate a homemade burger at home, right? To do so, you need to know how to make a homemade burger, the best meat for a homemade burger, and how to make a sauce to make your burger even more delicious.

The first rule of making a homemade burger is no flour or eggs to bind the meat together. Those delicious burgers from burger joints are made with just a blend of meats and nothing else, because the fat in the meat is what binds the burger together.

We've put together a selection of the best meat combinations - known as blends - for your homemade burger.

Let's get to the tips!

What is the best meat for making homemade burgers?

Choosing the right meat blend is the first step to creating a succulent meal when you're out with friends . Mixing a fattier meat with a higher-fiber one is the perfect combination for a homemade burger.

That's why we've selected the most popular blends for you to prepare a juicy and tasty burger.

1. Brisket and chuck

Two cuts from the front of the beef, the brisket and chuck, combine very well, as the chuck is a tasty meat that doesn't have much fat, while the brisket comes into the combination with a higher fat content to give the burger its "binding point."

Since brisket is a fatty but also flavorful meat, you can mix 50% brisket with 50% chuck.

2. Ribs and chuck

With a ratio of 70% ribs and 30% chuck, this burger stands out for the added juiciness of the prime cut. In fact, the rib burger is one of the most popular among customers, as the high fat content of the meat gives it a more tender and juicy texture.

3. Flank steak and ribs

Once again, ribs take center stage in the blend . However, flank steak takes center stage this time, with 80% of the meat combined with 20% ribs. Juiciness isn't a problem here, as both meats have a high fat content.

Can a burger be made with only lean meat?

Unfortunately, no. Fat is the main ingredient in a burger, both for its juiciness and for its "stickiness" and its shape. Lean cuts like flank steak and filet mignon can be very tasty, but they require additional fat to form a burger.

In fact, a good burger should always have between 20 and 25% fat, as with less than that, it tends to be dry and fall apart, while steaks with more than 25% fat tend to be sickly and pasty.

In fact, each preparation method adapts better to different fat levels. We've put together some tips for you on how to make a homemade burger.

How to prepare a burger in a frying pan or griddle

The best type of burger to prepare on the griddle is the famous “ smash burger ”, which consists of a thinner burger, as the griddle tends to distribute the heat better, but also has less power when cooking the steaks.

In order to grill all the parts evenly, the burger should preferably not be very thick. Additionally, because the grill retains fat during cooking, the perfect burger for grilling should have about 20% fat.

See how easy it is to prepare a smash burger on the griddle or frying pan:

  1. Make meatballs of approximately 150g and arrange them on a tray lined with parchment paper.
  2. Cover them with another piece of parchment paper.
  3. Press the steak to flatten it.
  4. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
  5. Place the burger on top once it's really heated.
  6. Grill the burger, turning it only once. Cooking time should be the same on both sides. For a 150g steak, rare should be cooked for one minute on high heat and one minute on low heat, adding one minute on low heat for medium-rare and two minutes for well-done.

Ideally, when assembling a burger, you shouldn't handle the meat too much, as the heat from your hands tends to make the burger mushy.

How to cook a grilled burger

Grilled burgers are those cooked on a grill or barbecue. They tend to be thicker, as the heat from the grill is much higher than that of a griddle, for example.

Furthermore, the ideal fat content for grilled burgers is 25%, as with this type of preparation, the burger tends to drip - and consequently lose - a lot of fat.

For this type of preparation, it's best to let it grill until the burger forms a crust, as this makes all the difference in flavor.

Here's how to prepare them:

  1. Make meatballs of an average of 200g.
  2. Arrange them on a baking sheet or board lined with parchment paper.
  3. Place another sheet of parchment paper on top of the burger and press down on the meat until it reaches the desired thickness for the steak.
  4. Season with salt and pepper and place on a very hot grill.
  5. Let the burger develop a crust - which may look burnt, but it isn't - and flip it over so the other side does the same.
  6. With an average burger thickness of 3 cm, the burger is cooked for 1 and a half minutes on each side, 2 and a half minutes for medium-rare meat, and 4 minutes for well-done.