The Best Burger Recipe | How to Make Hamburger

5 from 11 votes
A close-up of a cheeseburger on a sesame seed bun. The burger is topped with melted cheese, red onion slices, pickles, creamy sauce, and layered over a slice of tomato and fresh green lettuce. The burger sits on a wooden surface.

Burger is probably one of the most popular foods in the world, but most of the people eat hamburgers only in restaurants and not making burgers at home. With this easy recipe, you will learn how to make the best burger at home. This recipe makes juicy and delicious beef burger and also you learn how to make the best burger sauce. Now, next time you crave a cheeseburger, try this recipe.

Burger recipe

WHAT IS THE BEST CUT FOR BURGERS?

To make the burger is don’t need a lot of ingredients. It’s not the quantity but the quality. Therefor the most important thing is the meat you use; while there are endless options of cuts and blends to make a burger, and every person prefer their own cut, here are my favorite cuts:

  • Chuck Steak: The typical chuck steak is a rectangular cut, about 2.5 cm (1 inch) thick and containing parts of the shoulder bones, and is often known as a “7-bone steak,” as the shape of the shoulder bone in cross-section resembles the numeral ‘7’. Chuck is the most commonly used cut of beef in burger blends.
  • Sirloin: the sirloin is actually divided into several types of steak. The top sirloin is the most prized of these and is specifically marked for sale under that name. The bottom sirloin, which is less tender and much larger, is typically marked for sale simply as “sirloin steak”. The bottom sirloin, in turn, connects to the sirloin tip roast. Sirloin is a relatively lean cut of steak, but has a good amount of flavor, and this is the reason I love sirloin. If you make your burger from sirloin cut, I would recommend blend it with another cut that has more fat content.
  • Brisket: Brisket comes from the breast section of the animal, under the first five ribs. It is a large cut that is sold boneless and usually weighs anywhere from 8 to 20 pounds, making it quite a hefty-sized cut. This is relatively fat cut and a good cut to blend with a lean cut.
  • Boneless Short Rib: a cut of beef taken from the brisket, chuck, plate, or rib areas of beef cattle. They consist of a short portion of the rib bone, which is overlain by meat which varies in thickness. There are two major types of cuts: The “flanken”, which is cut across the bone and leaves the bone just 1 to 2 inches (2.5 to 5.1 cm) in length, or even less and the “English”, which is cut parallel to the bone and leaves the bone up to 6 inches (15 cm) in length. If you want an extra juicy burger, you should defiantly add this cut to your burger blend.

In summary:

There is no such thing “the perfect cut”. Different people prefer different cuts and different tastes, I recommend trying different chunks and different mixes until you find your favorite blend. The list of cuts above is a good start to experiment with.

WHAT SOULD BE THE FAT CONTENT?

Making burgers is not an exact science, some people like their burger greasy, other people prefer a lean burger. After trying dozens of different burgers, I came to the conclusion that the perfect fat ratio that suits almost everyone’s taste is 80/20. 20% fat and 80 lean. If you are the type of person who prefer more fat, then you can try 25% fat, if you prefer a leaner burger then try 15% but. But I would not recommend making a burger with less than 10% fat, otherwise you risk making a dry burger.

HOW TO FORM A BURGER PATTY?

You can shape a burger patty using your hand or using a burger press. No matter which method you choose, it is important to remember two things: 1. Do not overwork your patties. 2. Shape the patties a bit wider than the bun since they shrink while grilling.

HOW TO SEASON A BEEF BURGER?

I believe the star of this dish is the meat itself, that’s why I always prefer to season my burger patty with kosher salt and freshly ground pepper only. Season the patty generously from both sides just before grilling. Do not season the ground beef before forming into patties.

If you prefect making a “fancier” burger you can also season the burger with garlic powder/onion powder/paprika/dried herbs/cumin and more.

HOW LONG SHOULD WE COOK THE BURGERS?

Burger cooking times may vary from burger to burger depending on a number of factors such as: the size of the patty, the heat, the cut you using and more. The best way to know doneness is using a thermometer.

  • Rare has an internal temperature of 125°F (52°C) and is completely pink throughout the burger.
  • Medium-rare has an internal temperature of 135°F (57°C) and is just slight brown inside near the crust of the burger.
  • Medium has an internal temperature of 145°F (63°C) and a center that is slightly pink while the rest of the meat inside is brown.
  • Well-done has an internal temperature of 160°F (71°C) and is completely browned throughout the inside.

BEST BURGER TOPPINGS

While the classic burger topping are just lettuce, tomato, onion and pickles there endless of delicious burger topping that you can use. Here are some ideas you can adopt:

  • Carnalized onions
  • Fried egg
  • Bacon
  • Chilies
  • Avocado
  • Mushrooms
  • Blue cheese
  • Peanut butter
  • Cream cheese
  • Guacamole
  • Swiss cheese
A close-up of a cheeseburger on a sesame seed bun. The burger is topped with melted cheese, red onion slices, pickles, creamy sauce, and layered over a slice of tomato and fresh green lettuce. The burger sits on a wooden surface.

The Best Burger Recipe | How to Make Hamburger

5 from 11 votes
Prep Time 20 minutes
WORK TIME 20 minutes
DIFFICULTY Easy
Cuisine American
Servings 4 yields

Ingredients
 

For the burger:

  • 500-600 g Ground beef 15-20% fat
  • Salt
  • Pepper

For the sauce:

  • ½ cup 120g Mayonnaise
  • ¼ cup 60g Ketchup
  • â…› cup 30g Mustard
  • ½ teaspoon Smoked paprika
  • 1-2 tablespoons Pickles chopped (optional)

For assembly:

  • 4 Hamburger buns
  • 1 Red onion sliced
  • 4-5 Lettuce leaves
  • 1 Tomato
  • Pickles
  • Cheese of your choice

Instructions
 

  • DIRECTIONS
    1. Make the sauce: in a bowl whisk mayonnaise, ketchup, mustard, smoked paprika and diced pickles if desired. Set aside.
    2. Toast burger buns: slice the bun in half, lay them on the pan, cut side down and toast until golden, remove from heat and set aside.
    3. Make the Best Burger: divide the meat into four pieces, each piece about 125-150g. shape into a ball, then using a burger press shape a burger patty. If you don't have a burger press, you can shape a patty using your hands.
    4. Season burger patties generously with salt and pepper from both sides. Using a cooking spray, lightly grease the pan/skillet. Heat the pan over high heat until very hot. Add the burger to the pan and fry for 3-5 minutes per side (depending desired doneness). Thermometer
    5. Assembly: spread a portion of sauce on both sides of the bun. Place lettuce, tomato, onion, pickles, burger patty and other toppings if desired. Top with the other bun half.
    6. Serve and enjoy.

Video

YouTube video
Nutrition information is automatically generated and thus we can not guarantee it is 100% accurate.

One Comment

  1. Making this recipe at least once a month. Perfect burger!

    June 25, 2024
5 from 11 votes (11 ratings without comment)

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