How to make the best hamburger

Whether you’re cooking for co-workers at an office picnic, entertaining friends over a long holiday weekend, or relaxing at home with the family, you can nail this summer staple with a few pointers on how to make the best burger. Make them tasty, healthy, and fun with these tips.

Best way to make hamburger patties

To make the best burger, start with the right meat mixture. Super-lean meats are great for other dishes, but indulge in a slightly less healthy 80/20 blend when making burgers. The extra fat keeps the burger juicy and delicious. Make it a little healthier by switching to ground turkey, if you prefer, but keep the ratio the same.

Another tip for cooking hamburgers is to handle them as little as possible. Mix in seasonings and add-ins only enough to distribute them evenly; wear food service gloves if you don’t want messy hands. To form the patties, pinch off a patty-sized ball of meat and press it flat with the palm of your hand — don’t roll it around to make a perfectly formed ball first. When making hamburgers, the taste is more important than the look. Finally, make a well in the center of the patty, so that the middle is thinner than the edges. This helps cut down on the shrinking and prevents that odd hump in the center of the burgers.

While forming the patties, you can also choose a side in the “tavern versus diner” debate: thicker, 6 to 8 ounce tavern burgers are juicy and can be cooked to spec, while thinner, 3 to 4 ounce diner burgers cook quickly and have crispy edges.

Only flip the patties once, whether you are grilling hamburgers on an outdoor grill, using griddles or indoor grills, or cooking them on the stove top. Don’t mash them down with the spatula while they cook; pressing on them will push the juices out.

Tips for cooking hamburgers guests will love

For many, hamburgers means grilling, but sometimes, you just don’t want to drag out the grill. A heavy-duty or non-stick frying pan is a good option for indoor burger-making.

Cooking the patties to a preferred doneness is also guaranteed to please guests. Use a kitchen thermometer to make sure that the internal temperature reaches at least 145 degrees for safety, then use these guidelines for total cooking times, (cook each side for half that time, then flip and cook for the remaining time):

Rare: 6 minutes
Medium rare: 7 minutes
Medium: 8 minutes
Medium well: 9 minutes
Well: 11 minutes
Food safety experts advise that the very young, very old, pregnant women, and people with compromised immune systems should only consume well-done meats.