I figured it's because food always tastes better when someone else is cooking and serving it.
We’ll let others settle the debate on whether smash burgers or steakhouse burgers reign supreme.
That debate will never be settled, unlike the one about the superiority of New York style pizza over every other style pizza.
“Restaurant burgers usually taste better because we obsess over the details most home cooks don’t consider,” admits Jeff Martin, chef and partner at Park Cafe, Germantown Cafe and Karrington Rowe.
That's not an "admits." That's a humblebrag. "Admits" would be something like "Yeah, the secret is we hawk a big ol' loogie into every burger."
“The biggest key is restraint. Restaurants don’t necessarily do more; we do less, but better.”
"We cheap out but we know what we're doing. Usually."
“If home cooks focus on the fundamentals—few, high-quality ingredients, heat, seasoning, and confidence to let the burger cook without fussing—their burgers would immediately get better. When you stack a few small advantages together, the difference becomes obvious in the first bite,” Martin tells us.
I'm all about the "few ingredients" thing. The less I have to do, the better. Know how I make a burger at home? Beef and premade hamburger seasoning. That's it. That's all. I mean, there's the cooking it part and the building it part and the eating it part, but the patty itself? Minimalist.
That may not work for everybody, but I'm not cooking for everybody; I'm cooking for me. Besides, no one else wants their hamburgers on an English muffin like I do.
You need not seek out something as exclusive as coveted Kobe (a premium type of Japanese Wagyu), asserts Aram Mardigian. However, all five chefs agreed you should reach for freshly-ground, high-quality 80/20 ground beef, because “fat equals flavor and juiciness,” Martin notes.
Yeah, see, here's the thing: I do not like meat fats. A little is okay (and probably necessary), but beef tallow, lard, whatever? No, not for me. Ideally, I get 95/5 ground beef. I'll put up with 90/10 (it's a lot cheaper). If I have to use 80/20, those are going to be some well-done burgers so all the fat renders away. I want my beef leaning so hard it falls over.
No need to fret if you only have a less expensive or leaner style of ground beef, assures Diego Chaparro. If that’s the case, Chaparro has a genius tip: He recommends grating a few tablespoons of frozen butter into the ground beef, which adds both fat and flavor.
That's... well, maybe it is a "genius tip," but I've been assured by people in the restaurant industry that butter is their actual dirty little secret: they add that to everything to make it taste better.
If your ground beef is frozen, transfer it to your fridge 24 hours in advance. Then 30 minutes prior to when you plan to start cooking, move your meat from the fridge to a counter and allow it to sit at room temperature.
You want me to *snicker* plan 24 hours in advance? No. If I have frozen patties, they come out of the freezer when I start thinking "You know, I could really go for a burger right now." Then they get dipped in lukewarm water for about 20-30 minutes. This thaws them right up.
Now, I'm pretty sure you can find tips like "Whatever you do, don't thaw your ground beef in lukewarm water because it will KILL you." Some things are worth the risk, and my convenience, and delicious hamburger, are two of them.
If you ask Mardigian, “the biggest mistake made by home cooks, and restaurant cooks for that matter, is a lack of seasoning.”
Didn't someone just say it was overseasoning? I can't keep up. I believe what they're saying about salt in the article, but to a large extent, seasoning is a matter of personal taste.
Handle the beef just enough to form a round patty of your desired weight and thickness, then you’re ready to cook.
I can admit that this is the actual line that made me save this article. I can no more resist a double entendre than I could resist buying hamantaschen at the bakery this morning.
All six chefs agreed that high heat is essential for that satisfying sear, no matter if you’re whipping up a thick patty or a smash burger. Not only will this form a tempting crust, but it will also help reduce the risk that the burger will stick to the surface, Mardigian says.
I do not like the cleanup involved in frying burgers. Splatter everywhere, and then you gotta scrub the pan. No, thanks. If I don't want to grill, I'll use a broiler. Those have high heat, and the drippings collect on something disposable like aluminum foil (sorry, Earth, my convenience is more important than your resources). This has another advantage, illustrated by the article's next section:
Don’t fuss with or press the patties.
Yeah. Just leave them alone. That's easier when they're in a broiler.
Now, one thing the article doesn't address: if you have a perfectly round, even patty, when you cook it and don't smush it, it tends to turn into a UFO-looking thing, way thicker in the middle than around the edge. This also screws up the cooking. The solution to that, though, is dead simple: don't make an evenly thick patty from the raw beef; instead, press your thumb into the middle of the thing. That's it. That's all. (Though depending on the size of your fingers, you may need to use more than just your thumb.)
Also, don't forget shrinkage. Your raw patty should be way bigger than the bun (or in my case, English muffin) within which it is destined to reside. It'll then cook down to something close to the right size, kind of like how five cups of raw spinach cooks down to one teaspoon of cooked spinach.
Be thoughtful with the toppings, condiments, and buns.
This should not need to be said. But, again... personal taste.
Once your burger has reached your desired temperature (measure this with an instant-read thermometer for quick and accurate confirmation that you’re on target), allow it to rest for 5 minutes as you assemble the supporting cast.
I absolutely agree with the resting time (during which the burger is actually still cooking and flavors are merging), but one shouldn't need a thermometer once one knows one's equipment.
Practice, practice, practice.
Yes, now I'm going to have to make more burgers. You know. For science.
