Flat burgers

NoobZero

Any fancy tools available to keep burgers flat while grilling? Mine come out looking like hunks of meat. 

EggNorth

Put a dimple/indent in the patty before grilling.  Not large, thumb size or spoon.

JMCXL

bump

Biggreenpharmacist

You're probably about to be bombarded with smashburger recommendations. 

Tony_T

I like the "old way" ½ lb burgers formed with a press, but if you want a "smash burger", take a look at: http://www.seriouseats.com/2014/03/the-food-lab-maximize-flavor-by-ultra-smashin.html

NoobZero

I use a press, they 

NoobZero

They still swell up. 

blasting

Imo, a press is the opposite of what you want, unless you are trying for a mcdonalds style burger.  

Patties should be loosely packed.  Press down in the middle with a spoon to minimize the puffy effect.

hoosier_egger

Nothing fattier than 80/20 helps too. I poke my thumb in my patties or go the smash burger route, which is my favorite 

NoobZero

ColtsFan said:

Nothing fattier than 80/20 helps too. I poke my thumb in my patties or go the smash burger route, which is my favorite 

What's smash burger?

dldawes1

Have you tried beer can burgers???

hoosier_egger

NoobZero said:

show previous quotes

ColtsFan said:

Nothing fattier than 80/20 helps too. I poke my thumb in my patties or go the smash burger route, which is my favorite 

What's smash burger?

Basically a cast iron skillet or griddle over high heat (I do 500). These are 1/4 lb (4 oz) burgers, I now use 3 oz as they smash better. Drop them on the skillet, sear for a minute then smash the hell out of it. Makes delicious, crusty burgers. Use the search bar in the forum, you'll see several posts. 

Carolina Q

I am a recent smash burger convert. 1/3 lb beef smashed to 1/2" thickness as the restaurant does it. Stays dead flat, well caramelized and mighty tasty. Here's a how-to video by the smashburger franchise founder...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BEiyHCxqofg

Plutonium

blasting said:

Imo, a press is the opposite of what you want, unless you are trying for a mcdonalds style burger.  

Patties should be loosely packed.  Press down in the middle with a spoon to minimize the puffy effect.

Exactly this. When you over smush and press a full size/thickness burger patty, it definitely will self-squeeze it's juices out when you cook it.

I usually get the butcher counter ground beef, typically 85/15 at the place I go. I even tell them to not compress the hell out of it when wrapping it up for me. I then use my food scale to weigh each lump of beef and very gently form a patty. It's not perfectly round, has jagged edges, and doesn't shrink much at all when cooking.

I'm still drying to try smash burgers soon, which is a hot topic right now as you can see.

Theophan

I agree on the not over-pressing them.  Sometimes I actually take some time to break up the meat as it came from the store to that it's looser, more like it would have been straight out of the grinder, and then try to form patties fairly gently.

And I tried smash burgers recently, found it more than a little awkward because the sides of the skillet made it hard to smash them with a spatula with a handle, but they were really good anyway.  Smashing them really does make a big difference in the crust.

I still think my favorite burger is thicker, charcoal grilled so it's a little bit charred on the outside but still pink on the inside.

Carolina Q

A smash burger is most definitely not a McD's burger. As I understand it, the key to smashing is to use a loosely formed, not overworked) ball and to smash it within the first 30 seconds of placing it on the griddle, before the fat starts to render. You lose no juices because there ARE no juices (yet). 

The last one I did (80/20 beef), I forgot to butter the griddle. When I was done with both sides and took it off, the griddle was bone dry. Nothing lost at all! Watch the video and notice how much butter he uses. Then note what the flat top looks like throughout. There's no more oil on the griddle afterward than there was when he added the butter. Where'd all the "lost juices" go?

EDIT: I don't know if my reasoning is 100% accurate, just that I have juicy burgers after smashing. If my "why" is wrong, my results are not.

@Theophan, I use a griddle with no sides (just a small lip) and a plastering trowel as a smashing tool. It overhangs my 10" griddle. My largest CI skillet (12") is also too small for the trowel.

blasting

Carolina Q said:

the key to smashing is to use a loosely formed, not overworked) ball and to smash it within the first 30 seconds of placing it on the griddle, before the fat starts to render. You lose no juices because there ARE no juices (yet). 

  This ^ is correct.  Forming patties with a burger press not the same as smashing a meatball onto a hot griddle. 

theyolksonyou

@Carolina Q I always use a dry griddle and scrape the good stuff off with the patty. 

Carolina Q

theyolksonyou said:

@Carolina Q I always use a dry griddle and scrape the good stuff off with the patty. 

@theyolksonyou, seems a bit better to me if I use a little butter or oil. Give it a try.

NoobZero

As the OP, I wasn't looking for a way to not cook burgers on the Egg. But today I didn't feel like using the Egg, and the SmashBurger technique seemed pretty simple, and the way folks are talking about it, I decided to give it a shot. OMG! Those were the best burgers I've eve had! Consider me a convert!

Carolina Q

Yeah, ^^^ that!

Smashburgers can certainly be done on the egg though. Whether or not it improves the flavor is open for debate I guess... but whether or not it saves battery life on the smoke detectors in your house is not!

Glad you liked them. I know I do!!