Burgers under a half pound

Powak

Alright. Malcom Reeds method looks perfect for half pound burgers. https://youtu.be/pGVzEZdVK44

But what about the smaller guys like quarter and third pounders? I always seem to churn out hockey pucks with those. What’s the key to making the smaller burgers juicy?

womaus

Smash burgers.

The Cen-Tex Smoker

Smash is an excellent option for 1/4-1/3 size burgers but I sometimes I want a thicker, juicier burger. When I do, I follow these rules:

1- don’t ever buy premade grocery store patties. They are made in a press and are hockey pucks by definition

2- Don’t buy pre-packaged vac sealed grocery store ground meat for burgers. Grind your own if at all possible. Ask the butcher to grind up a brisket or chuckie for you if you aren’t into grinding your own. If you do buy vac sealed, break it all up and reassemble into patties as loosely as you can while still holding them together.  The hockey puck damage has already been done by squeezing it in a bag for weeks but you can make it better by giving it some air. When I buy vac sealed (and I do sometimes) I generally go smash burger. It’s the best outcome you can get from meat that is already compressed. 2 thin smash patties are better than one thicker compressed burger any day of the week. 

3- never mix salt into any ground meat you are going to grill. Salt it on the outside right before you throw it on the heat. Mixing salt into ground beef makes it super sticky and Binds the proteins like glue. It is elemental to making sausage to mix in the salt because it binds everything together. It gets so sticky that you can’t get it off your hands almost immediately  once you mix in the salt. You aren’t making sausage when you make burgers so if you don’t want a hockey puck burger, don’t ever mix salt into the meat. 

If you want to get nerdy like me, I grind my own from primo briskets or chuck (usually $6-$7lb) I I pre make a few lbs of patties so loosely put together they are hard to pick up without falling apart. I freeze them on a sheet tray and then vac seal once frozen so they don’t compress at all. This makes perfect, airy, juicy burgers. 

I do the same with the bulk I freeze. I make 1lb piles of very gently handled ground beef and freeze them and vac-seal after that. 

Compressed ground meat sucks and even smash burgers are way better when you start with meat that hasn’t been squeezed to death before you even open it. 

Sorry- welcome to the rabbit hole  

YukonRon

ground chuck and the point from a brisket. Grind, form patty, cook, dine, thank me later.

4TheGrillOfIt

I try to buy fresh ground from the butcher case—never prepackaged.  80/20 lean to fat ratio.  As stated above don’t mix salt into the beef as stated above.  Try to work the meat as little as possible to form the patties and salt and pepper outside before throwing on the grill.  

The Cen-Tex Smoker

4TheGrillOfIt said:

I try to buy fresh ground from the butcher case—never prepackaged.  80/20 lean to fat ratio.  As stated above don’t mix salt into the beef as stated above.  Try to work the meat as little as possible to form the patties and salt and pepper outside before throwing on the grill.  

Perfect. This is what you are looking for. All those air pockets hold in Flavor and give a nice airy bite to the burger. If the surface looks like that (which it should) it gives all kinds nooks and crannies flavor to hide. You cannot get this with pre packaged meat. 

OhioEgger

My burgers are normally about 6.5 ounces (5 burgers from 2 pounds of meat), and that seems perfect for me. But I agree that for smaller burgers the smash technique is the best.

fishlessman

smash burgers or form the small burgers relatively thin not over working it and partially freeze for a half hout. the freeze helps it to hold together while searing while keeping the center from over cooking. one flip, wait til juices form up top, flip, wait til juices puddle up on top, remove and place on top of cheese thats laid out on the bottom bunn. the cheese will stick it to the bottom bunn and keep it from slipping around. if you put the cheese on top on the grill you are just drying those thin burgers out and creating a slippery mess. do not presalt the burger, you salt when its on the grill