If you're cooking a burger, and you're actually using a frozen patty like that, and on top of it you use some prepackaged buns, you're doing it all wrong. If you think you make it easier on yourself actually using a frozen burger at home, especially after a busy day, I think it's so wrong! I even have a hard time touching it, not even thinking of cooking it. They're freezer burned. They're completely dry. They're probably grind up two years ago, and that's what you're ending up in your house.
So of course now, if you are not going for the frozen one, you're thinking probably doing the right thing and actually buying some fresh ground meat - for example, the one that I have right here - it's nice, bright red, very fresh, but it's extra lean - there's no fat in it: no fat, no flavor - it's a boring burger.
Never season a meat ahead of time because what the salt actually does to the burger - it starts un-curing the meat. The texture's not the same. You are ruining your burger.
Another big mistake, do not overheat or underheat the skillet. If you underheat the pan and you put actually the burger into the oil, it will not sear, therefore the burger doesn't seal and you will lose the juices from the burger. If you overheat the pan and you put the burger down, that burger will never cook, not even to the medium rare or medium side. The outside will be already burned.
Never toast the bun too early because they only get stale and rubbery.
And the final mistake that I see people doing is cooking these burgers and then really pushing down on the griddle and what you're actually doing there is squeezing out all the juices from the burger. The result? You're ending up with a thin patty, very dry, on a soggy bun. That's so wrong.
Now I'm going to show you the right way, how to do the best burger.
First of all you have to pick the freshest meat. Fat in the burger is so important because not only it adds flavor to the burger, but also it adds a moistness. Look for some coarsely grind meat or buy a piece of meat and go to the extra work. Actually you slice it by hand. Always think about using a nice piece of chuck, or maybe some strip steak, and of course the ultimate would be then the Kobe beef, where really is the highest in fat content. And as you make your patty, be adventurous. Really think a little bit out of the box, mixing some ingredients into that ground meat. For example some soaked mustard seeds, some fresh herbs, some sauteed mushrooms.
When you're shaping the burger, always use a little bit of water on your hand. So first of all the burger and the meat doesn't stick on your fingers and you perfectly can shape that burger.
Stuffing that burger, either with a little bit of bleu cheese or ??? is going to work well. Or what I like to do also having a little bit of leftover short ribs, for example, I put the short ribs in the center of the burger. That brings like the burger to a totally different level.
Don't even think on using olive oil. Use some canola oil, oil that really supports nicely the heat. And how do you know that actually your pan is really to the right temperature is when the oil smokes slightly.
So searing the burger is probably the most important step. You put the burger in the oil. Searing it means you seal it. And by sealing it means, all the juices are staying inside. Think about cooking it like a steak.
Before serving it, let it rest a little bit so that the juices inside the steak or the burger are distributed evenly.
Now comes the fun part, actually assembling the burger. So we're starting with the bun. Always toast the bun on the last moment. That's how you get really the bread showing at its best. And what I like really, is picking a bun like ciabatta for example, which has a nice golden crust on the top of it.
Think about using a little bit of pesto. You can use the freshest tomatoes of course. But you're really layering it up. You can push it to using a little bit of seared pineapple. You can use caramelized onions. So really, the layers are endless.
If you do all the steps right, you will end up with the ultimate burger.
