# The SBHonline Community Daily > Restaurants Wine & Food Off The Island >  >  The best Hamburger recipe

## andynap

Haven't tried it yet but I will


*The 15-Step, Absolutely Perfect Burger*

*Dont even think of making them any other way.*

*By Todd Kliman | July 2, 2015
Photograph via Shutterstock.

Earlier this week, with July 4 looming and my thoughts turning to the grill, I decided to reach out to my friend the Burger Guru for tips.
The Burger Guru is brash. Hes a handful. I guarantee you that everything you think you know about burgers, he told me, is wrong.
Teach me, I said, and opened myself up to receive his years of accumulated patty wisdom.
The Burger Guru has cooked at burger competitions around the country, including at the World Burger Championship in Las Vegas. He has made and eaten a lot of burgers, but also, and more important, he has spent considerable time studying the science of burgers.
What followed was a long conversation about protein fibers and acids, about creating moisture and retaining it, about surface air and air pockets. It might have been boring, but the Burger Guru didnt get to be the Burger Guru by putting people to sleep. He made it interesting.
Indeed, it was this knowledge, he seemed to suggest, that separated him from many of his less studious colleagues, and helped him to understand how (without resorting to tricks like folding foie gras into the mix or indulging in easy add-ons like bacon) to build a better burger.
A burger so rich, so tender, and so juicy that, even when cooked medium or medium-well, it was memorably wonderful.
The friends I invited over that night begged me to make it for them again.
Not to worry, I said. From here on out I wont even consider doing it any other way.
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*****1) Buy cheap meat. The cheaper the ingredients, the better. You dont need expensive beef for a great burger. Its a waste of money. So sayeth the Burger Guru. He advised me to get a package of ground chuck, simple and unsexy, rather than splurge on prime beef.
2) Dont mix in salt and pepper. Salt leaches out moisture, the Burger Guru said. Thats exactly what you dont want.
3) Secret ingredient #1: fish sauce. According to the Burger Guru, its what makes the burgers at New Yorks Umami Burger so good. The idea is to add enough fish sauce to give the meat depth and complexity1 1/2 tablespoons per pound of beefbut not enough to make people think they can pick up on the taste. Many old recipes for meatloaf called for adding Worcestershire sauce, the fish sauce of mid-20th-century America. Fish sauce brings even more complexity to the dishes it touches. Yes, there is sodium in fish sauce, but, says the Burger Guru, it adds more moisture than it takes away.
4) Secret ingredient #2: Dukes mayonnaise. The rationale: With mayo, youre adding moisture and adding fat. Fat that wont melt away under heat. Mayo also stays in its fat form as it cooks. The rationale for Dukes: Dukes has more egg in it than Hellmans, making it richer and lusher. Cant find Dukes? Whip an egg into Hellmans. Either way, you want to incorporate two tablespoons per pound of meat. The Burger Guru said that over the years hes tried many different fats, from tiny cubes of mozzarella to diced gruyere to ground beef fat. I have to make my burger stand out from 50 competitors. I have to make that first bite beaha! I have to make people sayOh my god!Mayos the best Ive come up with. It transmits the natural flavor of the product. It doesnt get in the way of the taste of the beef, which happens with cheeses. Another bonus of mayo: it leaves a sheen on the meat when its done cooking. That sheen coats the roof of the mouth, which is a fat receptor. Thats why Ben & Jerrys tastes better, that high fat content. Fat helps transmit flavor. And its a pleasurable mouth-feel.
5) Make a meat snowball. There are multiple schools of thought on this, said the Burger Guru. The old-timer school was one patty, half a pound, 5-8 ounces. Some people went up to 10. Some went down to 3-4 and doubled them. I like 6-8 ounces, about the size of a snowball, a decent-sized snowball. But going with smaller patties and doubling them up allows for double the surface area. Think about that: more salty, crusty texture. Our brains go crazy for salt and crunch. It also allows for more cheese in the burger, which means more coating of your mouth.
6) Form, then dimple. Flatten the patties with your hands. Then poke the patty with your finger a few times. Yes, it looks ugly. But relax  you wont see any evidence of dimpling when the burgers are done. If you dont dimple, the Burger Guru said, it will naturally ball up and get thicker in the center. You dont want that. You want the patty to cook evenly. Even cooking is faster cooking. Also, when proteins cook, they tighten. All those fibers start shrinking. Make a fist, palm face up. Thats what happens to burgers when you cook them. Those protein fibers shorten under the heat. Thats one reason sous vide is so tender; theres no shortening of fibers. When you dimple, it fills with all the moisture. Youre not gonna get a softball when youre done.
7) Chill the patties. Ideally, you want to make them the day before and refrigerate them. But even just fridging the patties for a few hours is vital, the Burger Guru says. The meat needs to settle down. Forming the patties in your hands can raise the temperature of the meat to 60, 70 degrees, which reduces your chances of getting a good crust on your burgers. (Its the opposite principle of cooking a steak, which is best grilled or seared at room temperature.)
8) Do not use your grill. Cook your burgers on the stove, in a cast-iron skillet. I used to be a grill guy, said the Burger Guru. Now Im a cast-iron guy. Why? The crust. You cant get a good crust on the grill. You can in the pan. He advises heating a small knob of butter before searing your patties.
9) Season just before you cook. Salting and peppering the exterior means the receptacles on your tongue are more likely to pick up the hits of brightness and heat and crunch. I cant stress this enough, said the Burger Guru. You want to get that salt and pepper on your mouth at first bite. Dont just sprinkle on the kosher salt and cracked black pepper; blanket the surface.
10) Lay the patty down. Never, ever, ever press it down. Be gentle. Gentle, gentle, gentle. There are natural air pockets between the fibers, little tiny ones. You want moisture to get into those pockets and stay there. Leave the patty loose.
11) The second side gets half as much cooking time. You want to cook the patty more than halfway through on one side, and give it half that time on the other.
12) No gouda, no cheddar, no provolone. Put the cheese on once the burgers off the pan. American cheese all the way, the Burger Guru said. I love cheddar. I love all kinds of cheese. But American is silkier; it has a better melting point. Cheddars hard to melt  it doesnt have enough fat in it. And here we are again, right? Back to fat. Fat conveys flavor and feels good in the mouth.
13) Dont serve it hot. Give the cooked burger five minutes to rest, at least. You want the juices to not run out on you at the first opportunity. Why make something so good and juicy and then kill it by serving it hot, before those juices have had a chance to redistribute? the Burger Guru said. A warm burger is better than a hot burger 100 percent of the time.
14) Use a potato roll. Sesame seed buns are classic, but theyre also dry. Potato rolls squish down a little into the meat and retain their integrity to the last bite. A trick: toast them lightly in the oven and then slather them with butter. Another trick: take the toasted, buttered potato rolls and paint them with some pickle juicesomething the Burger Guru says Chick-fil-A does for its chicken sandwiches. (In an email, a Chick-fil-A spokesperson attributed the taste of the companys sandwiches to simplicity: One simple bun, one hand breaded chicken breast, two crucial pickles.) Nobody will notice the taste, but the acidity in the juice will awaken the taste buds.
15) Get your lettuce and tomato right. The tomato better be room temperature. The lettuce better be iceberg  Boston is a close second.
I whipped up my own version of special sauce and drizzled it on. Mayo, ketchup, a generous splash of pickle juice, a long squirt of Sriracha. A final application of heat, fat, and acid for a delectably moist patty with salty char and crunch. The Burger Guru would have been proud.


*

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## kent1994

Seems like a lot of rules to me.

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## andynap

Absolutely. But I'll try it when my wife wants a burger.

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## Grey

The mayo in the burger is an interesting idea.   I might try it.

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## kent1994

Mayo is delicious on the burger with lettuce and tomato

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## Voosh

To each their own. I gave up on doin' a perfect burger. Went back to basics - 

 - 80/20 chuck, very lightly salted & peppered
 - Weber grill with charcoal
 - 4-5 mins. on one side. 4 after the flip and 1- 2 min. (w. cheese, if requested) and buns lightly toasting with cover on
 - Serve with any and every condiment that ya can imagine or want.

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## Grey

I have tried that and agree it is delicious but the mayo mixed in with the meat before it is cooked sounds intriguing.

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## JEK

image.jpg

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## andynap

LOL? Did you make it??

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## MIke R

Burgers should be simple....high fat meat...lots of salt and pepper.....seared on some thing very hot....and only American cheese...period 

leave it to you guys to take a blue collar item like a burger and foo foo it up... :tongue: ..whats next?..foo foo hot dogs or nachos?

but I do agree fish sauce and beef go together well...it's one of my main ingredients in my marinate when I do beef stir fry

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## JEK

> LOL? Did you make it??



Tomorrow night. We love a project.

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## andynap

> Burgers should be simple....high fat meat...lots of salt and pepper.....seared on some thing very hot....and only American cheese...period 
> 
> leave it to you guys to take a blue collar item like a burger and foo foo it up.....whats next?..foo foo hot dogs or nachos?
> 
> but I do agree fish sauce and beef go together well...it's one of my main ingredients in my marinate when I do beef stir fry



I don't think it's a project. If you read the whole thing most of it you would do anyway. It's the little twerks.

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## stbartshopper

ESPN this week believe or not feature recipes for best burgers and they agreed with the recipe above on adding mayonnaise. Going to have to try it.

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## JEK

> I don't think it's a project. If you read the whole thing most of it you would do anyway. It's the little twerks.



 Tweaks. 

image.jpg

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## MIke R

> I don't think it's a project. If you read the whole thing most of it you would do anyway. It's the little twerks.




Its a burger....it's  meant to be simple.....like these lobsters I had tonight....simple.....hot grill ....salt ...pepper..butter...eat

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## MIke R

And yes it's the furthest thing from a project.......

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## andynap

> Tweaks. 
> 
> image.jpg



I always twerk when I cook but my iPad doesn't like tweaks.

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## MIke R

I ll  bet you twerk  to Bruce

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## andynap

> I ll  bet you twerk  to Bruce



funny

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## davesmom

Got 3 words for you: In-N-Out...

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## MIke R

> Got 3 words for you: In-N-Out...



good as that is, there is a new kid on the block called Shake Shack who has no equals ....,they are killing it ....they went public in April and the stock tripled in price ....they are slowly working their way Across the country

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## JEK

Danny Meyer is the genius behind SS. Started as a cart in front of his 11 Madison resto.


https://www.shakeshack.com/press/fas...und-the-block/

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## andynap

Can't get in our Shake Shack here- lines around the block

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## JEK

I'm going to ours in Tysons Corner this Thursday. The NYC location has an app to check the line :)

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## Dennis

> Got 3 words for you: In-N-Out...




Got 2 words for you: Over Rated...

And yes, I know about the secret menu that everyone knows about and "animal style", etc.

Just an average burger that's popular 'cause it's not widely available.

Like Coors used to be.

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## Bart -my real name-

> good as that is, there is a new kid on the block called Shake Shack who has no equals ....,they are killing it ....they went public in April and the stock tripled in price ....they are slowly working their way Across the country



Shake Shack is good, but In And Out is way better.  At least to me.

They have a SS at Nats Park and the line is always a half an hour long!

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## JEK

image.jpg


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Yum!

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## MIke R

> Shake Shack is good, but In And Out is way better.  At least to me!




Not ieven close to me

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## andynap

> image.jpg
> 
> 
> image.jpg
> 
> 
> image.jpg
> 
> 
> ...



And this is the 15 step recipe? Is it worth it?

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## JEK

Very tasty. Snowball is too large. Taste was wonderful.

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## Bart -my real name-

> Not ieven close to me



Didn't you recently rave about Five Guys?  If so, I rest my case.

If not, my apologies!

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## Peter NJ

Shake Shack today introduced they are now doing chicken sammys as well the pic looked pretty darn good

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## MIke R

I wouldn't say I raved... I did like it though ..lines out the door tells me others  do too 

I actually think the most underrated burger is Carls Jr Six Dollar Burger but we re not getting it this far East

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## JEK

Lines out the door at Georgetown Cupcakes too.

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## JEK

Ahhh . . .

20399_10153386540522348_7724457002336278269_n.jpg

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## Bart -my real name-

Were you there at 7am?!!?

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## JEK

11:30

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## fins85258

Try this for simple

Ya know those packets of dry onion soup you can buy in the store?  Add one of those to your pound or so of meat and get it mixed in well by hand needing and make you patties.

 Fry them or grill them

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## MIke R

> Try this for simple
> 
> Ya know those packets of dry onion soup you can buy in the store?  Add one of those to your pound or so of meat and get it mixed in well by hand needing and make you patties.
> 
>  Fry them or grill them



those packets of onion soup mix have MSG and other assorted chemical crap in them

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## andynap

> Try this for simple
> 
> Ya know those packets of dry onion soup you can buy in the store?  Add one of those to your pound or so of meat and get it mixed in well by hand needing and make you patties.
> 
>  Fry them or grill them



Are you serious?  :evil:

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## kent1994

> those packets of onion soup mix have MSG and other assorted chemical crap in them



It is the "chemical crap" we don't like. :)

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## JEK

Maybe he makes his own from scratch?


_3 Photos_

*Dry Onion Soup Mix*






_"Replacement for 1 packet of purchased onion soup mix."_



__
__

_Original recipe makes 0 cupChange Servings_

1/4 cup dried onion flakes2 tablespoons low-sodium beef bouillon granules1/4 teaspoon onion powder1/4 teaspoon parsley flakes

1/8 teaspoon celery seed1/8 teaspoon paprika1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper


*Directions*


_Stir the onion flakes, beef bouillon granules, onion powder, parsley flakes, celery seed, paprika, and black pepper in a bowl. Use as substitute for a 1-ounce envelope of dry onion soup mix._

_ADVERTISEMENT_

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## fins85258

> Are you serious?



As a Heart Attack  :cool: 

Or for the weak just use dry minced onion  :Devil Laughing:

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## MIke R

How about just finely chopping a shallot ....and a garlic ....salt pepper paprika and voila ....you got fresh onion mix without the MSG

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## andynap

> How about just finely chopping a shallot ....and a garlic ....salt pepper paprika and voila ....you got fresh onion mix without the MSG



It's hard to have a fresh onion mix without an onion. Or did you miss something?

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## MIke R

A shallot is an onion.....

I made a burger tonight.....on a hot hot grill.....80/20 grass fed organic beef....salt...pepper...American cheese...a Portuguese Sweet Roll...lettuce tomato pickle....ketsup on one side...mayo on the other....medium rare 

perfect......with an ice cold beer

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## andynap

A shallot is a shallot of the onion family. An onion is an onion. Every hamburger recipe is good if you like it. Sometime you have to try something new.

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## MIke R

Close enough for rock and roll.....I prefer shallots  :tongue:

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## andynap

There's only one rock and roll and you were still in diapers.  :Triumphant:

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## MIke R

Whatevah

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## andynap

My wife wants a burger tonight. I made them according to the above and they are resting in the fridge. Results later.

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## amyb

Looking forward to your report.

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## andynap

I boiled down the Best Hamburger article to a few words:
this is for 3/4 lbs of ground sirloin:
1TB fish sauce
1 1/2 TB Duke's mayo or add a little egg yolk to regular mayo
dimple patties and chill
salt and pepper
Little oil in cast iron pan
fry until one side is crusty,  flip over
cheese when done
rest for 5 minutes.

the burger is fabulous. Great taste and juicy. A winner.

image.jpg

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## JEK

I agree. A keeper.

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## amyb

Yum.

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## MIke R

Alright I ll  try it ......when I get home

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## andynap

> I agree. A keeper.



BTW in your photos I just noticed you used a splatter screen. I always remember one when its too late- usually when the hot oil hits the shirt I just put on. :cool:

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## JEK

I'm more interested in protecting the hardwood floors!

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## andynap

> I'm more interested in protecting the hardwood floors!



Of course.

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