This Is Bobby Flay's Secret To A Perfect Burger
Burgers are pretty simple creations, but it's also their simplicity that can befuddle a lot of people when it comes to making the perfect burger. There are plenty of mistakes people make when cooking burgers that leave them with dried out, salty patties on bad buns. No thanks. Enter Bobby Flay to share his culinary secrets with the world so that we might all enjoy juicy burgers for the rest of our days.
Sure, you could hire Bobby Flay to give you a one-on-one lesson in making the best burger ever, but that would cost you a whole lot of money. It's probably a lot easier just to take note of the steps he's already shared with the world on proper burger construction. Flay stopped by The Today Show to drop some knowledge and the key to a good burger all starts with what else — the beef. An 80/20 ground chuck blend is what you want to use. This means 80 percent lean and 20 percent fat. It's not the healthiest pick for your patty, but it will taste the best.
A cast iron pan is perfect for burgers
Once you have your beef and make your patty, use your thumb to make an indentation in the beef. This will help the patty keep its shape and not plump up like a "football." As for what to add to the beef — only salt and pepper. No egg, breadcrumbs, or fancy herbs. As Flay says, we're making burgers, not meatloaf.
Going directly with a burger on the grill is the go-to burger cooking approach for many, but a cast iron pan with a little canola oil is even better. "Cast iron has excellent heat diffusion and retention and produces evenly cooked burgers with a really great crust," Flay said. As Epicurious pointed out, this method is also better prevention against flare-ups, and also cooks the burger in its own juices.
Your burger deserves a squishy bun
You should also only be flipping the burger once after about three minutes. As for how well-cooked you like your burgers, the USDA recommends an internal temperature of 160˚F, but Flay likes to live on the edge with a medium-rare burger that has an internal temperature of 145 degrees. A cooking time of six minutes should give you a rare burger while 11 minutes will result in well-done, so you do you in this department.
Before your burger comes out of the pan, throw your cheese on with a few drops of water and cover the pan with a metal lid. This will create wonderful steam that gets the cheese melty after around 30 seconds.
People use everything from ciabatta rolls to English muffins for burger buns, but Flay feels that a burger bun should be "squishy" and if you choose the wrong one it will either fall apart or you get too much bread in each bite. Serious Eats named Martin's potato rolls as their favorite for its "sweet and pillowy texture." Sounds "squishy" enough to us.
As for the toppings, that's all a matter of choice, but Flay says his perfect topping of choice is potato chips because it adds a salty crunch that pairs well with the juicy burger. Hungry yet?