Full Guide to My Take on Burgers

Burgers

The American Icon

Buns

Preparing Your Bun:

• Toasting

  • Use some sort of fat, usually butter, to keep it from sticking to the pan

  • Adds Flavor and Texture Complexity to the Bun

• Baking

  • Always Recommended if you hate soggy buns

  • Adds Structure and Absorbance to the bun

Which Bun to Use:

• Potato Buns

  • Very light and fluffy

  • With or Without sesame seeds based on personal preference

  • Unhealthy

• Hawaiian (Portuguese) Sweet Rolls

  • Also, very light and fluffy

  • Don’t hold moisture very well

  • Sweet flavoring adds to the correct burger

  • Unhealthy

• Kaiser Roll (My Favorite)

  • Harder and more crusty

  • Hold moisture very well

  • Good for heavily stacked burgers

• Pretzel Roll

  • Harder with a salty coating

  • Salt can make the burger too salty of not monitored closely

  • can really make a unique burger compared to the others

Meats

• Types of Meat

  • Beef

    • Classic Burger meat

    • 15% fat is best in my opinion if you can find it

    • Very rich red meat

  • Turkey

    • Much more lean

    • Can require help sticking possibly an egg

    • Healthier than red meats

  • Non-Meat based protein

    • Black Bean

    • Impossible Meat

• Preparing your Patty

  • Always Season Ground Meats with Salt and Pepper before working with them

  • Add any flavoring while mixing the meat before forming patties

  • When forming patties, the most important measurement is thickness

  • Season the patty lightly with salt and pepper after forming

• Cooking your Patty

  • Stove

    • Meat can be slightly looser

    • Smooth Sear on the bottom and top of the patty

    • More controlled for a single patty

    • Must use a non-stick pan or some sort of fat

      • Butter is recommended as it is great for basting back on top of the burger as it cooks

  • Grill

    • Meat must be packed tightly together

    • Creates Grill Marks

    • Much Easier for multiple patties at once

    • Makes cooking certain toppings easy to do in unison with the patty so everything comes out at the same time

Toppings

• Extra Proteins

  • Bacon

  • Egg

    • Sunny Side up, over easy, over medium

    • Overhard is for Children

  • Chili

• Green Leafy Veggies

  • Lettuce

  • Spinach

  • Baby Arugula

• Flavor Packed Veggies

  • Bell Peppers

  • Spicy Peppers

    • Serrano

    • Poblano

    • Anaheim

  • Tomato

  • Guac

  • Mushrooms

    • These can allow you to get extremely extra and creative with your burgers for example cooking a portobello mushroom on the grill cracking an egg into it once the first side is done and serving that on top of your patty

So What’s My Favorite Burger to Make at Home?

*In Progress*