Tips to Grill the Best Burger

When grilling season comes around, there’s always tips and hacks on how to grill the best burger. The truth is, to get the best burger the only thing you really need to do is use quality ingredients.

Grind the Meat
If you’re able, grind the meat for your burger rather than buying it pre-ground at the grocery store. For beef burgers, you can use whatever cut is on sale including chuck, sirloin, brisket, round, hanger or short rib-eye. Chicken burgers are best when using a combination of thigh and breast, and pork burgers will be juicy when using a shoulder cut.
Combine Different Types of Meat
To get a juicy burger, you need to have fat. If you’re using a fairly lean cut of beef (like sirloin), add some pork to the mix to add more flavour and get a better consistency.
Keep the Ingredients Simple
In our opinion, the best burger recipe is simple:
– ground meat
– salt & pepper
– binder (egg and panko)
While you can definitely add spices and ingredients to your patty, don’t overdo it. Let your quality ingredients speak for themselves.
Form Large, Thin Patties
When it comes time to make the burger patties, we recommend weighing them out to ensure uniform size. Most people choose to make either 6- or 8-ounce burgers. When shaping the patties, make sure that they are formed larger than the bun, because they will shrink.
Grill Using Medium Heat
While you want to get grill marks, you don’t want to char the outside without cooking the inside. Medium heat is a good place to start. Don’t forget to oil the grill before putting on the burgers.
Flip Once
It can be tempting to move the burgers and flip them often while they’re cooking, but don’t do it! Let one side cook completely before flipping and allowing the other side to cook. Also, never push down on the burger! That just squeezes out flavour and can create dry burgers.
Check Internal Temperature
Before taking the burger off the grill, make sure you’re reaching the safe internal temperature for the type of meat you’re using.

When you start with quality ingredients, you’re well on your way to grilling the perfect burger!

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