There's nothing quite like taking that first bite into a delicious grilled burger loaded with all of your favorite condiments and toppings. However, the first step in creating this delicious meal is grilling your beef patties. Unfortunately, this is an area where many people mess up on. In a perfect world, you can toss some patties on the grill for 10 minutes, take them off, and then doctor up your burgers, but this isn't the case. To achieve a truly delicious burger, you have to pay attention to the small details.
Choosing Your Hamburger Meat
One of the most common mistakes people make when grilling burgers is using the wrong type of ground beef. Even if you're on a diet kick and trying to lose weight, you should stick to ground beef with 20% fat content. The fat is useful for not only giving it a distinct burger flavor, but it also holds the meat together when it's being grilled. Lean beef with 10% or less fat has a tendency to fall apart when it's placed over a flame, which is something no one wants to happen.
Flip It Once
Ideally, you should try to get into the habit of flipping your hamburger patties once, allowing them to cook thoroughly on both sides. There are a couple of reasons behind this, one of which is that it allows the patties to retain more of their juices. When you start flipping them every couple minutes, you'll knock off the juices that have accumulated on the top; therefore, drying out your patties. Flipping your patties once also helps to cook them more evenly. Instead of having one side of your burger raw and the other side well done, it will be cooked evenly throughout.
Press Down In The Center
Another little hamburger-grilling tip I've learned over the years is to press down in the center of your patties with your thumb to create a small indention. Instead of expanding into huge pucks when they're on the grill, the patties will naturally fill up the hole created with your thumb. In addition, you can use it to place sauces or marinate in to give it an extra kick of flavor.
These are just a few simple tips and tricks to remember when making grilled burgers. The best advice will come from your own experience, so don't be afraid to try new things. After all, that's the only way you're going to know if you like something different.
