Cooking The Perfect Burger
Sometimes there is nothing more gourmet than a good hamburger. Juicy and savory, it takes just a little extra effort to get it just right — perfect, in fact.
The Saturday Early Show is joined by John Willoughby, executive editor at Gourmet magazine, who says the perfect burger starts with a good piece of meat and a meat grinder. He suggests using fatty chuck, well-marbled with a strip of fat running through the middle. Higher-end meats such as sirloin are often too lean, resulting in a very dry burger.
RECIPE
Hamburgers
2 1/2 pounds boneless chuck steak
2 teaspoons salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
Meat grinder with a 3/8-inch or ¼-inch inch die
Grilled or toasted hamburger buns, or kaiser rolls
Sprinkle steak with 1 1/2 teaspoon salt. Transfer to a sealable plastic bag and refrigerate for 24 hours.
Prepare a charcoal or gas grill: If using a charcoal grill, open vents in bottom of grill, then light charcoal. Fire is medium-hot when you can hold your hand 5 inches above rack for just 3 to 4 seconds. If using a gas grill, preheat on high, covered, for 10 minutes, then reduce heat to moderately high.
Rinse steak under cold water, then pat dry and cut into 1-inch cubes. Feed cubes through meat grinder into a chilled bowl. Lightly mix meat with your hands to distribute fat evenly, then divide into 6 balls. Flatten balls into patties about ¾-inch thick and 4 inches wide and refrigerate until ready to grill.
Sprinkle burgers with remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper. Lightly oil grill rack. Grill burgers (covered only if using gas grill), turning once, for about 5 minutes total for rare or about 6 minutes for medium rare. (Burgers will continue to cook slightly off the grill.)
Serve burgers on buns.
The burgers can also be cooked on a well-seasoned cast-iron griddle over moderately high heat, turning once, for about 6 minutes for rare, 7 minutes for medium-rare.
Sometimes there is nothing more gourmet than a good hamburger. Juicy and savory, it takes just a little extra effort to get it just right — perfect, in fact.