How to Fry a Hamburger

The perfect hamburger starts at home.

Is there anything better than a juicy hamburger? The only downside associated with this delicious food, is learning to properly cook it. If your heat is wrong, you’ll burn the outside, long before the inside is done. How do fry one that’s big and juicy, with the perfect crust on the outside? It’s easy. All you need to do is follow a few simple steps. Then you can say goodbye to the drive-thru and hello to homemade goodness.

Things You'll Need

• Salt
• Pepper
• Cast-iron skillet

Instructions

1. Season ground beef with salt and pepper. Salt and pepper adds great flavor to a hamburger, but most people only season the outside of the patties. Instead, you want to work the seasonings into the meat. This ensures that the flavor is found in each bite and throughout the hamburger.

2. Portion the meat into servings. One pound of ground beef yields 4 to 5 hamburger patties, depending on the size you want. Most hamburgers are 4 ounces, which means a pound will yield 4 patties. If you want larger patties, you can portion then meat into 1/3 or 1/2-pound patties.

3. Shape the patties. Many people make the mistake of compressing the meat too much. Instead, you want to loosely pack the meat into the shape of a patty. If you compress the meat too much, it won’t fry properly. It’s also important to make the patty bigger around than it is thick. As the patty cooks, it will draw up. If the patty is too thick, this could greatly increase the cooking time.

4. Brown the patties over medium-high heat. Heat a cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. Once hot, add your patties and fry on both sides until brown. This process isn’t meant to cook the patties, just to brown the outside so that you have a nice crust to bite into.

5. Reduce the heat and allow the patties to fry until they reach 160 degrees F. Some people do like their hamburger patties to be medium, but this isn’t safe. Insert a meat thermometer to check and make sure the proper temperature has been achieved.

Tips & Warnings

• Eighty percent lean ground beef is best for hamburgers.

• Grill seasoning is a great substitute for salt and pepper.

• You can also place pieces of onion or cheese inside the hamburger patties.

• To ensure that your patty cooks quickly, make an indention in the middle of the patty so that it doesn’t get too thick as the meat shrinks.

• To prevent patties from shrinking, you can use 93% lean ground beef.

• If you’d like to fry your patties faster, cover the skillet. The trapped steam will cook the meat more quickly.

• Undercooked ground beef can cause food borne illnesses. Make sure to cook it to the proper temperature.

Resources

• Read this Article in Spanish