The Best Burger Recipe (2024)

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If you are looking for the Best Burger Recipe, look no further! These homemade hamburgers only require a few simple ingredients and minimal prep work, but the results are perfection.

While making the perfect hamburger is quite simple, there are a few MUST follow tips that ensure your homemade burgers turn out juicy, flavorful, and are not overcooked.

The Best Burger Recipe (1)

Grilled Burgers are a classic American dish that is a staple dish for summer cook-outs. And when prepared correctly a good, juicy burger is hard to top.

But we have all had our share of burgers that are less than stellar. You know the ones I am talking about--dried-out, shriveled up, flavorless, over-cooked burgers.

What makes the difference between a dried out burger and a juicy burger? Let me break down exactly what you need and my secrets for preparing perfect homemade burgers.

Choose the Right Beef

To have a juicy, flavorful burger, you need fat. 80/20, or ground chuck, is the BEST ground beef to use for burgers. It has enough fat to ensure the hamburgers have flavor, but not too much that they are greasy or grizzly.

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Season with Care

Burgers are more about the meat than the seasonings. Salt and pepper are really the only things you need for a good burger. However, I love adding Homemade Dried Onion Soup Mix and Worcestershire sauce--that combination creates the BEST hamburger seasoning. Just remember when adding seasonings to the ground beef, be VERY careful to not overmix the meat, or you will end up with tough burgers.

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Shape Correctly

The first tip to shaping burgers is to lightly dampen your hands before shaping the meat. This will keep your hands from sticking to the hamburger meat, which can result in over-handling of the meat.

Secondly, you want to be sure each burger is the same size. Score the meat mixture into 4 equal sections so that you know each patty will be the same size.

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Hamburger patties will shrink in circumference and can bulge in the center if not shaped correctly, leaving you with a burger patty too small for your bun, not to mention difficult to eat.

To prevent these two common issues when making homemade burgers, shape 6-ounce patties slightly larger than your bun, and using your thumb, push an indentation in the center of each hamburger patty. This will help your hamburgers to cook up evenly and lie flat on the bun.

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Cook Burgers from Cold

You want the hamburger patties to be cold when they hit the heat. This keeps the fat cold, which means it will render inside the burgers, leaving the meat juicy and flavorful. Think about how cold butter melts into biscuits.I recommend forming the patties and then placing them into the refrigerator while you preheat your grill or skillet.

Grill or Pan-Fry

While you can certainly cook your burgers on a flat-top or in a cast-iron skillet, if you have access to a grill, grilled burgers have the best flavor, in my opinion. The grill imparts a smokey flavor and the contact with the hot grates creates a bit of char and texture to the hamburgers.

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Only Flip Once

It is crucial to only to flip your burgers once. Let them cook for 3-4 minutes on the first side and then flip and until the desired temperature is reached. And whatever you do, DO NOT press down on the burgers--this releases all the juices.

Cook to the Right Temperature

The USDA recommends that burgers be cooked to an internal temperature of 160 degrees Fahrenheit. The only way to ensure that your burger reaches the right temperature is to use a digital thermometer. A burger that is at 140 degrees may still be brown in the center and a burger that is at 160 degrees may at times have a pink hue. It is best to use a thermometer and insert it into the center of the burger to determine the temperature.

Remove the burgers from the grill or skillet when they are 5 degrees below the desired temperature, as they will continue to rise in temperature as they rest. This means to remove the burgers once they reach 155 degrees.

A lot of people prefer their hamburgers cooked to medium or medium-rare. That is completely personal preference but does increase the risk of food-borne illness.

Rest the Burgers

The key to keeping meat juicy is to REST the meat after it has cooked. This is especially true with hamburgers. For perfect burgers, let the cooked patties rest for 10 minutes, on a rack tented with foil.

Why a rack? This keeps the moisture from collecting underneath the burgers, which would make the buns soggy when the hamburgers are placed onto the bun.

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Cheeseburgers

I know a lot of people recommend placing the cheese on the hamburgers the last minute of grilling, but I find the cheese melts perfectly over the burgers while resting under tented foil. So if you desire cheese on your burgers, place thinly sliced cheese on top of each patty as soon as the burgers come off the grill. You can use Swiss, Cheddar, Colby, Muenster, or Provolone cheese.

Serving Hamburgers

For the burger buns, use sesame seed buns, brioche buns, or potato buns. If you desire them toasted, place cut side down onto the top grate of the grill, and allow to toast for one minute.

As for toppings, choose as desired. Lettuce, tomatoes, onion slices, mayonnaise, mustard, and ketchup are all good options.

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Video for Perfect Burgers

Check out my step-by-step video on how to Perfect Burgers on YouTube. This video show you exactly what I do and clearly walk you through the steps if you are a more visual learner.

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Sides for Burgers

  • Instant Pot Corn on the Cob
  • Homemade Baked Beans
  • Oven Fries
  • Easy Homemade Coleslaw

These burgers are truly the best burgers! Whether made with or without cheese, grilled or pan-fried, homemade hamburgers are a meal the whole family is sure to enjoy!

The Best Burger Recipe (10)

Perfect Hamburgers

Homemade hamburgers only require a few simple ingredients, but the process is key for perfect burgers. This recipe breaks down those steps so you can have a delicious, juicy, burger.

4.99 from 53 votes

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Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American

Prep Time: 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes minutes

Total Time: 15 minutes minutes

Servings: 4

Calories: 437kcal

Author: Kristen Chidsey

Ingredients

  • 24 ounces ground chuck 80/20 ground beef
  • ½ tablespoon dried onion soup mix
  • 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
  • 4 slices cheese optional
  • buns, tomatoes, onions, lettuce, condiments, etc

Instructions

  • Place the ground beef in a large mixing bowl and add in the Worcestershire sauce and Onion Soup Mix.

  • Gently mix the seasonings into the meat using your hands until just incorporated.

  • Score the meat into 4 sections. And then shape each section into a patty that is about ¾ to 1 inch thick and slightly larger than the bottom of your burger bun.

  • Using your thumb, press down on the center of each burger about ¼ inch deep, forming an indentation in each burger.

  • Place the hamburger patties back into the refrigerator until ready to grill.

  • Preheat the grill to medium-high heat.

  • Add the burgers to the grill and cook for 4 minutes on the first side.

  • Flip the burgers, resisting the urge to press down on the patty. Cook until the burgers reach 155 degrees Fahrenheit.

  • Remove burgers from the grill and place onto a plate or a rack on a baking sheet. Top with sliced cheese if desired, and loosely tent with aluminum foil. Let burgers rest for 10 minutes before assembling the burger.

  • Assemble the hamburgers by placing onto a bun and then topping as desired.

Notes

To Pan-Fry the Burgers: Preheat a cast-iron skillet to medium-high heat. Place prepared patties into the skillet and cook for 3 minutes per the first side and then flip and cook until the desired temperature is reached.

Temperature for Burgers: Cook burgers until they reach 5 degrees below the temperature you desire.

  • Well-done: 160 degrees.
  • Medium-Well: 150-155 degrees.
  • Medium 140-145 degrees.

Dried Onion Soup Seasoning: 1 teaspoon onion flakes, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon each of garlic powder, onion powder, celery powder, pepper, and dried parsley.

Nutrition

Calories: 437kcal | Carbohydrates: 1g | Protein: 29g | Fat: 34g | Saturated Fat: 13g | Cholesterol: 121mg | Sodium: 219mg | Potassium: 483mg | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 34mg | Iron: 3mg

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The Best Burger Recipe (2024)

FAQs

Do you mix egg with ground beef for burgers? ›

Instructions for How to Make Ground Beef Patties for burgers: In a mixing bowl, combine the ground beef, 1 egg, and a generous amount of salt and pepper to season (half tsp each). Egg is a burger binding agent for the ground beef patty. Divide the well mixed beef into four equal round balls and form into patties.

What makes a great tasting burger? ›

Look for the Perfect Ratio of Meat to Fat

For well-cooked burgers, go with 75% meat to 25% fat, because they'll be cooked longer and you don't want a tough burger. For most people, an 80% / 20% balance is just right. Using a charcoal grill delivers delicious flavor.

What can you add to hamburger meat to make it taste better? ›

Add a flavorful liquid: Add a small amount of beef broth, tomato sauce, or red wine to the ground beef while it cooks to add extra flavor. Add vegetables: Finely chop vegetables such as onions, mushrooms, or bell peppers and add them to the ground beef while it cooks.

What is the most important ingredient in a burger? ›

The meat you buy is perhaps the most important ingredient. Ground beef is available in many ratios. If you buy 80/20, for example, it is 80% lean meat and 20% fat.

What does Gordon Ramsay put in his burgers? ›

Once my patties were ready, I built my burgers.

First I spread some of Ramsay's sriracha mayonnaise on my bottom buns. Then I added the Gem Lettuce, tomato, and onion slices, plus my cheeseburger and bacon. After I threw a few more onion slices on top and spread more sauce on my top buns, my burger was ready to go.

What makes homemade burgers juicy? ›

Making a juicy, flavorful hamburger starts with using the ideal beef-to-fat ratio. In this case, we recommend an 80/20 ratio—that's 80% beef to 20% fat; just enough fat to make it juicy. You can use a 90/10 ratio if you like, but remember that the leaner the beef, the less flavor and juice you'll get to enjoy later on.

How do you make hamburger patties stay together? ›

Add 1 egg yolk per pound of hamburger. It won't add appreciably to the fat content and will bind the meat beautifully. The other thing you can do is add canned, drained, crushed black beans or chickpeas to the hamburger. The starch from the beans will bind the meat together and add an interesting taste.

How do you keep burgers from falling apart? ›

Resist the urge to constantly flip the burgers while they cook. Flipping them too often can cause them to fall apart. Let the burgers cook for a few minutes on one side before flipping them once. This will help them develop a nice sear and hold together better.

Should you mix seasoning into burgers? ›

Yes. To ensure the seasoning flavors are well established and distributed throughout, it's a good idea to season both sides of the burger patty. This is especially true if it's a premade burger since you won't be able to mix the seasoning directly into the meat.

What is the best binder for burgers? ›

If they aren't bound well, the patties will start to fall apart as soon as you start cooking them. The most commonly used binding agent for hamburger patties is eggs. They work well with ground meat and are easy to incorporate into the rest of your ingredients.

What holds hamburger patties together? ›

Bind the patty together

If you're going for a leaner meat or adding bulky ingredients (eg spring onions, onions, chillies), add an egg and a handful of breadcrumbs to bind the burgers.

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