“It’s all about the griddle

If you’ve ever tried to cook a burger in your home kitchen or on the grill, the results were most likely hit-or-miss. Maybe it turned out perfectly cooked inside, but gray and lifeless on the outside, or possibly the outside had a nice crust but the inside was overcooked. But head to your favorite burger spot and not only are the patties perfectly cooked to your preferred temperature, they’re also nice and crusty on the outside. What gives?

Here’s the deal: Most top-notch burger places use a well-seasoned cast-iron griddle to cook their burgers. These griddles are set at a perfect temperature, one that allows the burgers to quickly get a nice crust while remaining pink on the inside; the patties are also often pressed into the griddle right after they hit the grill and then scraped off with a sharp spatula, so that all of the crust comes with it. Most great burger chefs can tell when a burger is cooked just by pressing on it, and they melt cheese on top by covering the patty with a bowl and squirting some water underneath, creating steam.

The fact of the matter is, a great burger is really hard to cook at home. But if you have a heavy-duty cast iron pan and a good metal spatula (as well as a functional hood for proper smoke ventilation), you’ve got the right tools for the job.…”

https://www.thedailymeal.com/e...taurant-burgers-best

BTW – my condo has 81 units, but mine is the only one that has an outdoor exhaust for my range hood – lucky me! Also, I have a nice Sabatier SS spatula that’s great for pressing burgers onto my cast iron pan, and scraping them off.

Absolutely, I quit grilling except when I have a griddle on the grille.
I saw that tip on "the Kitchen" a while back and it's true you need to cook them in their grease to keep em juicy.
I promptly went out and got a cast iron griddle for my grille.
Another reason I got tired of them falling apart.
It is truly the only way!

I use my GrillGrate on my gas grill flipped to the smooth side and burgers come out great this way, it replicates a restaurant griddle:

You are also not smoking up your house trying to do this inside, even with a vent hood it can get smoky.

Making me crave a burger for lunch!
One of the absolute best burgers in my area is made at the local pool hall...fresh ground beef, hand pressed patties, made to order fries and onion rings. I may be headed to Rainbow Billiards now...thanks!

Griddle or, cast iron pan, either one will work but, the need to contain the fats and juices to maintain the moisture level of the patty is paramount.

One of my favorite burger places around here is actually a Greek restaurant.

They cook their burgers on the same griddle as much of their other meat, so it gets some of the Greek seasoning and lamb flavor from the griddle cooked into it.

Topped with feta cheese, it's amazing.

^^^That's a great idea for the grill grate. My parents gave us one last summer and I never used that. I'll have to try that for burgers.

" burgers come out great this way" [see photo above]

that does it. We got a foot of snow on the barbie currently but next trip to the grill store I'm putting the cash down on a griddle top, as my research had almost come to the same conclusion.

quote:

Originally posted by signewt:
" burgers come out great this way" [see photo above]

that does it. We got a foot of snow on the barbie currently but next trip to the grill store I'm putting the cash down on a griddle top, as my research had almost come to the same conclusion.

Get one of these instead and you'll have the best of both worlds:

GrillGrates

They are good that way,

I prefer to put mine on the smoker, low and slow, then crank up they are never raw, never over cooked, cheese melts nicely, no flare ups juicy, mmmmm!

The only thing missing is the crust, which you can get with popping them in a cast iron skillet.

I would add that the use of the flat side and no holes is the best.
Using grates with raised grease catchers and holes will defeat the purpose.
YMMV

There’s a hamburger joint up the road from where I live that uses a griddle that’s been in continuous use since 1916. The burgers there are indescribably delicious.

I like to reverse sear them similar to how I do my steaks.

My favorite way:

I use an 85% lean beef/chuck and season with either S&P or Montreal Steak seasoning

Preheat smoker to 225F

Put burgers on smoker

Preheat a skillet to 450F

Cook until burger internal temp is 140-145

Transfer to skillet and crank the heat on the skillet

Flip every 30 seconds to achieve good sear

Cook until burger internal temp is 160

The smoke gives it a nice additional layer of flavor, get a good malliard reaction (carmelization) w/o creating a hockey puck, very even level of doneness all the way through, and it's super juicy.

---

Ego is the anesthesia that deadens the pain of stupidity

DISCLAIMER: These are the author's own personal views and do not represent the views of the author's employer.

After trying smashburgers it's now the only way the family will allow me to make them. They are great.

Cast iron skillet or griddle
80/20 or 85/15 ground beef
Divide into number of burgers you want with minimal handling, you want rough edges - not smooth balls or patties
Salt and pepper
Get cast iron really hot - use vegetable oil, it has a high smoke point
Place meat on surface and smash with burger press or spatula, get as flat as possible
Flip and put American cheese slice on top
Should have crispy edges
Remove and serve

Best burgers ever - I'll never go back to making fat patties or mini meatloafs as I now refer to them.

Most of time nowadays I find myself using our cast iron skillet for steaks and burgers. I really like the control and the flavor is pretty solid.

quote:

Originally posted by BamaJeepster:
After trying smashburgers it's now the only way the family will allow me to make them. They are great.

Cast iron skillet or griddle

80/20 or 85/15 ground beef

Get cast iron really hot - use vegetable oil, it has a high smoke point

You shouldn't have to use oil in a pan with 80/20 ground beef.

It's 20% FAT.

quote:

Originally posted by PASig:
You shouldn't have to use oil in a pan with 80/20 ground beef.

It's 20% FAT.

I just use a light amount to coat the pan - like wiping it with a paper towel - I never heat a dry cast iron skillet or griddle.

quote:

Originally posted by BamaJeepster:
After trying smashburgers it's now the only way the family will allow me to make them. They are great. <snip>

How to make a smash burger at home – a short video. This guy has a problem with eye contact, and I’m not so sure about the mayo, but otherwise good.

https://youtu.be/K7tTcBcjI0c

^^^^He knows what he likes! Lol at the end.