20 Irresistible Cheeseburger Recipes (2024)

FAQs

What is the secret to juicy hamburgers? ›

A little extra moisture helps even well-done burgers stay juicy and tender, even if they're made from 90% lean ground beef. Mix in 1/4-1/2 cup water per pound of ground beef before forming your patties to reap the tenderizing benefit of H20. Some chefs tuck an ice cube into the middle of the patty for the same effect.

If it's 20 people eating burgers, you'll need 5 lbs. If it's 20 people eating rib eye, then 10–20 lbs should be about right. Add more if you'll be serving seconds.

Ground Beef – We use 1.5 lbs of 80/20 beef to make 4 double-patty burgers, but you can easily scale the recipe up to feed a crowd (use 3 lbs for 8 double-patty burgers).

Make sure you have enough fat in your burger blend

The high heat cooking needs fat to melt into your burger or you will end up with dry, rubbery, bland burgers every time. Your basic ratio should always include 20% fat.

Egg yolk acts as a binder and adds flavor

After forming it into a patty, he explains that the egg actually helps bind the meat together, and adds an incredibly rich flavor to the burger patty. As a good rule of thumb, it's best to add one yolk per pound of ground beef.

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.

80/20 Ground Chuck Is Best for Burgers

The best ground beef to buy for burgers is 80/20 ground chuck – 80% lean meat and 20% fat. Ground chuck is ground from the shoulder and has that ideal lean-to-fat ratio of 80/20 (i.e. not too lean) for a super flavorful, juicy burger.

A good rule of thumb is to add one egg for every pound of ground meat you use.

I use 2lbs ground beef to create eight burger patties, so each burger is 1/4lb. That said, eight 1/4lb burgers only take 20 minutes to reach 160 degrees in a 375 degree oven. This a true 30 minute meal: 10 minutes to season then shape the burgers and 20 minutes to cook.

Key steps for juicy burger patties

Be gentle when mixing and shaping. Using cold butter and beef will make handling the beef a little bit easier, but you'll still want to avoid over-mixing or being too rough while shaping the patties. Salt the burgers after shaping.

Should you mix seasoning into burgers? ›

Mixing salt, pepper and any other seasonings right into your ground beef is one way to season them. This method has the advantage of distributing the flavors throughout the meat, and it's the only realistic way to get add-ins like minced onion or herbs into the mix.

Using of egg to bind a burger is the most common and simple process. Start by adding one egg to the mixture for every pound of ground beef. You can use the whole egg or just the egg white based on your needs.

Salt draws out moisture from proteins, which is a good thing when brining whole proteins like steak. With ground meat, salt can draw out too much moisture, leading to a dry, dense burger. So sprinkle the patties with salt just before grilling to create a juicy interior and a deliciously salty crust.

Secret Ingredients – My secret to juicy burgers is mixing olive oil and Worcestershire sauce into the meat prior to cooking! This locks in the moisture and amps up the flavor. Try it and taste the difference. Seasonings – I keep it simple with sea salt, black pepper, and a little garlic powder.