Burgers how long cook

The goal of "dimpling" is to prevent the burger from puffing up in the center. But does it really work? Like everyone else, I wanted to prevent puffing, but I also wanted to minimize shrinkage with my burgers, so I tested it out.

I found that a thumbprint or tablespoon indentation prevented center puffing, but the burgers still shrank. Making a wide, shallow depression in the patty, however, worked like a charm.

Think of a salad plate rather than a donut. One more tip: Rather than smash the patties together in your hands, place approximately 5 oz of meat on a tray or platter lined with parchment. Gently flatten the top of the burger and make your wide shallow depression "dimple" with one hand while pressing your other hand against the sides form a circle.

This creates a depression without overheating or overworking the ground beef. For Raichlan, the best choice for grilling burgers is always wood or charcoal because of the additional flavor and charring that happens with those grills.

If you use charcoal, you can add different kinds of wood to contribute to the smokiness and enhance the overall flavor of the burger. In general, follow these total grilling times:. Cooking burgers to other degrees of doneness should be done at the cook's discretion.

All this said, ultimately, the time it takes for a hamburger to reach a certain temperature depends on how hot your grill is and how thick your patty is.

Raichlen suggests checking the temperature of the burger by inserting the meat thermometer through the side, not through the top; this gives you a more accurate reading. Pressing forces the fat and flavor out the burgers, which results in dry, bland patties. However, feel free to frequently flip your burgers.

Raichlen once believed it was best to let the burger be and only flip once during cooking, but he has since changed his tune and sites research that says it frequent flipping cooks a burger more evenly. Add cheese about 1 minute before the burger is finished cooking. Some of my favorite flavors are Swiss, cheddar, and Havarti. They are rich with butter and sturdy enough to hold all of my fixings and my burger, but also they squish down and are easy to bite through.

Whichever buns you prefer, butter the top and bottom of the bun, and then plop them on the back of the grill, out of direct heat, until they are golden. Start toasting the buns when you have a minute left on the patties. Let the burgers rest for a minute after they come off the grill. This allows time for the juices to redistribute throughout the burger, giving you a more flavorful experience. You can blend different cuts of meat, add mushrooms, anchovies, herbs, or cubes of cheese.

Ultimately, the choice is yours. The patties should be 4-inches across and 1-inch thick at the edges before cooking. I like hamburgers with a bit of a garlic kick. So, if you prefer a subtler garlic flavor, feel free to reduce the amount to your liking or eliminate altogether. Put the cold ground beef in mixing bowl.

Pop your burgers on the barbecue or in a hot, non-stick frying pan with a little oil. Cook for 5 — 6 minutes each side for medium and 8 — 9 minutes on each side for well done. Once the burger has browned on both sides, pop your cheese on top if using and cover with a small bowl or lid to finish off cooking, this will melt the cheese and keep all the lovely meaty juices inside the burger. Finally, the buns: Always toast soft buns as it keeps the sauce from sinking into them and gives you a nice contrast of textures.

Share you favourite burger tips and flavourings below and take a look at our burger recipes collection to get you started. For a different take on burgers, try our tuna , turkey and vegetarian burger recipes too.

Subscriber club Reader offers More Good Food. Sign in. Back to Recipes Pumpkin recipes Butternut squash See more. In truth, a burger can take anywhere from just a couple minutes to 10 or even 15 minutes to fully cook through. It depends on three main variables: how hot the grill or pan is, how thick the burger is, and whether you want it rare, medium rare, medium, medium well, or well done.

The thicker the burger, the longer it takes to cook. It will also take more time if your grill or pan isn't as hot.

Lower temperatures also mean that the burger will take longer to get that crispy crust on the outside and will be more likely to dry out, because it takes so long to cook. For this reason, we recommend cooking at as high a temperature as you safely can. Not only does this reduce cooking times, but it is more likely to result in a juicier burger, with lots of flavor.

And all you have to do is flip it when it's ready, and take it off the heat when it's done. You may have read—or had some burger-master try to tell you—that you shouldn't over-flip a burger. The theory is that this will somehow prevent the meat from browning properly. So a few years ago scientist-cook J. We do recommend letting the patty cook for at least minutes before giving it a first flip, to give the meat time to sear. Otherwise, the patty may start to fall apart. After that, however, you can flip it once and be done, or flip it as often as you like, trying to get both sides to cook and brown evenly.

Either way, the important thing is to be attentive. You can always cook your burger a little longer, but there's not much you can do if it becomes overcooked. George Motz, the author of Hamburger America , recommends a method popular with short-order cooks in the Midwest. Cooking meat over an open flame will always yield some degree of savory, smoky flavor. We especially like to cook burgers and other smaller cuts of meat over a compact charcoal grill , like a traditional hibachi or the Lodge Sportsman , on which the grates sit close to the heat source, making it easier to achieve a crispy, charred exterior.