Broil, Grill or Panfry the Hamburger – Which is better?
The Hamburger is one of the most spread fast-food American meal around the world. But the Hamburgers cooked and prepared at home have a tastier, better and juicier texture and flavor. But which technique is the best one when it comes to cooking the hamburger meat: By broiling, grilling or by panfrying?
What you’ll find in this article:
- How to Broil the Hamburger meat.
- How to Grill the Hamburger meat.
- How to Panfry the Hamburger meat.
- Making the Cheesburger variation.
- The history and Facts of the Hamburger
- The McDonald’s burgers
- The best method to cook the Hamburger Meat
First, some Notes and Tips…
- Store the uncooked meat immediately in the coldest part of your refrigerator, or freeze as soon as possible. Ground meat deteriorates more quickly than other cuts, so it should be used promptly.
- Don’t press the beef patties with a spatula while cooking. Pressing squeezes natural juices out and makes the burgers dry and less tender.
- For more flavor and better burgers, use lean or regular ground beef. Hamburgers made with extra-lean ground beef may crumble when broiled. For a moister hamburger, use coarsely ground instead of finely ground beef.
Broiling the Hamburger
To broil the Hamburger meat you need to:
1. You may need to move the oven rack so it is 5 to 6 inches below the broiler. Set the oven control to broil.
2. Mix the beef, water, salt and pepper in a bowl. Shape the mixture into 4 uniform, flat patties, each about 3/4 inch thick. Shaping the patties to have smooth edges will keep them together during cooking and result in uniform doneness. Gently pinch to close any cracks in the patty. Handle the patties as little as possible, the more the beef is handled, the less juicy the burgers will be.
3. Place the patties on the rack in a broiler pan. For easier cleanup, line the bottom of the broiler pan with aluminum foil before placing patties on the rack.
4. Broil patties with tops about 3 inches from heat, 5 to 7 minutes on each side for doneness, turning once, until no longer pink in center and juice is clear. Serve on buns.
Grilling the Hamburger
To Grill the Hamburger meat you need to:
1. Prepare the coals or a gas grill for direct heat. Heat to medium heat, which will take about 40 minutes for charcoal or about 10 minutes for a gas grill.
2. Mix the beef, water, salt and pepper in a bowl. Shape the mixture into 4 uniform, flat patties, each about 3/4 inch thick. Shaping the patties to have smooth edges will keep them together during cooking and result in uniform doneness. Gently pinch to close any cracks in the patty. Handle the patties as little as possible, the more the beef is handled, the less juicy the burgers will be.
3. Place the patties on the grill about 4 inches from medium heat. Grill uncovered 7 to 8 minutes on each side for doneness, turning once, until no longer pink in the center and the juice is clear. Loosen patties gently with a turner to prevent crumbling. You can put the buns on the grill for 20 seconds for a better taste.
Panfrying the Hamburger
To Panfry the Hamburger meat you need to:
1. Mix the beef, water, salt and pepper in a bowl. Shape the mixture into 4 uniform, flat patties, each about 3/4 inch thick. Shaping the patties to have smooth edges will keep them together during cooking and result in uniform doneness. Gently pinch to close any cracks in the patty. Handle the patties as little as possible, the more the beef is handled, the less juicy the burgers will be.
2. Cook the patties in a skillet over medium heat about 10 minutes for doneness, turning occasionally, until no longer pink in center and the juice is clear. Serve on buns.
Variation: Cheeseburger
About 1 minute before the hamburgers are done, top each burger with 1 slice (1 ounce) American, Cheddar, Swiss or Monterey Jack cheese. Broil until cheese is melted and bubbling.
About the Hamburger
A hamburger (short: burger) is a sandwich consisting of one or more cooked patties of ground meat, usually beef, placed inside a sliced bread roll or bun. The patty may be pan-fried, grilled, or flame-broiled. Hamburgers are often served with cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion, pickles, bacon, or chiles; condiments such as ketchup, mayonnaise, mustard, relish, or “special sauce”; and are frequently placed on sesame seed buns. A hamburger topped with cheese is called a cheeseburger. – Source: Wikipedia – burger.
The brief history of Hamburger
It is said that, in 1885, “Hamburger Charlie” Nagreen, when having little success at selling meat balls at a county fair, decided to put them between two pieces of bread to make it easier to eat them on the move. Finally, the Menches Brothers claim to have invented the dish at a 1885 county fair in Hamburg, New York. As the story goes, the brothers ran out of pork for their sausage patty sandwiches and cooked up a minced beef sandwich, flavoured with coffee and brown sugar, instead.
Where to find interesting facts?
Burgers – once considered being a quintessential meal for Americans has today become a part of daily food habit for people around the globe. That’s because they are fast to eat, easy to get and can be eaten while working…practically, everywhere! But the most interesting facts about burgers can be read here.
The Hamburgers at McDonald’s
We all know this brand, well, one of the biggest brands selling Hamburgers. If you don’t have time to make the Hamburger or Cheeseburger at home, you can buy McDonald’s Hamburger instead. But the taste and flavor are better if you do these burgers in your own kitchen.
Well? Which of the Cooking styles is the best?
Either way you make the Hamburger meat is ok, it’s important how you like it. But, there’s always a “but”. The Panfry method is less time consuming and needs only a skillet to do the trick. Therefore, if you don’t have a lot of time to make the burgers, the panfrying style is the best suited for you. If time isn’t a problem for you, then choose any method, all are great!
Enjoy!