Howdy folks. Hopefully you’ve read the news about my Ultimate Grilling Challenge and entered to win. If you are a burger fan, here are some essential grilling tips that should ensure perfect burgers every time:
Here are some essential tips that should ensure perfect burgers every time:
Meat – I like ground chuck for my burgers, which is about 20% fat. It makes a nice juicy burger, but there’s not so much fat that it overwhelms the flavor of the meat. You can also go for ground round, which is 15% fat. Anything leaner and you’ll probably wind up with a pretty dry burger, even if it’s perfectly cooked. I would suggest checking out the great selection from Allen Brothers (www.allenbrothers.com)
Size – Burger size matters. Too big, the outside burns before the inside is cooked. Too thin, it will cook through before it gets a chance to be medium- rare. The optimum size is 6 ounces of meat shaped into a patty about 3/4 inch thick and 4 inches across. This means you need 1 ½ pounds of meat to make 4 burgers.
The Grill - When it comes to heat, a grill is not an even surface. There are hot spots and less hot spots, and you need to know where they are. If some burgers are cooking faster or flaming up, move them to a cooler part of the grill so that all the burgers are done at the same time. Build a medium-hot fire in a charcoal or set your gas grill to medium-high and keep the cover closed while cooking.
Cooking – Cooking a burger is as easy as, well, cooking a burger. There are just a few simple rules you need to follow.
- Make sure the charcoal is hot or that your gas grill is sufficiently preheated.
- Don’t mash the patty—assemble the meat in the classic hamburger shape by handling it as little as possible. The less-tightly the meat is packed, the juicier will be the results.
- Don’t pat the burgers while they are cooking. Just leave them alone as they cook. They know what to do. Just keep your eye on the clock and turn them one time only.
- If you are making cheeseburgers, get the cheese on as soon as you turn the burgers—you don’t want to have to sacrifice a perfect burger to get the cheese appropriately melted.
- Salt the burgers before grilling—do not mix the salt into the meat, which will overwhelm the essential flavor of the meat.
- Have the buns and condiments ready, the drinks chilled, and the table set before you put the burgers on the heat. That way when the burgers are at their peak, you have everything set to go.
Bun to meat ratio: When it comes to the bun, I go with the idea that the bun should not overwhelm the burger. Some people like their burgers on rolls the size of monster truck tires. Personally I prefer a classic hamburger roll as fresh as possible. I think their the perfect size and their non-descript flavor doesn’t compete with the burger.
Stay tuned for more tips for the grill coming up soon! In the meantime, you can visit me anytime at mariobatali.com
and don’t forget to sign up for my Ultimate Grilling Challenge!
May 2nd, 2008 at 5:54 pm
Love you both.(rach and mario) One thing I would like to see is pro. cooks (chefs) taking people like my self, who have trouble boiling water. Teaching them to add flavor to their food. How do you cut, using a knife. I try cutting an onion like you, in nice square pieces. THey cam out like logs. Watching you all cook just doesn’t compute.
May 6th, 2008 at 1:56 pm
Dear Rachael,
I just moved to south carolina from saint louis, MO I absolutely love your shows both of them.. you are the most real, adorable, prettiest friendly smile i have seen on daytime television in my whole 24 years of life.. I have a recipe for a cabbage cassrole that you would absolutely love.. i would love to come on the show and show you this recipe thats phenomenol.. If i cant make it tot he show i would love to share it with you anyway… Cabbage, sausage, hamburger, rice, celery, onions and cheese with plenty of season baked then topped with a dollop od sour cream and fresh chives.. looking forward to getting back with you…
Sincerely,
Trent
P.S. honey i dont measure anything either it just comes natural when i cook.
May 29th, 2008 at 9:00 pm
HI I JUST WANTED TO KNOW WHEN MARIO’S NEW FOOD SHOW IS COMING TO PBS IAM A HUGE FAN AND HAVE LEARNED ALOT FROM THE MOLTO MARIO SHOW AND I’M LOOKING FORWARD TO SEEING THE NEW SHOW ON PBS