Folks, I miss summer. I miss impromptu beach trips, brain freezeâinducing cocktails, and SPF in triple digits. But more than anything, I miss burgers. Plump, juicy, smoky burgers. The kind that only come off the grill.
Burgers cooked on the stovetop usually can’t compare. With no smoke and nowhere for the beef fat to go, the meat usually ends up simmering in its own juices instead of searing over a hot flame. The flavor, moisture, and texture is completely different than those of grilled burgers.
But does it have to be? Or is it possible to cook an excellent burger indoors? To find out, I asked grillmaster Dave Joachim
When making burgers at home, some people stick them under the broiler. Some cooks deep-fry their burgers to get that crisp exterior. The best way? Do as Dave does and get a cast-iron pan ripping hot. In less than a minute in the pan, your burgers will form a crusty sear.
âI like a flat pan because you get better browning across the whole surface of the meat, which is one of the advantages of cooking indoors,â says television personality and cookbook author Dave Joachim
Over the summer, we recommended dimpling
Also, says Joachim, âitâs difficult to get a rare center if you dimple.” So if you’re looking for a thick, steakhouse-style burger served rare, don’t dimple the patties. If, however, you prefer a flatter, diner-style burger that’s ready for a mountain of toppings, feel free to dimple away.
You want your burger patties to be chilled when they hit the pan. Cold fat gets clingy, which helps a burger patty keep its shape throughout cooking. But when you handle the meat to form the patties, the warmth from your hands causes some of the fat to break down, so cover and chill the formed patties for at least 20 minutes before cooking them. This will also help prevent the center from cooking too quickly.
Keeping raw ground beef out at room temperature also isn’t the best idea, safety-wise. âYou have to be careful, particularly with meat thatâs coming from different cows,â says Joachim. (Most ground beef is sourced from a variety of steers
