Dry and Crusty Burgers NO MORE!

If you are like most avid grillers you have no doubt encountered hamburger patties that dry up and burn too easily.  There are very easy rules to follow to prevent that from ever happening to you again.  I learned these from trial and error, have fun experimenting!

Rule #1:  Do not purchase pre-made hamburger patties from the store.  Most of the time these patties are too thin, too small, and too high in fat content.  The high fat content causes large flames during cooking due to dripping fat and will cause burned patties quickly.  It's almost like they are made to dry and shrivel up when cooked.

Rule #2:  Purchase extra lean ground beef for hamburger patties, I prefer 15% fat content.  You can go leaner than this but 15% seems to do well at keeping moist enough and keeping shrinkage under control.  The cheapest ground beef can contain up to 30% fat.  The higher the fat content the more shrinkage and burning you will have.  You should never use ground beef with more that 22% fat content when grilling.

Rule #3:  Always add bread and milk, 2 slices of dense bread (Not enriched white fluff) and 1/4 cup of milk per 1 pound of meat.  Doing this protects the moister in the patty while cooking and makes them very tender and succulent as well.  Some people use an egg for this purpose but I find that bread and milk work much better.  When adding your bread and milk take advantage of the opportunity to mix in your grilling spices as well.  I prefer Garlic Powder, Black Pepper and Mrs Dash original, but you can use anything you like.  Instructions are below.

Ingredients:
2 Slices of Bread (Dense/Premium not fluffy)
1/4 cup Milk
1 lb Ground Beef (15% or leaner preferably)
Optional Grilling Spices (I recommend Garlic Powder, Black Pepper and Mrs. Dash original)

1.  Break your bread into 4 or more pieces and add them to your bowl.
2.  Add the milk and spices then mix with clean hands until smooth (No chunks).
3.  Add ground beef and mix well with clean hands.

Rule #4:  Form your patties evenly and at a thickness no less than 1/2" and no more than 3/4".  I recommended using no less than 1/4 lb for each patty.  Make sure your edges are the same thickness as the center of the patty or they will burn.  One of my favorite variations on preparing the patties is the Juicy Lucy patty.

Rule #5:  Refrigerate your patties for at least 1-2 hours before cooking.  This will prevent breaking apart while loading them on the grill.

Rule #6:  Heat up your grill on high until hot.  Dab your grill surface with Olive Oil to prevent sticking, I prefer to do this with a paper towel instead of a brush.  Reduce heat to Medium for cooking, they will need 5-7 min per side.  Closer to 5 min if you want Med-Well and 7 min for Well Done.

Rule #7:  No peeking or poking.  Be patient, the more you open the grill and flip your patties the worse they will become.  They will take longer to cook and they will fall apart more each time you turn them.

Experiement and enjoy!  Let us know if you find good variations on spices or quantities!

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