Hamburgers rewards a little know-how: how to choose them, cook them, store them, and substitute in a pinch. Browse 19 recipes to cook with them.

What are hamburgers?

A hamburger is a patty of ground beef, cooked and usually served on a bun. The patty is the whole game here. Get the meat and the handling right and the toppings are just decoration.

The single biggest decision is the fat. Lean ground beef makes a dry, crumbly burger, so you want ground chuck at about 80 percent lean to 20 percent fat. That fat is what keeps the inside juicy and carries the flavor.

Everything else, the seasoning, the sear, the doneness, follows from treating that ground beef gently.

Forming and Cooking the Patty

Handle the meat as little as possible. Scoop a loose portion, about 5 to 6 ounces (150 to 170 g) for a standard burger, and pat it into shape with a light hand. Overworking the meat packs it tight and cooks up dense and tough, like a meatball.

Make the patty a little wider than your bun, since it shrinks as it cooks. Then press a shallow dimple into the center with your thumb. Burgers puff up in the middle as they cook, and that divot keeps them flat instead of bulging into a dome.

Season the outside only, and do it just before cooking. A generous coat of salt and pepper on each face is plenty. Mixing salt into the raw meat ahead of time dissolves the proteins and gives you that bouncy, sausage-like texture you are trying to avoid.

Cook over high heat to build a brown crust. On a hot skillet or grill, a 3⁄4-inch patty takes roughly 3 to 4 minutes a side. Flip it once. Pressing down with the spatula only squeezes out the juices, so leave it alone.

Doneness and Food Safety

This is the part that actually matters for your safety. Ground beef is not a steak. Grinding spreads any surface bacteria all through the meat, so a burger has to be cooked further than a whole cut.

Cook ground beef to an internal temperature of 160°F (71°C), measured with an instant-read thermometer in the center. At that point the inside is no longer pink and the juices run clear.

A rare or pink burger from regular store-bought ground beef carries a real risk of E. coli and other pathogens.

If you want a burger cooked less than well-done, the safer route is to buy a whole chuck roast and grind it yourself, or have the butcher grind it fresh while you watch. That limits the surface area where bacteria can hide.

Toppings and Pairings

Classic toppings layer cool and crisp against the hot patty. Lettuce, tomato, onion, and pickles all bring crunch and freshness. Lay melted cheese on in the last minute so it slumps over the edges; cheddar and American melt best.

Fruit and relishes are an underrated move. Hamburgers with Peach Relish leans sweet against the savory beef, and a sharp salsa does the same job in a Frontier Buffalo Burger with Green Tomato Salsa.

Toast the cut sides of the bun in the pan or on the grill. A toasted bun holds up to juices and condiments instead of going soggy and falling apart.

The mistake that ruins more burgers than any other is a patty cooked from a cold center on too-low heat. It greys out before it browns. Let the meat lose its deep chill for a few minutes, then cook hot and fast.

Buying and Storing Ground Beef

For burgers, buy ground chuck rather than the leaner "ground round" or "ground sirloin," which dry out. The label states the lean-to-fat ratio; 80/20 is the sweet spot, while 85/15 works if you want a bit less grease.

Fresh ground beef should be bright red on the surface and smell clean. A little browning inside the package is just oxidation and is fine, but a gray cast throughout with a sour smell means it is past its prime.

Keep it in the coldest part of the fridge and cook it within 1 to 2 days, since ground beef spoils faster than whole cuts. To freeze, wrap it airtight and use within 3 to 4 months.

Thaw it in the fridge, never on the counter, where the surface warms into the danger zone while the center is still frozen.

Beyond the bun, the same seasoned ground beef builds countless other dishes, from a Swiss Burgers skillet to meatloaf, chili, or stuffed peppers.

Quick facts

In Chinese

汉堡包

British (UK) term

Hamburgers

en français

hamburgers

en español

hamburguesas

Recipes using hamburgers

There are 19 recipes that contain this ingredient.

All 19 recipes