Best Burger
User Reviews
5
10 reviews
Excellent
-
Prep Time
50 mins
-
Additional Time
2 d 1 hr
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Total Time
2 d 2 hrs
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Servings
16 burgers
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Calories
610 kcal
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Course
Main Course
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Cuisine
American
Best Burger
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The Best Burger recipe uses a blend of chuck, brisket, and short ribs trimmed of tough parts and salt-cured to develop flavor and texture. After a 2-day curing period uncovered in the refrigerator, the meats are ready to be ground. The mixture produces a rich, beefy patty suitable for grilling or pan-frying, served in a hamburger bun with optional cheese, pickles, and condiments.
Description
This burger recipe begins by carefully trimming silver skin and gristle from chuck, brisket, and short ribs to ensure tenderness. Some fat is left to maintain juiciness. The trimmed meats are cut into uniform 1-inch chunks and salted using kosher salt proportionally to the meat weight. The salted meat is refrigerated uncovered for two days to dry age slightly, enhancing flavor and texture.
Once aged, the meat is ground, combining the three cuts for a balance of beefy taste and fat content that lends moisture and flavor to the burger patties. This method yields patties with a rich, juicy character better than single-cut burgers.
Assembled burgers are served on buns with optional cheese melts, pickles, and condiments according to preference, ideal for a hearty meal.
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Ingredients
- 4 1/2 pounds chuck untrimmed
- 3 1/2 pounds beef brisket untrimmed
- 3 pounds short ribs untrimmed
- 4 tablespoons kosher salt Morton's or 5 tablespoons of Diamond kosher salt
- Hamburger Bun
- cheese if desired
- pickles
- condiments of your choice
Instructions
- Using a sharp knife, remove any "silver skin" and any tough, gristly parts from the chuck, the brisket, and the short ribs. Reserve the skin and gristle for making beef stock or toss them in the trash.
- Then slice off any large chunks of visible fat from the different cuts of meat. But don't get too obsessive—some fat ought to remain on the meat. Reserve the trimmed fat.
- Cut the chuck, brisket, and short ribs into 1-inch chunks, keeping the cuts of meat separate. Weigh the meat, still keeping the kinds separate. You should end up with a total of about 7 pounds.
- Place the meat on a wire rack set over a rimmed baking sheet, still keeping the three kinds separate. Salt the meat, using a ratio of 1/4 cup of salt for 7 pounds of meat. (If you have more than 7 pounds of meat, use a little more salt; if you have less than 7 pounds, use a little less salt.)
- Refrigerate the meat, uncovered, for 2 days. Cover and refrigerate the reserved fat.
- When you're ready to grind the meat, cut 1 1/2 pounds of the reserved fat into 1/2-inch chunks. (If you have more than 7 pounds of meat, use a little more fat; if you have less than 7 pounds of meat, use a little less fat.)
- Set up your meat grinder, whether it's the old-fashioned sort that clamps onto your counter or an attachment for your food processor or stand mixer.
- Grind the 1 1/2 pounds of cubed fat with the brisket and the short ribs and let it fall into a large bowl. Set the bowl off to the side.
- Now fashion a wide landing strip of sorts from plastic wrap on your work surface beneath your grinder, using multiple overlapping layers of plastic wrap.
- Pass the mixture of ground brisket and short ribs and fat through the grinder again, this time adding the chuck. As the ground meat emerges from the grinder, carefully let the columns of ground meat fall alongside one another on the plastic wrap in a parallel formation.
- Stack the meat columns to create a single large column of ground meat that's about 5 inches in diameter. Gently wrap the ground meat in plastic wrap, pressing firmly enough so the column holds together but not so firmly that you compress it too much.
- Refrigerate the ground meat for at least an hour and up to a couple of days. (Or you can freeze the meat for up to 3 months.)
- When you're ready to cook the burgers, unwrap the ground meat and, using a sharp knife, slice it into as many burger patties as you like, each 3/4 to 1 inch thick.
- Melt some of the reserved fat on a griddle or in a large, preferably cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. At the same time, heat another large but dry griddle or skillet over medium heat. Sear each patty, without budging it, until a crust forms, 60 to 90 seconds.
- Using a thin metal spatula, flip the patties and carefully sear the other side for 45 to 60 seconds. Move the patties to the ungreased skillet over medium heat to finish cooking to the desired doneness and to allow some of the grease to drain. The exact amount of time will depend on how you like your burger.
- Move the burgers to a warm place for another 2 minutes to rest and drain, such as a wire cooling rack set on a rimmed baking sheet in a low oven.☞ TESTER TIP: Never grill these burgers. The fat and moisture will drip right out. Searing the burgers in a generous amount of fat creates that all-important moisture-sealing crust that ensures rich, juicy, flavorful burgers.
- Assemble your burger however you darn well please with pickles and any condiments.
Nutrition Information
Show Details
Serving
1burger, no condiments
Calories
610kcal
(31%)
Carbohydrates
22g
(7%)
Protein
61g
(122%)
Fat
30g
(46%)
Saturated Fat
12g
(60%)
Trans Fat
1g
(50%)
Cholesterol
186mg
(62%)
Sodium
1487mg
(62%)
Fiber
1g
(4%)
Sugar
3g
(6%)
Nutrition Facts
Serving: 16burgers
Amount Per Serving
Calories 610 kcal
% Daily Value*
| Serving | 1burger, no condiments | |
| Calories | 610kcal | 31% |
| Carbohydrates | 22g | 7% |
| Protein | 61g | 122% |
| Fat | 30g | 46% |
| Saturated Fat | 12g | 60% |
| Trans Fat | 1g | 50% |
| Cholesterol | 186mg | 62% |
| Sodium | 1487mg | 62% |
| Fiber | 1g | 4% |
| Sugar | 3g | 6% |
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.
Genuine Reviews
User Reviews
Overall Rating
5
10 reviews
Excellent
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