How long before flipping a hamburger

The cooking time will vary demanding on the weight of your meat. To calculate. Flour is a main ingredient used in baking. Shortening makes baked goods moist, adds. Choose oils with a high smoke point: vegetable shortening, lard, and peanut oil are. We both work from home, so we don't get to see much of the real world. A scale and ruler were used to collect data on moisture loss, external browning characteristics, and internal cooking pattern, while the overall degree of pleasure contained within each patty was ascertained via a standard oral mastication assay aka, eating it.

The only variable in cooking was the number of times the patty was flipped, ranging from once every three and a half minutes resulting in a single flip during cooking , down to one flip every 15 seconds. Can you spot the difference between these two burgers? I have trouble too. Those of you who knew where Waldo was as a kid probably noticed that the patty on the right—the one-flipper—has a slightly more distinct searing on the top, while the sides remain relatively uncolored.

The patty on the left—flipped every fifteen seconds—has a top that's a tiny bit less colored, but is more evenly browned all the way around the edges. Overall, the total amount of browning seems pretty close to equal. Why is this? It's because when cooking via a single flip, as you flip the burger over, the second side will be barely any warmer than it was when the whole patty first went into the skillet. Your cooking time is only half way done.

As you add more flips, on the other hand, what you are essentially doing is approximating cooking both sides of the burger simultaneously, albeit on a slightly lower-heat surface. When you flip the patty, little enough time passes that the upward-facing side barely loses any heat to the outside environment.

The end result is that while each individual side takes slightly longer to cook, because they are cooking simultaneously, the overall cooking time is shorter. Now hand me my scalpel , It's time take a look inside. This burger was only flipped once. It's not a horrible burger, by any means, and I wouldn't send it back, but surely we can do better than this, right?

Now here's the burger that was flipped every fifteen seconds. It appears slightly more well done than the previous burger I'm guessing I misjudged the center of the burger when temping the first one. The interesting thing to note, however, is not the overall doneness of the meat, but the differential between the most cooked parts, and the least cooked parts—in particular, to the amount of overcooked meat around the edges. Charting the ratio of overcooked meat to the overall burger for various amounts of flipping, you get this:.

You can do this with a home grinder or in a food processor. Cut the meat into chunks, put it in the freezer for 15 minutes, and grind or pulse until ground. For the best grind, put it through a coarse grind disk twice seriously, this leads to the best grind possible!

When making the perfect hamburger patty , remember—the more you handle the meat, the tougher your burger will be. In a large bowl, pull the meat apart into small chunks, add salt or other seasonings, and toss gently with fingers spread apart until loosely mixed. A bit of dampness at the start will keep your hands from getting sticky. It also allows the meat to come together faster and prevents over-handling.

Since burgers shrink and pull in as they cook, this dimple will even out as the burgers cook, resulting in an even patty-shaped burger at the end. Unlike other meats that will cook up better if brought to room temperature before hitting the grill, you want those patties cold so they stay together and stay as juicy as possible.

Put the patties on a tray or platter, covered, in the fridge while the grill heats up. This helps more of the flavor-carrying fat stay in the meat. Bits of debris encourage sticking, as does an un-oiled surface and too low a temperature. You want your burgers to sizzle immediately, firm up quickly, and release from the grill.

Keep the grill at a steady high heat you can hold your hand 1 to 2 inches above grill level for 2 to 3 seconds. If using charcoal , you want ash-covered coals to produce even heat. While cooking the burgers in a skillet is quick and convenient, using the oven offers the option of reducing the amount of fat the meat releases during cooking.

To cook the burgers, preheat a large griddle or frying pan for 4 minutes on a high heat, then turn the heat down to medium. Place the burgers on the griddle or into the pan, then use a spatula to lightly press them down, making sure the burger is in full contact with the pan. While you can make delicious pan-fried burgers in just about any skillet, cast iron works best.

Plus, a pre-heated cast-iron skillet makes it easy to get an irresistibly delicious caramelized sear on your patties. Constant turning will toughen and dry out the meat, and if you flip too soon, burgers will stick. Cook two minutes per side for rare, three minutes for medium-rare, four minutes for medium, and five minutes for well-done.