Cooking Hamburgers question for ChefChris and everyone
 

When you cook a turkey or a roast , you let the meat sit for like 20 minutes to rest before you carve it.

Do you need to let hamburgers "rest" before someone bites into them? I know you don't have to but will it be/stay jucier if you do?

I know when I make burgers out of fresh hamburg or venison on the grill I make them very fat and cook them on low heat for 30-45 minutes and plate them right away. Cooking them large and very slow keeps them VERY juicy!

If you let them set on the plate in my house---GONE--

I would argue not to.

With a steak the muscle structure is intact so the juice can naturally redistribute assuming the surface has been sealed. With a burger that muscle structure is scrambled and even with a good sear still somewhat porous, so there's not really anywhere for the juice to go other than run out on the plate.

I would have burger go from grill to bun to mouth.

-spence

this thread is making me drool. i love burgers

If your want to do yourself a favor or should I say flavor. If you have access to Portuguese Bolo bread cut 1 in half butter both sides of each half and toast the bread in a frying pan like a grilled cheese until browned. Thank me later.Here is a link to the bread. It's in almost every store and bakery in Fall River and New Bedford.
Bolo do caco, the bread from Madeira - All About Portugal

This bread is sweet but not as sweet as sweet bread. YUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUMMMMMMMMMM

The trouble with Bolos is that nobody can eat just one! In fact its hard not to eat the whole bag of them! :)

My mother was Portuguese, lots of good stuff to eat from that culture!

Mike as fas as burgers go, the only reason not to eat them right away is to let them cool down so you dont burn yourself.

It matters on the temp too, if you get a med rare and its all juicy, all its going to do is soak into the bread and make the bread soggy, which is why even at home i always grill/toast the bun, and one of the main reasons restaurants do it.

As far as steaks/roast/turkeys go the theory behind letting them sit is when there cooking all those juices are piping hot and flowing thru the meat, letting it sit always the juices to cool and settle back into the meat, as they carry a lot of flavor and youll end up with a juicer cut.

If youve ever cut a steak right off the grill, youll notice most the juices run out, but if its just you then who cares.

If youre cooking a steak past Med rare in my opinion its a waste anyway, i hate when people come into work and order kobe burgers well done, or tuna steaks well done, just eat canned tuna then, the worst was when I ran an italian restaurant and people would order our 24oz cowboys steak well done then complain theyve been waiting 45 minutes. :devil2:

here is a piece from a meat cooking article, simple terms.

"I've always been told that this happens because as one surface of the meat hits the hot pan (or grill), the juices in that surface are forced away towards the center, increasing the concentration of moisture in the middle of the steak. Once the steak gets flipped over, the same thing happens on the other side. The center of the steak becomes supersaturated with liquid—there's more liquid in there than it can hold on to—so when you slice it open, all that extra liquid pours out. By resting the steaks, you allow all that liquid that was forced out of the edges and into the center time to migrate back out to the edges."

makes sense.

best thing to eat burgers on is a toasted english muffin. may sound weird but try it.

I've done that.You're right.It is excellent. :uhuh:

Lord god almighty!Talk about complicating the very easiness of cooking steak/burgers.

Sear your meat.Cook it by time to achieve desired doneness.Rest for a few.Dine.No culinary arts degree required!

I've cooked a million burgers in my day. I ate that many too!!!

The thought just crossed my mind if resting would help. Always thirsting for more knowledge and self improvement. :)

Quick tip I got of a TV show that I use....poke a whole with your finger in the middle of your burger before you gook them. Keeps them from balling up when they cook.....and pack them loosely...don't overwork the burger so it turns all hard when you cook it.

at least these tricks work for me and I get a great burger from it.

As for steaks, try aging the beef before cooking (if possible).

I agree that anything beyond medium well is just beef jerky!

You can let burgers rest after cooking if you want to risky not having a burger when someone else eats it on you!

As for preventing soggy bread, toasting is one way.
Also keeping wet toppings (onions, tomatoes etc) off the bread is key too!

Most of all, DON'T OVER-THINK IT!!! It's a burger, not the sistine chapel!