My burgers are crumbling to pieces!

[Polarbear777]

Forgot to mention it was 30% brisket 70% chuck ground at 1/4”.

Flavor was more two-note than orchestra. I think the fried aspect masks some of the flavor you get with more gentle browning. And of course this is tricky, the line between really good dark brown and charcoal is seconds.

[Polarbear777]

Had to try Kenji’s "new" method.

Works well but impractical for more than one. The pan really needs to be cleaned and reheated between each. The first one, with the cheese was good. The second one got overdone.

Final internal temp in each one was 140F. And they are super delicate and fall apart. Very tasty though.

Also so I can’t imagine doing this indoors. The smoke and splatters are ferocious.

[JimLinebarger]

Could it also be the perceived need to keep coming up with new things to stay relevant? I am wondering about cohesion of the burger and how many takes it took to get it on the bun. My smash burgers sometimes don't like to stay together.

[JimLinebarger]

Polarbear777 Some take-aways from this could be that: there are virtues with different methods; that as you gain experience with said methods, the "new car smell" excitement gets tempered, thus allowing for learning new things; and, probably the most important, if you gots the money to spend, flash the bling but keep yourself grounded by still using the old with the new.

[Polarbear777]

I do like his $1500 burner heating up his $7.00 pan :-)

[Polarbear777]

Interesting. In years past he has proclaimed the virtues of the thick SV burger and the opposite thin Smash burger. Now we are back to the middle. Check out the burner he’s using.

[Guttenberg]

Great watch - thanks

[JimLinebarger]

I just came across this last night from J. Kenji López-Alt of SeriousEats from The Burger Show - Debunking Burger Myths with J. Kenji López-Alt. He talks about forming burgers.

[Henrik]

This is how I roll too. Smash is the way to go, I have a dedicated CI pan for this to use on my grill.

[JeffJ]

I also like them to be loose and craggy. The downside is that they do sometimes fall apart a bit as a result. For me personally, the upside is worth it. I don't think they benefit from slow cooking. Cook 'em hot and fast and they should turn out great. I've found that the meat will bind a bit while it's cooking.

[Mosca]

I leave the bigger ones on a little longer.

[Murdy]

I worked in a butcher shop about 25 years ago. If my memory serves, 2 grinds was pretty much standard practice. Gives you a chance to mix added fat in and ensure its distributed evenly between grinds.

[Murdy]

I tend to agree with those that are saying pack then a little tighter. Myself, I don't worry about overhandling my burger, especially if it's going straight to the grill after I handle it. As I understand it from working with sausage makers, the problem with pre-pattied burgers is that patty machines have a lot of moving parts, the friction increases the temperature of the meat, and that gets the bacteria active, which can affect, among other things, the taste. You are not going to accomplish this by pattying a little more aggressively with your hands. Also, if you cook immediately, any problem with bacteria will be quickly dealt with.

This is my understanding. I am not a food scientist (in fact, I'm not a scientist at all, and prolly not that bright). If someone has some other thoughts/theories/explanations about this, I'd love to hear them.

[Guttenberg]

CaptainMike - what's the final temp that you get? I'm guessing you ended up with 155-160?

Mosca - I'll do this for a smaller burger, but not the big fatties in the steakhouse burger recipe. Aren't they raw in the middle?

[Guttenberg]

Thank you!