A burger seems like a simple dish that you can make at home in 5 minutes and get the same enjoyment as a burger made in a restaurant. Unfortunately, this is not the case. A burger is the same dish as carbonara or Buffalo wings, which have their cooking secrets. Therefore, today we are analyzing the basic rules for making a juicy burger at home and sharing the secrets that will make it the way you like to eat it in restaurants.
Cutlet
It’s no secret that the cutlet is the base of the burger. If you make it in the wrong proportions and with the wrong meat, no roll, cheese, or tomato will save the day. So what does “correct cutlet” mean?
Secret №1
The cutlet should contain from 10 to 20% fat, so give preference to the collar or shoulder blade. From a tenderloin or cue ball, the cutlet will turn out to be dry and very tough.
In addition, we advise you not to take ready-made minced meat, but to buy a piece of meat and grind it yourself into cutlets on the middle nozzle of a meat grinder. So you will be sure that the proportion of meat and lard is preserved.
And if you are short on time and do not want to bother, you can take ready-made shaped burger patties in our stores. We took care of choosing the “right” meat and making the right size and thickness of the cutlet.
It is also important to preserve the aroma of fresh meat and not to interrupt it with seasonings or excessive amounts of spices. It is enough to add a little salt and add a pinch of pepper for piquancy.
And then we fry. Remember that the pork cutlet needs up to 4 minutes on each side. If you overcook it, it will be tough and lose its juiciness.
A bun
Next, it is important to choose the “right” bun. Here, too, you need to keep the proportions. After all, through a dense roll, you will not be able to fully feel the taste of the cutlet, and because of the too loose roll, it will seem to you that you are eating one cutlet.
The loaf should be freshly baked, without excessive amounts of seeds and bran — they will interrupt the taste. Also, the loaf should be of the appropriate size for the cutlet.
Secret №2
Before assembling the burger, fry the buns in a grill pan. If you do not fry the halves of the buns, they will absorb the juice from the cutlet and become soaked.
Sauces
Many people think that a lot of sauces will help make a burger juicier. But this is not the case. Only cutlet is responsible for juiciness. And sauces give extra flavor and fat content.
And yes, it is also important to maintain a balance here, because the too bright sauce will simply overshadow the taste of the cutlet, for which we are trying so hard to find the perfect complement. Therefore, choose sauces such as barbecue, tomato, aioli, or garlic sauce.
Filling
The other filling of the burger is a matter of taste. However, cheese, tomato, lettuce, and pickled cucumbers are classics that are hard to pass up.
As a minimum, this is a bright addition, and as a maximum, they go well with meat, harmoniously complementing it. But balance is also important here.
Secret №3
Therefore, another secret of the burger is proportion and consistency.
The meat cutlet should go first. It should be placed on a bun spread with sauce (we spread the sauce just before assembling the burger). Then put cheese on the cutlet, but you need to put it on the hot cutlet, it is better to do this even when the cutlet is fried. By the way, ready-made slices of cheese are ideal for a burger. For example, cheddar.
Then put lightly salted cucumbers on the cheese, then onions, a slice of tomato and cover everything with lettuce or arugula. To enjoy the burger more conveniently, you can cut it in half.
