Why You Can Trust CNET Want to Make the Perfect Burger? Use These Kitchen Tools
From grinding the meat to searing the patty, we'll take you every step of the way.
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There are a lot of different ways to cook hamburgers at home. From using an air fryer to firing up the outdoor grill, every burger-building experience is unique. Since I personally love to use a griddle, I recommend a Blackstone for your meat-cooking needs.
Here's a list of my favorite culinary tools and gadgets for every step in the process of making delicious homemade hamburgers.
If you're serious about your burgers, you need a meat grinder. Starting from scratch, and using choice pieces of steak in your grinder, can completely transform the taste and texture of your patty and add sophistication to your burger experience.
My favorite accessory that comes with this grinder is the foot pedal. Keeping your hands free to turn the machine on and off when you're trying to feed steak into it is a nightmare. The foot pedal makes the whole process a much cleaner experience.
I used to make all my burger patties by hand and while that can be fun, it did make for some uneven burgers. Using a press helps you control the density of your burger so that no matter how many you're making, you can cook them consistently. This press can make burgers from 1/4 inch, all the way up to 1 1/2 inches. It's also nonstick and dishwasher safe, so cleanup is a breeze.
Sunbasket is just about the best meal kit service (read our full review here), and it's only getting better for burger lovers this summer. In honor of grilling season, Sunbasket is offering a new premium Wagyu craft burger recipe each week from May 23 through June 27 created by Sunbasket's in-house chefs.
Subscribers to the service should expect the unexpected, with creations like Aussie-style Wagyu burgers with fried egg and pineapple BBQ sauce or Korean Wagyu sliders with spicy kimchi slaw and mango salad.
The perfect burger deserves the perfect fries. And now that air fryers are so popular and easy to use, you can make healthy fries from scratch. To get a consistent look, invest in a simple cutter like this Weston slicer. As any chef will tell you, you can't cook something perfectly if they are all different sizes.
I used to think that grilling burgers was the best way to cook them, but I was wrong. Using a Blackstone griddle is now my go-to choice for the perfect patty. This four-burner flat top is a beast, perfect for a large family or gatherings, though there are also smaller choices out there.
Unlike burgers cooked on a grill where the juices fall away, the Blackstone lets those juices simmer the burger, keeping in all the moisture. Try cooking your burger over a pile of onions to really lock in the taste.
My Meater probe has become one of my essential tools for cooking meat. Whether you're cooking a giant brisket or a medium-rare burger, the Meater gives you a constant update on how your meat is cooking and when it needs to be removed from the heat.
Because the Meater is app-controlled, it has a lot of preconfigured settings for meat -- including burgers -- so you can cater to everyone's tastes easily.
This press from Blackstone is perfect for cooking several burgers at once. The heavy iron plate holds down burgers, toast and bacon with equal ease and gives you an even cook across the whole patty. If you want to mix it up and add some tacos to your National Hamburger day, this griddle press is a must-have.
How do you cook a great burger?
There are two different ways to cook a good burger. You can go the craft-burger route, using thick patties that can come out at different temperatures like rare, medium-rare or medium -- or you can go for the ultrathin "Five Guys" approach.
Using a griddle press on your Blackstone will compress the burger patty and essentially fry them in their own juices. I like to put the patty on the Blackstone, add some onions, then smash them down hard. Once they've browned a little, I add some cheese and another patty then smash them some more. They come out incredibly juicy.
For craft burgers, you can use a really nice piece of steak and grind it. I recommend adding at least onion powder to the patty, but in my view, the more herbs and spices, the better. Using a burger press is key to a gourmet burger: It compresses the patty while keeping it thick so it will cook well, even on a charcoal grill.