Pat LaFrieda’s 6 Secrets to Creating the Perfect Burger

New York Post ^ | August 30, 2014 | Max Gross

[nickcarraway]

If you’ve heard the name Pat LaFrieda before, you know he’s the city’s foremost meat purveyor. His 100-year-old butcher business has provided some of the most lauded cuts of meat to the city’s fanciest restaurants. The burger blend he created for Danny Meyer’s Shake Shack is the stuff on which business empires are founded.

[Still Thinking]

A BBQ joint here makes burgers from smoked brisket. Had one the other day for the first time and they are SO good. Amazingly good.

[Veggie Todd]

His first tip about smashing the burger is insane. You’ll squeeze all the juice out of it and it will be dry as hell.

[Nifster]

Only kind of....a bit of info in the side bar but I would have expected more info from a butcher about the appropriate blend ratios of meat for the perfect burger. And once again it is all personal taste

[Lockbox]

I had a Shake Shack burger the last time I was in NYC. The burger was great. The French fries nothing to write home about.

[yarddog]

A few days ago I had what was probably the best steak I ever had.

Maybe two weeks ago I was in the local supermarket and noticed they had quite a few steaks in their reduced price area. I noticed a package of ribeyes for only $2.99 a pound. They steaks were covered in some kind of red spice. I figured the steaks were old enough that they had turned color and they poured on the spice to hide it.

I got them and put them in the freezer. I cooked them and was pleasantly surprised. Absolutely great.

[rabidralph]

Okay, let’s hear some burger recipes. I have been buying my hamburger from the local butcher shop in town, rather than buying the meat from the grocery store. It tastes a lot better than store-bought because it’s probably fresher but I don’t know. I use Montreal Steak seasoning on the meat and they taste really great on the grill. A friend of mine puts a little bleu cheese in each patty, along with some Worcestershire sauce and other seasonings.

[Ruy Dias de Bivar]

Best burgers I’ve ever eaten were from GORGE AND JOHN’S Hamburgers in Farmington NM back in 1973.

Then McDonald’s opened a stand and took all their business away.

The next best were BLAKES BURGERS all over New Mexico.

Here in Arkansas, it is Barnette’s Burgers in Siloam Springs.

[loboinok]

Barnett’s is good. Bought many a burger and banana split there but not much since they remodeled.

[Fungi]

OK. I'll give you one you will not believe. Have to write it down. But it requires a sauce which is a family heirloom recipe and I will not divulge. The rest is yours.

We are too prone to make everything around a store bought beef patty, a mistake in my opinion. Make it yourself; it takes more time but the results are worth it.

[tet68]

I use a recipe from Herter’s “Bull Cook and Historical
Recipes”. Use quality beef seasoned with NUTMEG. Even
is good on steaks, and cook in BUTTER, you can even
put a pat on the finished steak or burger. Deeelish!
Lard is good to cook them in too.

[catnipman]

“His first tip about smashing the burger is insane. You’ll squeeze all the juice out of it and it will be dry as hell.”

Indeed. Every restaurant and cooking show explains why mashing the burger on the flat top will cause exactly what you describe. The other big no-no is to cover burger on the flat top as that will cause if to steam instead of grill.

BTW, the REAL number one tip is to use freshly ground hamburger made from fresh, high-quality cuts of beef you select yourself and have custom ground on the spot (or even grind it yourself), and then cook the fresh hamburger within a few hours of its being ground.

Personally, I prefer 100% ground chuck hamburger.

[rabidralph]

Thanks for the tips. And thank you for your service.

[rabidralph]

Yes, I’ve recently discovered that buying the meat fresh is the better alternative.

[Daus]

If you do the smash right as you put the meat on a hot griddle the fat hasn’t had time to melt yet to leak out. What you are getting is the outside char. If you smash a partially cooked burger, than yes you are losing juice.

[Jacquerie]

I ground some chuck steak a few years ago and will never go back to packaged hamburger. When grilled, ground chuck doesn't contract around the circumference and rise up in the middle like pink slimed hamburger.

Generally left out of hamburger discussions are the buns. Sunbeam-like, tasteless buns serve to hold the burger and nothing more. They bring nothing to the party.

Take a look a King Arthur Flour's recipe for cheeseburger buns. They are fabulous and compliment great burgers.

http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/no-knead-cheese-burger-buns-recipe

[SeaHawkFan]

Costco’s Kirkland brand frozen ground sirloin patties are great. Preheated medium heat grill, lightly salted and peppered 4 minutes on the first side and three on the second; and you have an awesome juicy medium burger.

[Jimmy Valentine]

Try this one. Mix two raw eggs with 3-4 pounds of fresh ground beef Add pepper and salt and tighten the mix with Progresso Italian bread crumbs. Make and cook patties as per usual.

[Shery]

There used to be a restaurant in the Springdale, AR, area that was famous for their aged steaks. We ate there a couple times. Very good, but they are really on the edge at times. There is a fine line...

[rabidralph]

Thanks for the info. I’ve had pretzel buns with brats. I’ve thought of trying that on a burger.