you can form the meat into the press very gently and still use one of those "presses" to get the shape right... i wouldn't even call most of them a press.
i use a cutting board and round cookie cutting tin. i throw in a glob of meat and gently push it into the shape.. lift the cutter, and scrap the patty free with a knife.
perfect shaped patties with the right thickness is like 75% of the burger game. the other 25% is not overcooking them. you can have aperfectly cooked burger but if it hangs off the bun or leaves too much bun uncovered by meat its just not a good burger. this crucial step is often overlooked by most home cooks.
John Young
It tastes better fresh anyway... but yeah - ever since getting food poisoning on some beef that was in my fridge for about a week a couple years ago, i buy and eat meat within 24 hours of purchase generally, and rarely within the next 24 after that. excellent guideline that everyone should use.
Easton Carter
>you can form the meat into the press very gently and still use one of those "presses" to get the shape right
Yeah, but at that point it's no different that just using your hands. worse, in fact. Since using your hands lets you make the patty thinner in the center, so that it ends up with uniform thickness during cooking.
>>perfect shaped patties with the right thickness is like 75% of the burger game
I agree. But it requires nothing more than your hands and a tiny little bit of effort.
Jack Foster
who else is looking forward to the impending get?
Aaron Stewart
Who gives a shit?
Blake Anderson
>Since using your hands lets you make the patty thinner in the center, so that it ends up with uniform thickness during cooking.
I do this with the cutter method i described. Nothing stopping you from changing thickness throughout patty.
if you precut little squares of wax or parchment paper you can put them down before you put down the ring and add meat and remove the ring and top with another slice of paper.. this makes it easy to apply them to the grill without getting your hands dirty.
A set of cookie cutters can also make sure that all patties are perfectly uniform, and you can pick out a cutter from the set that fits the buns you are using... (make sure to adjust for shrinkage while cooking)
Joseph Edwards
Why is this board so humourless?
Lincoln Mitchell
>Nothing stopping you from changing thickness throughout patty.
Sure. It's just more effort to bother with using the cutter for the outside.
>>A set of cookie cutters can also make sure that all patties are perfectly uniform
No, it only makes the outside diameter uniform. The thickness is still variable.
It just seems like extra effort for no real benefit to me. Why the cutter at all? Why not just grab some meat and shape it into the diameter you want with your hands?
