How To Make Burgers on the Stovetop

If you’re craving a juicy, tender, cheese-topped burger — one that you can really sink your teeth into — then you need to try the stovetop method. No dry hockey pucks here! Just the kind of burger you’d normally pay big bucks for at a restaurant.

Today we’re talking burgers. From the best kind of ground beef to use to tips for shaping the patties, with a step-by-step recipe for simply the best burgers you’ve ever had — at home or elsewhere. Ready?

After playing around with adding this and that to the ground beef in my quest to make a better burger, I finally realized that it’s really just about the beef. Buy good beef, and you’ll have a great burger. It’s that simple. (Keep your eye out for deals on good-quality ground beef, too — you can stock up and freeze the shaped patties for later meals.)

• The ideal ground beef for burgers should be 80% lean and 20% fat. Although I can often only find 85% lean and think this still makes great burgers.
• Avoid anything leaner than 90%. Those burgers can easily end up dry and crumbly.
• If you can, buy freshly ground beef from the butcher case. Not only does this tend to be a bit fresher than the packaged meat, but it’s also less compressed. A light hand leads to a tender burger.
• Don’t worry if you only have frozen beef. You can still make a decent burger that way. We have a few tips and tricks for thawing ground beef.

Maybe even more than the fat content or the quality of the beef, I’ve found that using a light touch is the real difference between a burger I relish eating and one that becomes tough.

• Try to handle the beef as little as possible as you form the patties. The more you handle and mash the beef as you shape the patties, the more compressed and tough the finished burger.
• Break off big fist-sized chunks of the ground beef. And press them into rough patties against your work surface with the palm of your hand.
• Gently pat the edges into a uniform round shape. Don’t worry if the edges look a little lumpy or have cracks — resist the temptation to make the patties look neat and tidy. Those cosmetic imperfections are all in the name of a supremely tender burger.

Kitchn Food Editor-at-Large, Christine Gallary, taught us all the dimpling trick, and I haven’t looked back since. Pressing a shallow “dimple” in the middle of the patty prevents burgers from shrinking to half their size and doming up in the middle. After years of tiny, round burgers, this feels like magic.

To make a dimple in your burger, just use your fingertips to pat the middle of the patties slightly thinner than the outer edge — maybe a quarter of an inch more shallow, at most. I always think the finished patties look like tiny frisbees.

• Cook your burgers in a flat pan over medium-high heat. The patties should sizzle when they hit the pan, and when you flip them, you should see a nicely dark, golden-brown sear on the underside. That’s the sign of a good burger!
• A wide, very thin spatula works best for flipping. It lets you quickly slide under the burger and flip it without messing up the nice crust you just formed. It also keeps these burgers from falling apart as you flip. (Although if they do fall apart, just press the pieces together and carry on — top with cheese and no one will ever know.). A fish spatula would also do a fine job in a pinch.

Stovetop burgers are a quick weeknight meal — very quick. Even if you prefer your burgers well-done, burgers will be ready in 10 minutes tops. Cook any longer and that’s when you wind up with dry, crumbly hockey pucks, no matter how diligently you followed the advice given above.

• Use a timer. It’s a little nerdy, but I usually set a timer so I don’t accidentally get caught up in conversation or another part of the meal and forget about the burgers.
• Keep an eye on the sides of the burgers. When you see just a bit of pinkish-red in the very middle, medium-rare burgers are ready; the second that pinkish line disappears, your burgers are medium.
• Use an instant-read thermometer. If you’re the kind of person who wants to quadruple check for doneness, an instant-read thermometer is your best bet to cook beef to the proper safe internal temperature.

• Medium-rare (red in the middle): 6 minutes total
• Medium (pink in the middle): 7 to 8 minutes total
• Medium-well (a smidge of pink in the middle): 9 minutes total
• Well-done (no pink): 10 minutes total

1. Divide the ground beef. Divide the ground beef into 4 or 6 portions, depending on the number of burgers you would like to make.
2. Shape the patties. Gently press each portion of ground beef into a disk about 1-inch thick. Press the middle to create a shallow “dimple” and pat the edges into a round — the patty should look like a frisbee and be slightly larger than your burger buns.
3. Warm the pan. Heat a pat of butter or a teaspoon of oil in a griddle or large skillet over medium heat.
4. Toast the buns. Working in batches if needed, place the bun halves cut-side down in the warm butter or oil. Toast until the surface is golden-brown.
5. Increase the heat to medium-high. Increase the heat to medium-high, and keep a careful eye on the pan. When you see the first wisp of smoke, you’re ready to cook the burgers.
6. Cook the burgers. Place the burger patties in the hot pan, leaving a little space between each one. Work in batches if necessary. Generously season with salt and pepper, and cook for 3 to 4 minutes.
7. Flip the burgers. Quickly slide a spatula under the burgers and flip to the other side. Season the other side generously with salt and pepper, and cook for another 3 to 5 minutes to your preferred doneness.
8. To make cheeseburgers. If making cheeseburgers, top the burgers with cheese as soon as you flip them. If the cheese isn’t melting fast enough, cover the pan with a lid or other dome to encourage the cheese to melt.
9. Finish the burgers. When the burgers have finished cooking, transfer them to the toasted buns and finish with your favorite burger toppings.

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