Hamburger juices

Cooking Discussions Cooking, Cookbooks, Ingredients
1

I’ve been doing quite a bit of cooking hamburgers lately. I use frozen store-bought burgers, and cook them in a skillet on the stove top.

One thing I’ve noticed is that when they’re finished cooking and I’ve placed them on a bun, they drip a lot of juice when I squeeze the buns together to take a bite. It creates a big puddle of liquid on the dinner plate. I’ve recently switched to the leanest beef burger I can find in order to reduce the fat content. I’ve also started flattening the burgers with a spatula to get fat/juice out, just before removing from the skillet. But nothing seems to help. Should I be leaving the burgers to rest on a grate for 5 minutes before serving?

How can I prevent juice from coming out of the hamburger when eating it?

2

Letting cooked meat rest is never a bad idea.

3

Try using fresh ground meat

Cook your burgers at a high enough temp to create a nice sear on the outside, which will help seal in the juices.

Let your burgers rest before plating and eating.

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4

Agree, I know it may feel hard to resist, but letting the burger sit for even a few minutes will help. If you think it is fat, then draining on a paper towel may be good too. Adding the crust is nice, and support delicious, but if you don’t wait for the juices to be re-absorbed, you might still get dripping once you bite into it.

5

I’m always afraid the burgers are going to get cold. I’m also impatient and hungry :slightly_smiling_face:

But I will try to let them rest for 5 minutes and see what happens.

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6

Undercook slightly, cover the pan and let it sit off-heat. The meat will finish on residual heat as it rests, and if the interior is pink or rarer the color will equalize.

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7

If I let them sit in the pan, they will sit in their own fat.

8

Prop one side of the pan up a little with a spoon or similar and move them to the uphill side. Also, this aids spooning the cold fat out when it gets to cleanup time.

9

In a covered pan that is still hot, the fat will still be liquid. You’ll have finished eating well before what remains in the oan has time to congeal.

10

The liquid fat will be on the burger and drip out once placed on the bun. This is what I’m trying to avoid.

11

The leakage you are getting is mostly water released due to the meat having been frozen, as freezing ruptures cell walls. Not all that much fat renders out in the pan-searing process. If you’re THAT concerned, blot the rested cooked patties with a paper towel.

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12

So I tried letting the burgers rest for 7 minutes this time. It did help, there was less juice. But I think I can get even less juice by cooking them at a higher heat to get a better sear.

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13

I like 2 - 3 oz a patty . Smash them thin . Put in refrigerator for 30 mins . Then fry . I think your making your burger patty way to big

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14

Please read the OP. I use frozen ready made store bought burgers.

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15

I wonder if this is part of your problem, which seems to be a frequently discussed problem. Some suggetions here.

17

Fast food restaurants use frozen preformed patties and they don’t drip juice like mine do.

19

I feel like you are beating a preformed frozen dead horse here.

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20

aka “Yes, but…”

21

Hot grill is a factor in fast food places.

22

The anti juicy hamburger :hamburger: thread :rofl:

2 Likes