When you are thinking about making a delicious burger at home, you might get ground beef for your patty. Interestingly, there are so many options for meat you can choose from. You can even use a combination of these meats to make a new taste every time.

Let us talk about some important things you should consider before making the best burger.

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Fat Percentage

Everybody wants to make a burger that is juicy, flavourful, and easy to handle. A great way to control the burger’s texture is by paying attention to the fat percentage in the meat.

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You want to go for a burger with 15-20 percentage of fat. This ratio is enough to provide you with a tasty meat flavour without drying out the burger when you grill it. To achieve this, you should avoid using a few cuts of meat with too low-fat content.

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Beef sirloin, for example, can be tempting to use but it is too lean and can make your burger dry. On the other hand, fatty meat such as ribeye would give a nice flavour but the extra fat content will make the burger fall apart while grilling or eating.

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Fortunately, you can easily get the ideal fat ratio by mixing lean beef cuts with fatty ones to get the desired flavour and texture.

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Selecting the Best Meat

Ground Round is one of the top choices when it comes to making a tasty burger. The reason is that it has an ideal fat ratio to give your burger a nice beefy taste while staying in shape as you eat it. However, you can achieve the perfect ratio by mixing and matching various cuts.

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Here are some of the best beef cuts for burgers:

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> Boneless Short Rib – This cut gives an amazing flavour and fat content.

> Ground Round – It can be relied upon to create an amazing burger on its own.

> Sirloin – Its flavour is great but as it is lean, you should mix it with another cut with a higher fat content.

> Brisket – This cut has a good flavour but it is high in fat. It can be mixed with leaner meats for enhanced texture.

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Remember that you can mix any meat to get the flavor and fat ratio you prefer. Also, you can mix ground turkey, pork, or chicken to make the patty. This depends on your choices. You can experiment with different meats and cuts to create something that suits your taste and preference.

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Making your Burger Patty

For burgers, you generally look for a coarse grind for the meat. Stores almost always sell coarse ground pork and beef. As you start shaping the patties, add all the ingredients including chopped onions, herbs – fresh and dried, garlic, salt, and pepper.

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Though it can be tempting to load the meat with various seasonings, it is not always necessary. Too much seasoning can weaken the patty and your burger can be hard to handle while cooking. The best taste comes from the right mix of meat.

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When you make patties out of your meat, see that you do it gently. Packing them too tightly can make the burgers hard.

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Grilling the Patty

A perfect burger comes from grilling somewhere between medium-well to well. The idea is to cook it to the right temperature without blackening out the exterior. To achieve this, see that you use a medium-temperature grill instead of a high one.

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The Final Fix

Finally, it’s time to complete your burger with toppings, condiments, and cheese. For toppings, you can either apply the rule of three or choose from the following, listed in the order you would stack them from bottom to top:

• Chili – directly on top of the cheese
• Bacon – crispy
• Onions – Caramelized
• Mushrooms – grilled
• Jalapeños – directly stacked
• Pickles – sliced thin

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Condiments can consist of anything from mayo, mustard, and BBQ sauce to steak sauce, hot sauce and salsa. See that you don’t add more than three. Also, apply them to the top half of the bun to keep it from falling apart. Lastly, cheese can be melted on the patty towards the end of the recipe. Choose your favorite from cheddar, pepper jack, American, goat, or blue.

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While this is a general guide on selecting your meat and making a great burger, you can always use your skills and ideas to come up with something new that delights your buds!

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