Best Indoor Burgers Ever
Aug. 14, 2009 11:52 am
Updated: Aug. 14, 2009 5:29 pm
I surprised myself with this one. I think I just cooked the best burgers ever on the stovetop. I started with a mix of about 2/3 grass fed ground beef (we order 1/2 a cow every year) and 1/3 ground pork from the supermarket.
I put a large cast iron griddle on 2 of my stovetop burners and heated it up to near ridiculous hot. I then backed off the heat to just medium high and started cooking. I then spread a little oil on top. Olive oil was close at hand and yes, it got smokey. Thank god for a huge exhaust fan. Next time I'll use peanut oil, bacon grease or duck fat.
I then took a glob of raw meat about 2 inches in diameter (I hear an old fashioned ice cream scoop works well for this) and plopped it down on the griddle. Using a stiff metal spatula, I pressed out the burger until it was about 1/2 to 3/4 inch thick. I then sprinkled the uncooked sides with kosher salt and fresh ground pepper. I only cooked them for about 2 minutes a side (seasoning the cooked side after 1 flip). The outsides had a nice crust to them and the insides were extremely moist yet cooked through. I like my steaks and burgers medium rare and was very happy with the level of moisture in these.
I finished with some cheese on top during the last minute of cooking. This is definitely a repeat recipe that I'll be eating again soon.
Here's a handy note for those of you who don't like to clean your whole stove of grease after cooking: use some aluminum foil to cover that part of your stovetop your'e not using. When you're done cooking...wad up and recycle the aluminum foil (grease splatters and all) and just clean the part of the stove that you used.
