TV chef and restauraeuteur Gordon Ramsay has outlined his five-point technique for dishing up mouth-watering beef burgers every time
Gordon Ramsay has offered a blueprint for the perfect burger and shared his five secrets for mastering the classic dish.
The TV chef and restaurateur said that to concoct the “most amazing” family favourite, it all starts with the meat. In a YouTube video for Good Morning America, he explained: “The secret to a burger is in the blend”. To produce restaurant-quality burgers, he opts for chuck – which is found on the cow’s shoulder – mixed with a “little bit of brisket”. He said it’s the “most amazing ground beef”.
To bind the meat, crack in an egg and allow the mixture to sit for a whole day. Once 24 hours have passed, the burgers are ready to put on the grill. But there is also a technique involved in grilling the burger to perfection. Rather than placing them on the grill, flipping and poking them until they’re ready, the beef needs to remain untouched for as long as possible. “Once you put the burger on the grill, the secret is to move it as less as possible [sic],” Gordon explained. “The more you move it the more chance you’ve got of breaking the burger.”
Step three is the burger van favourite – onions. While many will go for raw onions, Gordon argues that the “fresh, grilled” version are better. Raw onions are “too harsh, too acidic, and they blow the flavour”, Gordon said, while grilled onions are “easy to do and absolutely phenomenal”. The onions can be placed on top of the patties when they’re slapped on the grill. It’s important to keep them whole so they don’t fall apart.
Gordon relies on Devonshire butter basting – a technique he employs at his Las Vegas restaurants – to enhance the patties’ flavour. As the burgers sizzle away, Gordon takes a brush and dips it in a pool of liquefied butter and slathers it on each side. It adds a “wonderful flavour”, Gordon said.
And once you’ve mastered the basic recipe, you can spice it up by adding a twist to the butter, by including ingredients like red wine or chipotle, to make it more “chef-y”. The final secret is in the burger’s construction, which should be done within moments of taking the meat from the grill. He says that this step requires a little pre planning, and that the other ingredients should be laid out so they’re ready straight after the burger finishes cooking. “It is a really important tip. Why? It stops the burger going cold and also you want to eat it when it’s piping hot,” he said. If you follow all the steps, you’ll be left with a “tasty” burger between two grilled buns, slathered with caramelised onions, cheese, lettuce, tomato and mayo.
