How to Grill the Perfect Juicy Burger

Grilling season is almost upon us! Nothing beats the taste of a juicy grilled hamburger!

Do your burgers never look like magazine photos because of that weird bump in the middle? That puffy, convex middle keeps your burgers and fixings from fitting neatly into a bun, creating a messy, lopsided burger.

The Puffy Burger Problem

It is tempting to flatten out burgers with a press or spatula-like device like they do in fast food restaurants. But if you flatten your burger, it loses the delicious juices. This makes a flatter, but dry burger.

The solution? Before cooking, form your burgers with a small hole in the middle!

The Burger Solution

Don’t worry – your burgers won’t be mistaken for meat donuts. Burgers contract and expand while they cook – and normally they expand on the top and bottom center. By forming burgers with a small hole – think about the size of a dime – the cooking burger expands to fill the hole but remains a relatively flat, even surface.

Some sources say all you need is a depression dimple, not a hole. But we find the hole fills in even on thicker patties. Plus it retains the most of the savory juices! If you chose the dimple route, I like to press down an inner circle radiating about halfway out of the patty circle. Make this depression on BOTH sides of the raw burger patty.

Flat burgers not only look better, but it makes for a better burger because each bite will have an even distribution of meat and toppings. Whereas convex burgers are inconsistent bites of meat and toppings. And flat burgers are more stable to handle and consume.

Got a great grilling hack? Tell us in the comments below