Have you ever walked by the butcher case at your local grocery store and noticed how perfectly uniform the hamburgers they sell are? I have. A few months ago my sister and I were walking through Whole Foods and there was a man forming hamburger patties in this thingamajig in the meat department. As I watched him for a few seconds I found a sudden urge to know exactly what that thing was he was using. So I asked and he seemed surprised I would even be interested. Before telling me what it was, he joked that if I wanted one it would cost $20. Say what?! Then he looked at me, smiled and chuckled.
“Oh this? This is a lid.”
A lid?
“A lid, you know.. from a jar.”
Oh..oh thanks.
I looked at him feeling pretty stupid and decided I wasted enough of his time and moved on to another part of the store. My sister laughed at me but also agreed we just stumbled into a great kitchen/cooking/grilling tip.
Here’s my conclusion – if I didn’t know you could make uniform hamburger patties with a stinkin’ lid, chances are you didn’t know either. So here’s your chance to make your burgers look perfect like the ones you get in restaurants. It’s so simple yet so brilliant. Say goodbye to jagged edges. In the words of my two daughters, “Reduce, Re-Use, Recycle, Re-think.” This technique would work great with forming veggie patties and crab cakes too.
Although you could easily buy a hamburger press, I for one will gladly use a lid -I only have a drawer full of them. What’s also great about using lids is you can find the lid that best suits the size of your hamburger buns. For instance, if you wanted to make mini-sliders, use a small tupperware or canning lid. Pretty simple, huh?
So start saving those lids. You never know when you’ll need the perfect hamburger patty. Enjoy!
Season ground beef with your favorite spices. Salt and pepper work great but I also like Weber’s Gourmet Burger Seasoning.
Find a lid that is slightly bigger than the size of your hamburger bun. Cover the lid in plastic wrap. This will make it easier to remove the patty after each use.
Place a good amount of ground beef inside the lid.
Press meat down into the lid. Remove any excess meat or add more if necessary.
Flip patty out and continue to make as many burgers as needed.
For best cooking results, refrigerate patties for at least 1 hour before frying or grilling. Enjoy!
| Shaping Perfect Hamburger Patties |
|
- ground beef
- salt and pepper
- seasonings of your choice
- lid
- Season the ground beef with salt, pepper, and any other hamburger seasonings.
- Find a lid that is slightly bigger than the size of your hamburger bun.
- Cover the lid in plastic wrap. This will make it easier to remove the patty after each use.
- Place a good amount of ground beef inside the lid.
- Press the meat down into the lid. Remove any excess meat or add more if necessary.
- Flip the patty out and continue to make as many burgers as needed.
- Refridgerate the patties the patties for one hour before grilling.
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The timing of this post couldn’t be better!!
I did know this!!! I tried this last summer, actually, prepping for a big gathering at my house. I wanted to make sure that the meat was being dispersed evenly and we had enough to go round – I used the lid of one of my rubbermaid containers ; it was the perfect depth and a little wider than the buger bun – perfect for when the burger shrank up, and fit the bun very nicely!
I’ve been using this method ever since…
Jen,
Kudos to you for discovering the lid technique all on your own!
Great tip! I have to bookmark this. I do not own any lids though. But I’m only 22. I’ll guess they’ll start showing up with the whole “buy your own house”-situation.
I had to laff when you said u felt stupid when you asked. No…don’t feel stupid. We just don’t pay attention to simple things in life. I also have seen something on foodnetwork – I think it was Guy who did this. He used deli “tuperware” including the top as well. Thanks for showing this! A lid..I never thought of it as well.
Great idea. I have often wondered the exact same thing,
So that’s the secret? Genius.
Awesome Awesome Awesome. Thanks for the tip. Can’t wait to use it.
Well who knew! Thanks for sharing this. I use to have a hamburger press thingie from Tupperware, but not sure if I still have it or not.
I love the lid idea. I think you can get them more uniform in a lid than the press. Great idea.
Glad you posted it. Have a great Memorial Weekend my friend,
♥ Joy
I do this as well…love the photos!
Don’t you love those, forehead-slapping, “Doh! Why didn’t I think of that?!” moments? This is brilliant, can’t wait to use it. Here’s my burger tip of the day if you’re grilling. Line a platter with plastic wrap, wax paper or foil and put your raw burgers on top. Once you transfer them to the grill, remove the wrap, paper or foil from the platter and you can put your cooked burgers back on it. One less dish to wash!
Another burger trick I love… Leave a little hole in the middle, kind of like a doughnut, that way your burger will stay flat as it cooks. No more burger balls.
What a good idea! Sounds like the Whole Foods guy was kinda rude to you–they can be like that sometimes. It was worth it for the valueable tip!
Brilliant! And gorgeous. They look amazing!
wow I never thought of that either! My burgers are horrible. I make them too small every time. I’m totally trying this.
Uh, no lie, I ordered a dang patty press today!!! For father’s day. Saw a fancy one at Williams Sonoma and thought it would be a great gift, but didn’t want to spend $35 or whatever they were charging. Found one on Amazon with good reviews for much cheaper. BUT, not cheaper than a lid!!! Oh well.
Hahaha! That’s awesome! I laughed my butt off while reading your post, because it is just TOO simple of an idea that most people would never think of it! Thanks for sharing. Now that grilling season is here, I want to awe everyone with my superbly identical burgers. HA! Thanks again!!
so simple and clever, yet this had never crossed my mind. haha thanks for the helpful tip!
Great post…it’s always fun to make do with what you have!
Fabulous tip, I never would have thought of it.
I’ve been using a lid for a while too. Mine is the lid from a tin of mulling spices, and I punched a hole in the top of it so that the patties come out easily (something about air or pressure).
Genius! I’m always amazed by how creative people are.. and how UNcreative I am which makes me very happy that there are people like you who can share the creativity
I LOVE IT! It’s brilliant. Thank you so much for sharing–and just in time for Memorial Day barbecues. I’m glad you decided to let us in on this secret b/c I can never get them right with my hands.
A lid, huh? Who knew? Great tip… I’ll definitely give it a try. I always just make them by hand, but mine are usually lopsided and somewhat egg shaped when I’m done.
It makes so much sense to use a lid…why didn’t I think of it? Duh…My burgers will be gorgeous from now on!Thx.
I love this idea – I am so glad you asked the guy at Whole Foods!
Oh my yes… how brilliant is that?
Just about as brilliant as that last gorgeous photo. Wow, girl! I want a perfectly shaped burger right now, please
I have had a burger press for years that I bought from Tupperware. However, my burgers still shrink up when cooked – I do them in the broiler – and look nothing like they did when I formed them with the press! They are never flat and perfectly round anymore. I have never been able to figure out why!
What a fantastic idea. I will defintely do this next time i make a burger…. Thanks for sharing!
I’ve done that a few times and I have a press, but 90% of the time, I still go back to just making them by hand. It’s just as easy to me, but that is only because I make so many. This is still a GREAT tip for anyone that only does burgers every now and then.
Another tip: If you are using 80/20 ground beef, poke a hole in the center of each patty with your finger, it will keep it from shrinking into a ball shape like they do sometimes.
To everyone who left the tip about poking a hole in the middle of the patty, thank you! I haven’t had any problems with a bubble forming when I cook hamburgers. I’m wondering if this is because I usually make our hamburger patties pretty thick?
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That ground beef you’re using in the photos looks fantastic. Nice and fatty.
Thank you so much for sharing this fantastic tip! I have had so much trouble in the past getting even patties and fish cakes. I can’t believe how obvious this was yet it completely eluded me too.
Love your blog!
A lid, ofcourse. Now why didn’t I think of that. Good looking burgers btw.
I just formed burgers for our Memorial Day cookout using only half of my burger press. The other half is long lost. I went here to the internet to find tips on not having my burgers shrink up into balls. So glad I found this! Like previous commenters, “DUH!”. I’m throwing out my half press and going for the lid! I’ll be back to this site for other tips as well. Thanks!
Jeez louise I want a burger so much now! That looks amazing!
Great tip! Thanks for posting this and thanks to Whole Foods for disclosing their “industry secret!” I’m giving this one a whirl ASAP.
My dad does this and he is INSANE about his lids. He had, apparently, found the PERFECT lid for the best hamburgers ever and my mom had the nerve to throw it away one day. It was not pretty. I’m not entirely sure he’s forgiven her yet.
This may sound overly detailed, but I actually weigh out the amount of hamburger I use for each patty. Especially with kids around. I use 3 ounces of meat for kid burgers and generally 5 ounces for adult burgers. These amounts are approximate. It’s not like I’m a total freak.
I’ve never used a lid, but I have used a large tuna can with both ends cut off.
Found you through Stumble! Great site!!
What a great tip!
So clever! I hand-shape my patties, but I get pretty focused (I won’t say obsessed) with making them just right, and the lid would definitely speed that process along.
Ha! I did know this, I got the practice from my dad, actually. Although he always used the lid of a plastic sherbet tub and I currently use the lid to a plastic canister.
Why, why, WHY have I never thought of this!?! Used your method tonight to make feta stuffed lamb burgers. They’re gorgeous! (I’m lucky enough to have a full set of ring cutters, so no issues at all in finding the right size.)
Brilliant!!!!!!!!! How timely, since I have 6lbs of hamburger in the fridge waiting to be shaped & frozen for the summer. Thanks for sharing the idea!
Now if I could only come up with clever uses for the rest of the stuff in my junk drawer. (sigh..)
Don’t forget to make a little indent in the middle of each burger, so when the shring they end up flat, and not rounded.
Great tip! I typically make 3/4 # burgers, so now I just need to find a very large lid!
Just thank you!
sweet lord thank you so much for this! now my family will not be subject to eating burgers that look like texas!!
Haha, now I feel like an idiot too. As someone said “It’s so stupid, it’s positively brilliant!”
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