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 the perfect 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. Because what home cook wouldn’t want their patties to look as good as Whole Foods? So I said, “I would love to know how to make perfect burger patties.” He seemed surprised I would even be interested. Before telling me what tool he was using to form patties, he joked that if I wanted one it would cost me $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. Top with your favorite dipping sauce. Enjoy!
- 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.
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.
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.
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.
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’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).
Fabulous tip, I never would have thought of it. 🙂
wow I never thought of that either! My burgers are horrible. I make them too small every time. I’m totally trying this.
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!
Great post…it’s always fun to make do with what you have!
so simple and clever, yet this had never crossed my mind. haha thanks for the helpful tip!
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!!
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.
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!
Brilliant! And gorgeous. They look amazing!
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
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.
So that’s the secret? Genius.
I do this as well…love the photos!
Great idea. I have often wondered the exact same thing,
Awesome Awesome Awesome. Thanks for the tip. Can’t wait to use it.
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 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 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!
The timing of this post couldn’t be better!!