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.
Nicole Ferguson says
I found your site while looking for an alternative should my readers not have a burger press (I was blogging about burgers). So, thank you for posting this tip. A great alternative. I linked my blog to your article. I hope this is OK.
Andrea (Quest for Delish) says
I just used this idea with jimmy dean sausage. It worked so nicely that I just blogged about it. When you have a chance come by and check it out. Thanks for the great tip. I found it on pinterest and am so happy to have found your blog.
Debbie says
This is one of those “why didn’t I think of that” ideas! Just made 16 patties and they are on cookie sheets in the freezer. We will grill some tomorrow and use the Food Saver for the rest and see how it goes. Thank you for sharing.
Lisa says
Thanks so much for the tip! I am creating homemade burgers for our 4th of July barbeque and was nervouse about them falling apart on the grill. I am going right now to go hunt for a lid. Thanks!
TMB says
Awesome tip. I was JUST about to go buy a hamburger press — now I can save that money. Sometimes, we don’t think about the simplest things. 🙂
Alice Currah says
Hi Louis,
Thanks for your tip. I am going to try it!
louis says
season your ground beef with salt & pepper, then marinate it in beer. Delicious!
Garth Whelan says
LOL, don’t you sometimes feel silly not thinking of something so simple? I did.
I notice in the recipe though, it’s not a recipe for hamburgers, but beef burgers. If you want pork, you can use 70% chicken, and 30% pork of meat. You can still taste the pork clearly enough, and it’s just a little bit healthier than all pork.
I will rate this recipe once I’ve tried it.
alwaysaleaf says
Excellent Excellent idea, always wondered how to make the perfect burger!! It seems the harder it looks the easier it is!! LOL! Thanks very much for the info, I will share this.
richard says
very helpfull tip, thanks to this article… try this later at home..
Tami says
Love it and like one other said, a slap against the head for this not just being a common sense thing! I’ve always used the Tupperware patty maker, but really hate cleaning it for some odd reason, so it slides to the back of the cupboard . For one, duh, plastic wrap to avoid cleaning up the T-ware and two, if I’m at someone else’s home or camping out, there we go! Thanks for the tip, and thanks to the butcher!
Pam says
Genius! 🙂 LOL
Eldon says
Oct 24/11
I have a rolling pin that I put hot water in this would press the pattie more tightly. A really great idea you had. WEB
Gusto says
Don’t salt the meat and then refrigerate it!
http://aht.seriouseats.com/archives/2009/12/the-burger-lab-salting-ground-beef.html
Lily_J says
oh. I assumed you were going to use a cookie cutter. Oh well, I sometimes use lids as cookie cutters anyway (easier to get different sizes)
best salad recipes says
Fabulous!! this sounds like a great variation.
M. Sterwitz says
We just tried a lid from an old Kirkland Mixed Nuts jar, about the size of the red one in your picture, with half a pound of 80-20 hamburger per patty. Came out perfect!
Thank you so very much for this wonderful tip.
Kate says
Been doing this for years. Your photo gave me an idea! Use rings and lids from wide mouth canning jars…you can just push up on the lid and the burger should come out very nicely…I’m going to try this next burger night.
Diane says
what a fantastic tip, I have always struggled with this part , making them all the same size.. It will work great with the salmon burgers too.
Thanks a million
tini says
Great advice ty!
Rob Engberts says
Awesome tip!!! tyvm
Thisni Caza says
Like a whack on the side of the head…plus, I read once that the less you handle ground meat, the more tender and juicy it will be. Of course, in the past I had always worked the pattie over, in the shaping process. So don’t be surprised if your patties not only look better, but taste better.
Uthman Apatira says
Ive always done the meatball and then flatten with your fingers/palm technique, and just making 2lbs of meat, my hands always end up hurting at by end… not anymore! Thanks for the pro-tip ;-]
Sarah says
Haha, now I feel like an idiot too. As someone said “It’s so stupid, it’s positively brilliant!”
kathleen says
sweet lord thank you so much for this! now my family will not be subject to eating burgers that look like texas!!