The New York Times interviewed thirty chefs to come up with The Perfect Burger and All Its Parts.
Pat LaFrieda, president of LaFrieda Wholesale Meat Purveyors, which delivers custom blends to many of the top burger restaurants in New York City, recommends grinding the meat yourself with a food processor or a mixerǃÙs grinding attachment. He prefers chuck and brisket, and said to put them in the freezer first and chill them to 30 degrees.
When my parents came up for graduation, my mom dropped off a bunch of chuck-eye steaks so I threw them in the Magic Bullets for a few pulses for burgers and they were basically awesome. Medium-rare burgers used to be sort of iffy for me, but there’s really no going back once you have a good one. I felt better knowing that I was using meat I’d eat medium-rare as a steak anyway. A Hamburger Today got this in their mailbag:
Question: Have your ever gotten sick from ordering an “undercooked” burger or do you ever wonder if it could happen to you?ǃÓJosh “Loving the Medium-Rare” S.
Answer: No and no.