By Sam Sifton
- Total Time
- 20 minutes
- Rating
- 5(1,280)
- Notes
- Read community notes
Here is a hamburger you might find in taverns and bars, plump and juicy, with a thick char that gives way to tender, medium-rare meat. It is best cooked in a heavy, cast-iron skillet slicked with oil or fat. Ask a butcher for coarse-ground chuck steak, with at least a 20 percent fat content, or grind your own. Keep it in the refrigerator until you are ready to cook, and then when you do, form your patties gently. Season after the meat is in the pan.
Featured in: Deconstructing the Perfect Burger
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Ingredients
Yield:4 servings
- ½teaspoon neutral oil, like canola, or a pat of unsalted butter
- 2pounds ground chuck, at least 20 percent fat
- Kosher salt and black pepper to taste
- 4slices cheese (optional)
- 4soft hamburger buns
- Lettuce leaves, sliced tomatoes and condiments, as desired
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Preparation
Step
1
Add oil or butter to a large cast-iron or stainless-steel skillet and place over medium heat. Gently divide ground beef into 4 small piles of around 8 ounces each, and then lightly form these into thick patties of around 3½ inches in diameter, like flattened meatballs. Season aggressively with salt and pepper.
Step
2
Increase heat under skillet to high. Put hamburgers into the skillet with plenty of distance between them and allow them to cook, without moving, for approximately 3 minutes. Use a spatula to turn hamburgers over. If using cheese, lay slices on meat.
Step
3
Continue to cook until meat is cooked through, approximately another 3 to 4 minutes for medium-rare. Remove hamburgers from skillet and allow to rest for approximately 5 minutes; meanwhile, toast the buns. Place hamburgers on buns and top as desired.
Ratings
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1,280
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Cooking Notes
Judi
Don't think "oh, it's just another burger recipe" and ignore this. Sam Sifton saved our burgers. They've gone from wishy washy and uninspiring to juicy and delicious...all because we learned not to touch the meat. You too can achieve burger perfection; just follow Sifton's tips to the letter (and watch the video).
Petaltown
I don't see the need for oil or butter. If you sprinkle salt on your cast-iron pan, fire it up and put in the raw burgers, they immediately render enough fat/juice to start sizzling and form a nice carmelized crust too. I use 85% lean beef.
PaulB
Like so many NYT recipes, this is internally inconsistent: the introductory text says, "Season after the meat is in the pan." The recipe itself says in Step 1, "Season aggressively with salt and pepper." then, in Step 2, "Put hamburgers into the skillet."
I admit the basic point - don't squash the meat - is retained, but does no one read the entire copy on these things?
Jackie N
Magnificent! Bought a cast-iron skillet especially to try this approach to burgers. Used the skillet on our gas BBQ grill outside. The reward - the best burgers we have ever made. Would never cook a burger any other way now. Thanks Sam!
Erin
Good technique here, but one crucial step missing: putting a thumb print in the burger before setting in pan. The thumbprint keeps the burger from turning into a self steaming dome (hence the terrible gray meat effect). Because SCIENCE! I also (gently) mix a small amount of Duke’s mayo (high egg content) and fish sauce into the meat for extra fat, and a deep, rich umami taste. I know fish sauce sounds weird, but it really works with small amounts. No one knows it’s there but you!
Kate NYC
The purpose is to allow the juices to settle back throughout the meat. During its cooking the moisture in any meat moves toward the heat source, i.e., the surfaces where it's hottest. So if you cut the meat immediately after cooking, all those juices that are sitting right at the surface will quickly run out and your meat or chicken will be drier than it would otherwise be if you let it rest.At least this is what I learned in culinary school.
chambolle
Better method: get your broiler red, scary hot. Put gently hand-formed patties in an oiled skillet you get super hot on the stove - cast iron is good, but so is a heavy bottomed All-Clad aluminum. Stick your pan under the broiler and watch those patties char and plump up like ground beef souffles.Flip after a few minutes and cook on the other side.You can deglaze the pan with sherry or cognac, add some worcestershire sauce and a dab of butter and pour that over the burgers before serving. Great.
Rob-in-Philly
Ever notice how your burgers 'shrink' around the edges, bulge in the middle and get smaller than the circumfrence of your buns? Well, after you form them to the basic size you want make a thumb sized depression in the middle. Pop em on the grill or in your hot pan and go. They will cook more evenly too.
Heidi Mayer
These really were the best burger I have ever made. Who knew that such a simple recipe could produce such deliciousness? Both my husband and I had to restrain ourselves from eating a second burger.
This is a testimony to how good technique and simple, but quality ingredients, can trump more complicated recipes with lots of steps and ingredients.
WOW.
Sam Sifton
The transition from cooking smash burgers to tavern ones is sometimes rocky. It's a different process. Use a little less meat next time, maybe?
Tom
What about the timing for medium?
Phil Kohan
Best way to also enjoy your burger with a char broiled grilled flavor is to put the skillet directly on your outdoor grill, instead of your stove top burners. Put the burgers in the skillet, and then on the grill, set on high and close the lid and cook accordingly. Love the flavor and crustiness of the exterior.
Sandy Smith
These burgers were absolutely marvelous. My only recommendation: To prevent the smoke alarm from causing more excitement than cooking really needs, open the windows.
"cover" your tavern burger
At the Clover Grill in New Orleans, they cover their burgers with a hubcap while also doing everything else you say. They do start with a frozen patty (!). Those burgers have always been the best of the "tavern burger" style. I firmly believe in covering the burger.
Phil
I agree, no need for oil or butter, even using 7% fat ground beef as I do. In addition to coarse salt in the pan, I grind peppercorns into the pan. I also add salt and pepper to the top, uncooked side as the bottom cooks.
srobs
6oz patty and room temperature beef (I missed the note about leaving it in the fridge) still took more than 6-7 minutes to cook. And the smoke was crazy. I have a newer range with 3000 watts on its larger burners. Maybe the excessive smoke was because of that heat? But the burgers still needed at least three to four more minutes than the recipe called for.
Dina G.
We followed had about 4oz of meat per patty. We even added some cook time, but our patties were raw in the middle. Unsure what we are doing wrong.
Martha
I have never made hamburgers before, Sam Sifton. You do not say to add oil to the pan but it looks if you did. Please advise.
SFGlamourGirl
Stellar. I used brisket chuck and I think it may be the best burger I've ever tasted.
debi
Ahh.. the crunchy kinda burnt cheese that melts down the burger is da best!
Jonah
BIG PROBLEM: I've now made the "tavern" version of this recipe multiple times and the center of the burger was not just undercooked, but almost completely uncooked even after I cooked the burgers for longer than the recipe describes, which is 3 minutes on side A and 3-4 minutes on side B. What seems to happen is the outer .5 centimeter forms a crisp layer, but that layer then insulates the center. Amend the recipe to include a broiling/baking/cooking time adjustment for the "tavern" version.
Roni Jordan
I've been making my 80/20 burgers tavern style since Sam's technique appeared on the site. I get the skillet really hot on medium high, then add the butter and the seasoned burgers as soon as the butter melts, which is almost immediately. 4 minutes on side one. Flip. Add the cheese after 2 minutes and remove from skillet after the next 2 minutes. Total of 8 minutes, perfectly medium rare. This works whether they're 5.3 oz or 6 or 8 oz, as long as the thickness is consistently about 1/2"
mary
De-lish, in spite of the smoke detector going off.
Terri Davidson
It may seem like a no-brainer, recipe for burgers? Trust me, if this recipe is followed to a T you will end up with the best burgers. It’s like they were cooked on a flattop grill in a diner in NJ, or a Howard Johnson’s on a family road trip. I cook mine rare, white American Cheese, & Bacon on a toasted English Muffin.
Jenny
3 1/2 inches thick? Still raw in the center
Roni Jordan
NOT 3-1/2 inches thick...3-1/2 inches in diameter!
penny
Takes a lot more time than listed on a grill pan. Double it
anne
temp to 130 then rest
Anne
This recipe is phenomenal. It is the closest I have ever come to making a restaurant burger. We've tried all sorts of burger recipes and they have all been disappointing until this one.
Stephanie
I was going to make meatballs, yet ran out of time and decided to make burgers instead. This recipe, honestly, is magic: in record time I managed to cook four burgers just right (medium rare). Never before have I spent so little time and effort on a home-cooked meal that my kids ate so readily (and they asked for more!). I recommend using the best quality meat you can get, yet Sam Sifton totally nails it with this recipe. No more meatballs (that I always overcook anyway) in our home!
Paul
Made this evening on the stove in a cast iron pan and they turned out perfectly. A little taste of summer in the cold Canadian winter.
Colin
7 minutes of cook time on high for a 8 ounce patty at 3.5 inches of diameter doesn’t even get anywhere close to rare... definitely fully raw. Maybe more like 5 ounces?
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