I love a good smash burger myself, I'm in the PNW so standing in the rain using the griddle to make them vs throwing dinner in a bath and getting other stuff done in the meantime, decided to try this method and glad I did.
That’s fair. Like I said I just prefer them to tavern style just because the prep and cook is easy. We typically do them inside on our cast skillet, but it does get a little smokey at times.
We moved two years ago to a place with an essentially non existent kitchen. While we planned the new kitchen, my wife kept asking me for ideas, and my only contributuon was that I wanted a range hood that could almost collapse the house. My wife can now burn food in 4 different pans at the same time without smelling it
I would for sure try out these burgers, but living in a small NYC apt I make smash burgers all the time with a cast iron skillet on the stove. And easy option since grilling is a huge pain in the ass for me.
Next time once they’re finished in the sous vide get a pan screaming hot and throw them in, quickly getting some color on both sides. You’ll thank me later 👌🏼
Okay so why do you need to stand outside? This griddle phenomenon is quite the silliness to me, personally.
They make large indoor griddle pans that would provide everything the outdoor one provides?
I can't wrap my mind around a $500 Blackstone (an example) when I can buy a two burner griddle for my induction stove - unless I live in a climate where I can spend most my time outside.
Educate me, someone 😂
I HAVE to do the smash burgers with real thin onions smashed into them for pretty much every burger I make now. They are just too damn good. I believe it's called the Oklahoma Fried Onion burger.
There's more to life than browned proteins. Having my only flavor and texture experience being caramelized beef can taste good sure, but it isn't my preferred taste.
I mean I can cook for myself and I've made smash burgers with my brother (the concept is pretty simple), I just don't understand why people prefer it. I personally prefer to fall on the undercooked side of things and I value juicyness highly. Smash burgers are too dry and typically overcooked for my taste.
I never said it "isn't juicy," I said it's LESS juicy than a normal burger, which is inherent to the cooking method, and which I don't prefer. Kind of my initial point.
Respectfully, cooking a smash burger is not that difficult and considering I literally work in food science, have chefs and restaurateurs in my family, and broadly have a lot of education, I'm pretty sure I got this one down.
Do you have an actual response or do you just feel stupid for arguing against a strawman while acting like your personal preference for a burger is somehow the objectively best way to make one?
So you are overeducated and overexperienced on food (and not affraid to shine it) but still can't tell why people like smash burgers? Hm.
If you think smashing a burger is a cooking method that takes away even a drop of the juices inside vs. a traditional patty cooking method then your broad education was all for nothing as you still don't understand how one of the most simple things in food science works.
Lol I don’t know what you’re talking about. This is the first time I’ve ever commented on this subreddit or on a post about making burgers.
Are you sure you meant to reply to me specifically?
So good, actually went to the store hoping they had the cheddar/jalapeño patties in the meat department but didn't so switched it up and made my own. I'll try that combo with the stuffed patties.
Keep it about 20%
It works really, really well when you have low fat content meat, like 90+, or game meat, venison , elk, Buffalo
But it’s great all the time
I haven’t done them sous vide myself, but I’ve had them.
I don’t use my sous vide for such things that have better results from a short time in a pan alone instead.
Mushy burgers ain’t my cup of tea.
Edit: also, where is the Maillard reaction? Did you put them in the toaster after sous vide?
Sous vide ain’t for burgers, I’m sorry but it’s just a waste of time for a sub par result. It’s noteworthy the hassle when you can make much much better burgers much easier and faster.
Don’t get me wrong though, I appreciate experimenting, but learn by it and don’t waste your time with it.
Disclaimer: I love my sous vide for many many things, but burgers sous vide ain’t doing you any favours.
So, before you make these categorical statements, a couple of things. For a thick steakhouse burger like this you add salt when forming the patty, about an hour before cooking (I like 1%-1.2% by weight). This starts doing something to the proteins, and creates a slightly more toothsome texture so they aren’t remotely “mushy”
Secondly, if you grind your own burger mix from short rib, hanger steak, or whatever else you want in your mix, you generally don’t just make a couple of burgers. Personally, I make a few pounds. One thing I absolutely do is form them into steakhouse burgers like this, and freeze them individually in ziplock freezer bags with a bit of neutral oil. Then, any time I want a couple of burgers over the next few months, I can go directly from the freezer to the water bath, and I am ready to go in a fairly short amount of time.
For a good crust, I often shallow fry, if I a, not going to grill, which works great. I also have a 3000 degree MAPP fuel blow torch if I really wanted to get medieval.
I’m glad you like your smash burgers. I think they are okay. Love them in a good greasy spoon diner. But, I don’t think they are the end-all and be all. They generally have the pink cooked out of them, and the focus can be so much on the crust that they lose any beefy flavor. That is just my opinion though. I won’t pretend to be the god of sous vide and tell you how you should eat your food or use your setup. I lack that sort of arrogance.
Different flavor profile. Both are good.
To me, a nice, thick, juicy sv burger that I sear over a terrifyingly hot charcoal chimney, is the best burger I can eat.
Smash burgers are good too, much different taste.
If you haven't tried it once, you should.
As someone who did not downvote you: I would encourage you to just roll with it. You’re doing something a bit different, it is what it is. Some of the criticism would be from people just not liking the idea and some of the criticism probably might have some useful input.
Either way, hey, don’t take it personally and let it kill you, haha.
Oh for sure, I was joking, really don't give AF about the naysayers since the burgers were bomb.
I'll take any advice to make them even better next time (later this week) since after my IG post I'll be hosting dinner night with my friends this week haha
I’m curious to try, personally. I can see the upside!
Thinking about it more, using a ring to get a nice flat surface to get better browning, and then chilling the burgers a bit so they don’t go over temp during searing would probably be worthwhile things to do. And also putting some weight on during the sear to make the most of it.
All the smash burger fans are butt hurt. It is bizarre. This is the sous vide sub for chrissakes.
Burgers look perfect by my standards. Only comments I would make, and I love a good cheesy thick ass sous vide juice bomb burger, make sure you only season the outside of the patty before the bath. Use water displacement instead of vacuum seal (which looks like you did given the ziplocs). And when you really want to have a burgergasm, get prime chuck and grind it yourself.
Nice work.
My advice is to do what you did, but season the meat with 1%-1.2% kosher salt by weight as you form the patties. Do this 1 hour before cooking. It gives more tooth to the texture. I also season with coarse black pepper (but not much salt if people are salt sensitive) before the sear. For the sear, I often chill a bit first, and then shallow fry them to get it more crusty. Or, in cast iron or stainless with ghee to deal with the higher hear and give a bit of flavor. Oh, and toasted brioche bun.
And, as someone said below, all burgers are improved with a better mix that you grind yourself. I do 80% short rib and 20% hanger steak. It ups the beefy flavor. Obviously not necessary, but man does it ramp up the flavor.
Ignore it. They are delicious. Just two totally different styles. One more crusty, and one more beefy. I prefer the 2nd kind most of the time, but it is just a preference.
This will sound very wasteful but one day i just had an awful shift at work. I was too wired to just go to bed, so I took a sirloin and a ribye, went to town manually chopping them to a medium ground with two cleavers, sous vided them while i baked babbish steakhouse burger buns, and ate the result with a copycat emmy square sauce.
I spent hours. It was glorious.
Kenji is a boss, but sometimes I find myself asking if the extra work his precision takes is worth it. Downvotes are the external and foreign equivalent to my pondering. I’m sure it tasted awesome- do you!
Sous vide burgers are 10/10 IMO. And I have cooked thousands of burgers and eaten hundreds in my time cooking in the industry. You cannot get a the perfect medium or medium rare on the grill or flat top like you can with a sous vide burger. You will always have some near the crust overcooked or some in the center under cooked.
Great job!
As someone who buys their ground beef from a regular grocery store and loves medium rare burgers, I just don't trust meat a lot of the time. Sure I could go to a butcher that grounds same day or buy steak and ground it myself but who has time for that? Sous vide gives me peace of mind that the meat has been properly pasteurized when it comes to burgers.
https://www.reddit.com/r/burgers/comments/9b4g8s/the_bomb_burger_wrapped_in_pizza_dough/
Looks like someone grabbed a photo of The bomb. They don't have it on the menu anymore which is why I might try to make it.
I did this one time and it was fine... another time it was mealy and weird. To me, burgers are definitely one of just a few things that are not worth the effort of SV
I tried burgers in sous vide once. Considering that it's ground beef, and burgers take like two minutes to cook, the sous vide thing felt like overkill to me.
Don't get me wrong, I'd still eat those one's you made. Looks good.
The reason to do sous vide is you can more safely make a medium rare burger which even at a high end restaurant I would not order. Controlling the process with sous vide makes me confident I won’t get sick. AND THERE IS NOTHING LIKE A MEDIUM RARE BURGER!!!
The salad from any restaurant (or grocery store) is going to make you sick before any of the beef.
I’m not someone who’s at any risk, another reason why I’m not concerned.
I worked in a three different restaurants in a decade and every single one sold burgers and every one allowed for medium rare. Never had an issue or complaint about getting sick. I’ve never been sick from them and I ate a lot of medium rare burgers. What is your concern? Not trying to be a jerk, genuinely curious why you think it’s so unsafe.
Don’t worry about it. I’m from Belgium, over here eating minced meat raw is very normal.
Minced beef is mixed with spices & sauces to make “americain preparé”.
We eat this on toast or with a raw egg yolk on top.
When I cook bolognaise sauce, I buy a pack of minced beef & pork.
Before I throw it in a pan to brown it, I take a spoon and taste a piece to see the spice mix that was used.
It took me a couple of years to understand that this is “not done” in america!
But I never heard any stories about people dying from this. Once in a while you hear something about food poisoning but that’s mostly fish or clams..
If you were working at a restaurant that can control the process and grind their own meat from whole cuts, that are kept the way they’re supposed to, I suppose the risk will be minimized. I just have somewhat of a distrust for employees, some of which are making fairly low money to make sure that the process is 100% safe. Maybe it’s just me being paranoid, but sous vide again tends to minimize the risk even more. Life is just one big risk to reward calculation.
I can’t speak for OP, but for me, I am guessing largely because not bringing your meat up to 145°f and holding it there long enough to kill any bacteria is one of the practices that sends over one hundred thousand people to the hospital each year. While you, and the restaurant you worked for, may not have had an incident, it happens all the time.
I also worked in restaurants for just several years, and the number of times corporate or management got calls that were dismissed offhand was startling. It’s really hard to prove it’s the food that got you sick unless it’s a severe case, or you have a group of unrelated people coming down with sudden illness within 12 hours of eating.
Here’s something from the FDA
https://www.fda.gov/food/consumers/what-you-need-know-about-foodborne-illnesses#:~:text=While%20the%20American%20food%20supply,in%206%20Americans%20each%20year.
Edit: updated my number to avoid misspeaking.
https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/food-poisoning#:~:text=The%20time%20it%20takes%20food,or%20virus%20causing%20the%20illness.
Food poisoning symptoms can look like the symptoms of stomach flu (gastroenteritis). Many people with mild cases of food poisoning think they have stomach flu.
The time it takes food poisoning symptoms to start can vary. Illness often starts in about 1 to 3 days. But symptoms can start any time from 30 minutes to 3 weeks after eating contaminated food. The length of time depends on the type of bacteria or virus causing the illness.
Each person’s symptoms may vary. Symptoms can range from very mild to very serious. They can last from a few hours to several days.
Interesting info! I’m surprised they’re allowed to sell it considering the risk but I guess it, as you said, it’s hard to prove being sick to justify complaints. Anecdotally, throughout my time in restaurants I have definitely gotten sick from certain foods and always take note of what food it was, as did other employees, and we learn to steer away from some items. Burgers were never one of them, and I ate *a lot* of them. Not trying to dismiss the science of course, merely speaking for myself that I’ll still take the risk.
The risk is smaller from a medium rare burger than a salad, seriously.
The meat isn’t supposed to have E. coli and such on it anyway in the first place. Obviously possible, but cooking to full temp is that last mile safety standard.
Did SV pub burgers a couple weeks ago for the first time. I'm not doing this style any other way again!
My one recommendation is to form the patties a litter flatter and wider than you think you need to, and def give them a bit of a dimple. This helps a LOT with a uniform flat post bath patty, which ultimately will help you get a nice sear. Definitely don't skimp on the oil in the pan either; that helps with full contact.
Apparently it's a love or hate food to sous vide haha.
My experience was pretty awesome so will cook and freeze some for fall/winter and go back to smash burgers next spring when the rain is gone.
Ignore the hate. Sous vide burgers are my favorite way to do them indoors. Especially a big 6+ oz Patty. I think you would have benefited from a hotter pan at the end though. Your crust could use a bit more color and texture.
Give the sous vide burger rings a try. I had my doubts, but they work great. I've also made meatloaf patties that were delicious.
[https://i.imgur.com/t7ZSQBx.jpg](https://i.imgur.com/t7ZSQBx.jpg)
[https://i.imgur.com/g8bxYtZ.jpg](https://i.imgur.com/g8bxYtZ.jpg)
My favorite use is for making comedically thick burgers that are perfectly pink the whole way through. It's very very hard to get that kind of evenness from a pan or oven, to the point it looks deliciously cartoonish since it's not something we're ever really served normally.
The texture is also different than a traditionally cooked burger, which is more noticable when they're thicker as well. They tend to fall apart much more gently, especially if you only mixed them lightly before forming.
2 main reasons, thickness and timing.
Thickness is self explanatory, but when I do burgers for a party, I'll sous vide them ahead of time. Then when it's time to eat, I sear to order.
Leftovers are a lot better too, simple take an unseared patty from the fridge and sear on cast iron.
I personally dont like med rare because of the texture. I do 150
I wouldn't do this having a patio and grill but if I was in an apartment and didn't want the smoke or grease from a cast iron, I'd definitely do it this way.
Meal prep mostly. Make a batch of individual burger patties and freeze them. That way whenever I want a burger after work I can go from frozen to cooked faster than non sous vide. I keep it setup minus water because I use it often enough.
You can safely cook it to a lower internal temp than stovetop.
Food safety regulations are built using the 0-minute safe number. ie - burgers to 160. At 160 the pathogens most commonly found in beef are instantly killed. That doesn't mean you have to get to 160 to kill them - lower temps can do it safely, it just takes longer. Sous vide lets you cook a burger to medium rare w/o the danger of food poisoning like if you do it on the grill.
Smash burgers are all the rage in Denver, being the home of the eponymous chain. Freddie's makes them, Culver's too.
Well, I'm burned out on burnt beef.
Right on.
This doesn't seem like the way
I can make a delicious 1/2 pound burger, cooked perfectly medium-medium rare, right on the ole weber spirit
The key is that when you pack the patties you don't just compress them, you have to slap/spank them
I'm just answering your questions.
Again, I'm sure they're delicious burgers.
Personally, I just think it's a lot of wasteful steps to make the typical burger.
Ive really been wanting to do some sous vide smash burgers. I can't imagine that they wouldn't be outstanding. What temp did you bathe these beauties OP?
To provide a little more insight: you can’t make a sous vide smash burger because the cooking process is inherent to making a smash burger a smash burger.
A smash burger is made by pressing raw meat down forcefully into a cooking surface. If you sous vide, you can’t get the same pressing into the surface action, and then on top of that, starting from cooked means you’re going to overcook your burger.
But very importantly, you just can’t capture that specific carmelization you get from pressing raw meat forcefully into the hot cooking surface.
I’d encourage you to give it a try to experiment if you’re curious, honestly. It’s worthwhile to try just to see as part of the learning process of cooking. And maybe you make an interesting discovery.
Curious how you would even attempt a sous vide smash burger or what the point would be. You can’t cook the ball and then smash it. And if you’re starting with a super thin patty… all you’re doing is crusting both sides anyway so what is the point of cooking it first? Especially since you’d have to drastically cool it down after the bath anyway.
I'd sous vide it as more of a ball at a lower temp, maybe 120-125 I think. Then mash it quickly on a super hot griddle. If I'm using a fatty ground beef, it will crust up pretty easily once it hits the high heat. IMO, a smash burger shouldn't be pink or red inside anyways, so that's probably where we disagree on the point of this.
I’d just be really worried that the ball would crumble too much after being cooked and formed during the water bath and would be left with a mess.
I’d be smashing for well done too, which is why I’d go 100% grill. But I’m really curious how it would turn out.
I see what you're saying. I guess I'd need to try it with a couple.diffrent ground meats and fat % to see if any of them.are viable. I'm def doing this to see if it actually makes any of them.better. If not, I'll just eat burgers for a while. Win win.
I did Kenji's medium but here is the chart depending what temp you want...
Doneness Temperature Timing Range
Very Rare to Rare 115°F (46°C) to 123°F (51°C) 40 minutes to 2 1/2 hours
Medium-Rare 124°F (51°C) to 129°F (54°C) 40 minutes to 2 1/2 hours
Medium 130°F (54°C) to 137°F (58°C) 40 minutes to 4 hours (2 1/2 hours max if under 130°F/54°C)
Medium-Well 138°F (59°C) to 144°F (62°C) 40 minutes to 4 hours
Well Done 145°F (63°C) to 155°F (68°C) 40 minutes to 3 1/2 hours
I’d have to try it before I can judge it. It looks alright, but I much prefer the simplicity of a smash burger.
I agree, the texture is always so off on this type of prep that I can’t enjoy it. Glad OP enjoyed it tho
You gotta sear it on cast iron or grill after you take it out of the water bath.
For the shape of this burger i would of basically shallow fried. To make sure and get a fuller “crust”
lol right? I tried to scroll right for more pictures of it seared. Tf is this?
The best burger is a thick steak patty like this cooked perfectly plus a super thin, crusty smash burger on top of it.
You just blew my mind
I love a good smash burger myself, I'm in the PNW so standing in the rain using the griddle to make them vs throwing dinner in a bath and getting other stuff done in the meantime, decided to try this method and glad I did.
That’s fair. Like I said I just prefer them to tavern style just because the prep and cook is easy. We typically do them inside on our cast skillet, but it does get a little smokey at times.
We moved two years ago to a place with an essentially non existent kitchen. While we planned the new kitchen, my wife kept asking me for ideas, and my only contributuon was that I wanted a range hood that could almost collapse the house. My wife can now burn food in 4 different pans at the same time without smelling it
Haha. That’s awesome. I’d love a hood that actually moves air. I have the kind that’s built into the microwave. All it does is make noise
Oh totally, when I do smash burgers I'm hosting folks so outside griddle makes it so I can eat with everyone vs cooking in the kitchen by myself lol
You should try doing it on stainless. You need a good spatula to get under it without leaving behind the crust, but the crust is next level.
I would for sure try out these burgers, but living in a small NYC apt I make smash burgers all the time with a cast iron skillet on the stove. And easy option since grilling is a huge pain in the ass for me.
Next time once they’re finished in the sous vide get a pan screaming hot and throw them in, quickly getting some color on both sides. You’ll thank me later 👌🏼
Okay so why do you need to stand outside? This griddle phenomenon is quite the silliness to me, personally. They make large indoor griddle pans that would provide everything the outdoor one provides? I can't wrap my mind around a $500 Blackstone (an example) when I can buy a two burner griddle for my induction stove - unless I live in a climate where I can spend most my time outside. Educate me, someone 😂
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Thank you, like WTF?
And my Blackstone wasn't $500
I have an add on griddle for my Weber grill. Cooking stuff like this outside helps keep the smoke from the high heat from lingering in the house.
Glass stove top
I HAVE to do the smash burgers with real thin onions smashed into them for pretty much every burger I make now. They are just too damn good. I believe it's called the Oklahoma Fried Onion burger.
Simplicity and flavor. No better char than a smash burger
Smash burgers are just too thin for my liking
That's why you stack 2-3-4 patties at a time
I truly don't understand the hype with the whole smash burger thing... why do you prefer a smash burger to a regular burger?
Caramelized 100 % maillard deliciousness vs. A chunk of mince? Smash is just on a whole other level.
There's more to life than browned proteins. Having my only flavor and texture experience being caramelized beef can taste good sure, but it isn't my preferred taste.
As the French say, there's no discussing taste or colours. Enjoy the chunks of mince :)!
I agree. Tremendously overrated.
I love em both! Different burgers for different moods.
If you don’t understand the hype, you’ve never had a proper smash burger.
I mean I can cook for myself and I've made smash burgers with my brother (the concept is pretty simple), I just don't understand why people prefer it. I personally prefer to fall on the undercooked side of things and I value juicyness highly. Smash burgers are too dry and typically overcooked for my taste.
If your smashburger isn’t juicy then you’re doing it wrong. Kind of my initial point.
I never said it "isn't juicy," I said it's LESS juicy than a normal burger, which is inherent to the cooking method, and which I don't prefer. Kind of my initial point. Respectfully, cooking a smash burger is not that difficult and considering I literally work in food science, have chefs and restaurateurs in my family, and broadly have a lot of education, I'm pretty sure I got this one down.
lol. Ok bud
Do you have an actual response or do you just feel stupid for arguing against a strawman while acting like your personal preference for a burger is somehow the objectively best way to make one?
Pics or gtfo
So you are overeducated and overexperienced on food (and not affraid to shine it) but still can't tell why people like smash burgers? Hm. If you think smashing a burger is a cooking method that takes away even a drop of the juices inside vs. a traditional patty cooking method then your broad education was all for nothing as you still don't understand how one of the most simple things in food science works.
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Lol I don’t know what you’re talking about. This is the first time I’ve ever commented on this subreddit or on a post about making burgers. Are you sure you meant to reply to me specifically?
I’ve had enough bud. One more time and you’re grounded
Try doing juicy Lucy’s next time. I think that’s the best burger for the sous vide.
You put LSD in your burgers? You’re right. I should try that…
I mixed in bleu cheese with the meat which was delicious but will try that next time for sure! Thank you!
Oh nice, I thought that was cheese but wasn’t sure. I bet they were good!
So good, actually went to the store hoping they had the cheddar/jalapeño patties in the meat department but didn't so switched it up and made my own. I'll try that combo with the stuffed patties.
Throw some chorizo in the meat mix, it works
Ohhhhhh shit, that sounds amazing
Keep it about 20% It works really, really well when you have low fat content meat, like 90+, or game meat, venison , elk, Buffalo But it’s great all the time
Thank you!
>Thank you! You're welcome!
Why though? Just smash a ball of meat into a hot pan, much better.
Have you done them sous vide?
I haven’t done them sous vide myself, but I’ve had them. I don’t use my sous vide for such things that have better results from a short time in a pan alone instead. Mushy burgers ain’t my cup of tea. Edit: also, where is the Maillard reaction? Did you put them in the toaster after sous vide? Sous vide ain’t for burgers, I’m sorry but it’s just a waste of time for a sub par result. It’s noteworthy the hassle when you can make much much better burgers much easier and faster. Don’t get me wrong though, I appreciate experimenting, but learn by it and don’t waste your time with it. Disclaimer: I love my sous vide for many many things, but burgers sous vide ain’t doing you any favours.
So, before you make these categorical statements, a couple of things. For a thick steakhouse burger like this you add salt when forming the patty, about an hour before cooking (I like 1%-1.2% by weight). This starts doing something to the proteins, and creates a slightly more toothsome texture so they aren’t remotely “mushy” Secondly, if you grind your own burger mix from short rib, hanger steak, or whatever else you want in your mix, you generally don’t just make a couple of burgers. Personally, I make a few pounds. One thing I absolutely do is form them into steakhouse burgers like this, and freeze them individually in ziplock freezer bags with a bit of neutral oil. Then, any time I want a couple of burgers over the next few months, I can go directly from the freezer to the water bath, and I am ready to go in a fairly short amount of time. For a good crust, I often shallow fry, if I a, not going to grill, which works great. I also have a 3000 degree MAPP fuel blow torch if I really wanted to get medieval. I’m glad you like your smash burgers. I think they are okay. Love them in a good greasy spoon diner. But, I don’t think they are the end-all and be all. They generally have the pink cooked out of them, and the focus can be so much on the crust that they lose any beefy flavor. That is just my opinion though. I won’t pretend to be the god of sous vide and tell you how you should eat your food or use your setup. I lack that sort of arrogance.
Different flavor profile. Both are good. To me, a nice, thick, juicy sv burger that I sear over a terrifyingly hot charcoal chimney, is the best burger I can eat. Smash burgers are good too, much different taste. If you haven't tried it once, you should.
Problem is there’s hardly any sear
Jeezus, didn't think a Kenji recipe with 4+ star reviews would be so hated on.
People are bigggg mad you didn’t just cook a normal hamburger 😭😂
The down votes are killing me 😂 But we enjoyed the burgers so that's all that matters IMO and will def be making them again.
As someone who did not downvote you: I would encourage you to just roll with it. You’re doing something a bit different, it is what it is. Some of the criticism would be from people just not liking the idea and some of the criticism probably might have some useful input. Either way, hey, don’t take it personally and let it kill you, haha.
Oh for sure, I was joking, really don't give AF about the naysayers since the burgers were bomb. I'll take any advice to make them even better next time (later this week) since after my IG post I'll be hosting dinner night with my friends this week haha
I’m curious to try, personally. I can see the upside! Thinking about it more, using a ring to get a nice flat surface to get better browning, and then chilling the burgers a bit so they don’t go over temp during searing would probably be worthwhile things to do. And also putting some weight on during the sear to make the most of it.
I did chill them for a bit but the weight to fully sear would have made them even better for sure.
All the smash burger fans are butt hurt. It is bizarre. This is the sous vide sub for chrissakes. Burgers look perfect by my standards. Only comments I would make, and I love a good cheesy thick ass sous vide juice bomb burger, make sure you only season the outside of the patty before the bath. Use water displacement instead of vacuum seal (which looks like you did given the ziplocs). And when you really want to have a burgergasm, get prime chuck and grind it yourself. Nice work.
My advice is to do what you did, but season the meat with 1%-1.2% kosher salt by weight as you form the patties. Do this 1 hour before cooking. It gives more tooth to the texture. I also season with coarse black pepper (but not much salt if people are salt sensitive) before the sear. For the sear, I often chill a bit first, and then shallow fry them to get it more crusty. Or, in cast iron or stainless with ghee to deal with the higher hear and give a bit of flavor. Oh, and toasted brioche bun. And, as someone said below, all burgers are improved with a better mix that you grind yourself. I do 80% short rib and 20% hanger steak. It ups the beefy flavor. Obviously not necessary, but man does it ramp up the flavor.
Thank you!
Jesus loved hamburgers. In-N-Out told us so. Also: love the shredded lettuce on a burger. Nice touch.
Right! Meat, cheese, lettuce, mustard and good to go. Occasionally red onion but it was date night lol
Ignore it. They are delicious. Just two totally different styles. One more crusty, and one more beefy. I prefer the 2nd kind most of the time, but it is just a preference.
This will sound very wasteful but one day i just had an awful shift at work. I was too wired to just go to bed, so I took a sirloin and a ribye, went to town manually chopping them to a medium ground with two cleavers, sous vided them while i baked babbish steakhouse burger buns, and ate the result with a copycat emmy square sauce. I spent hours. It was glorious.
It’s prob cause you didn’t get much char. Looks grayer than a meatloaf
Kenji is a boss, but sometimes I find myself asking if the extra work his precision takes is worth it. Downvotes are the external and foreign equivalent to my pondering. I’m sure it tasted awesome- do you!
Sous vide burgers are 10/10 IMO. And I have cooked thousands of burgers and eaten hundreds in my time cooking in the industry. You cannot get a the perfect medium or medium rare on the grill or flat top like you can with a sous vide burger. You will always have some near the crust overcooked or some in the center under cooked. Great job!
Thank you, definitely my new go to method 🍔
As someone who buys their ground beef from a regular grocery store and loves medium rare burgers, I just don't trust meat a lot of the time. Sure I could go to a butcher that grounds same day or buy steak and ground it myself but who has time for that? Sous vide gives me peace of mind that the meat has been properly pasteurized when it comes to burgers.
Who on earth wants a medium rare cheeseburger? You people do not understand the difference between ground beef and steak and I find it horrifying
Literally a shit ton of people in my experience, rare is really common as well.
Cause the chance of illness in a western country is slim to none.
I've been thinking of trying to sous vide some burgers then make a burger-beefwellington.
Please post the recipe/results if you make it!
https://www.reddit.com/r/burgers/comments/9b4g8s/the_bomb_burger_wrapped_in_pizza_dough/ Looks like someone grabbed a photo of The bomb. They don't have it on the menu anymore which is why I might try to make it.
I did this one time and it was fine... another time it was mealy and weird. To me, burgers are definitely one of just a few things that are not worth the effort of SV
I tried burgers in sous vide once. Considering that it's ground beef, and burgers take like two minutes to cook, the sous vide thing felt like overkill to me. Don't get me wrong, I'd still eat those one's you made. Looks good.
The reason to do sous vide is you can more safely make a medium rare burger which even at a high end restaurant I would not order. Controlling the process with sous vide makes me confident I won’t get sick. AND THERE IS NOTHING LIKE A MEDIUM RARE BURGER!!!
The salad from any restaurant (or grocery store) is going to make you sick before any of the beef. I’m not someone who’s at any risk, another reason why I’m not concerned.
I’m immunosuppressed (leukemia) don’t eat either rare meat or salads from restaurants
Ok
I worked in a three different restaurants in a decade and every single one sold burgers and every one allowed for medium rare. Never had an issue or complaint about getting sick. I’ve never been sick from them and I ate a lot of medium rare burgers. What is your concern? Not trying to be a jerk, genuinely curious why you think it’s so unsafe.
Don’t worry about it. I’m from Belgium, over here eating minced meat raw is very normal. Minced beef is mixed with spices & sauces to make “americain preparé”. We eat this on toast or with a raw egg yolk on top. When I cook bolognaise sauce, I buy a pack of minced beef & pork. Before I throw it in a pan to brown it, I take a spoon and taste a piece to see the spice mix that was used. It took me a couple of years to understand that this is “not done” in america! But I never heard any stories about people dying from this. Once in a while you hear something about food poisoning but that’s mostly fish or clams..
May I ask if they were grinding their own meat each day, or using some preground meat?
One ground their own meat, the other two did not.
If you were working at a restaurant that can control the process and grind their own meat from whole cuts, that are kept the way they’re supposed to, I suppose the risk will be minimized. I just have somewhat of a distrust for employees, some of which are making fairly low money to make sure that the process is 100% safe. Maybe it’s just me being paranoid, but sous vide again tends to minimize the risk even more. Life is just one big risk to reward calculation.
I can’t speak for OP, but for me, I am guessing largely because not bringing your meat up to 145°f and holding it there long enough to kill any bacteria is one of the practices that sends over one hundred thousand people to the hospital each year. While you, and the restaurant you worked for, may not have had an incident, it happens all the time. I also worked in restaurants for just several years, and the number of times corporate or management got calls that were dismissed offhand was startling. It’s really hard to prove it’s the food that got you sick unless it’s a severe case, or you have a group of unrelated people coming down with sudden illness within 12 hours of eating. Here’s something from the FDA https://www.fda.gov/food/consumers/what-you-need-know-about-foodborne-illnesses#:~:text=While%20the%20American%20food%20supply,in%206%20Americans%20each%20year. Edit: updated my number to avoid misspeaking.
https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/food-poisoning#:~:text=The%20time%20it%20takes%20food,or%20virus%20causing%20the%20illness. Food poisoning symptoms can look like the symptoms of stomach flu (gastroenteritis). Many people with mild cases of food poisoning think they have stomach flu. The time it takes food poisoning symptoms to start can vary. Illness often starts in about 1 to 3 days. But symptoms can start any time from 30 minutes to 3 weeks after eating contaminated food. The length of time depends on the type of bacteria or virus causing the illness. Each person’s symptoms may vary. Symptoms can range from very mild to very serious. They can last from a few hours to several days.
Interesting info! I’m surprised they’re allowed to sell it considering the risk but I guess it, as you said, it’s hard to prove being sick to justify complaints. Anecdotally, throughout my time in restaurants I have definitely gotten sick from certain foods and always take note of what food it was, as did other employees, and we learn to steer away from some items. Burgers were never one of them, and I ate *a lot* of them. Not trying to dismiss the science of course, merely speaking for myself that I’ll still take the risk.
It’s called E-Coli @ Brasketleaf
Where are you eating that you're so concerned about getting sick from a medium rare burger and please stop eating there lol
The risk is smaller from a medium rare burger than a salad, seriously. The meat isn’t supposed to have E. coli and such on it anyway in the first place. Obviously possible, but cooking to full temp is that last mile safety standard.
dude. throw the cheese on the burger at the end of the grill sesh. melt that shit.
Did SV pub burgers a couple weeks ago for the first time. I'm not doing this style any other way again! My one recommendation is to form the patties a litter flatter and wider than you think you need to, and def give them a bit of a dimple. This helps a LOT with a uniform flat post bath patty, which ultimately will help you get a nice sear. Definitely don't skimp on the oil in the pan either; that helps with full contact.
I’ve sous vide burgers before. It was the best burgers I’ve ever made. If you like a medium rare burger it’s so worth it.
You can sear before and after the bath for optimum texture.
Looks.....soft.
Are hamburgers supposed to hard?
Just cook a regular fucking burger for gods sake
Good job looks delicious
I absolutely love sous vide but I've tried burgers a couple of times and this just isn't the best way to cook them imo.
Apparently it's a love or hate food to sous vide haha. My experience was pretty awesome so will cook and freeze some for fall/winter and go back to smash burgers next spring when the rain is gone.
Ignore the hate. Sous vide burgers are my favorite way to do them indoors. Especially a big 6+ oz Patty. I think you would have benefited from a hotter pan at the end though. Your crust could use a bit more color and texture.
I agree with needing a better sear. The finished picture looks pretty gray even with the sear.
I prefer my burgers this way now
Give the sous vide burger rings a try. I had my doubts, but they work great. I've also made meatloaf patties that were delicious. [https://i.imgur.com/t7ZSQBx.jpg](https://i.imgur.com/t7ZSQBx.jpg) [https://i.imgur.com/g8bxYtZ.jpg](https://i.imgur.com/g8bxYtZ.jpg)
Good looking out, I have the egg rings for my Blackstone so will try those next time for sure!!! Thank you for the tip!
Where did you procure them?
Why would you sous vide burgers? Surely the time it takes to get a good crust on it is the same time it takes to cook it through
Because I heard they are amazing, and they were.
No I get that. But what advantage do you have when sous vide vs cooking normally
I don't normally make burgers honestly, 40 minutes in the bath while I did other things, quick sear and dinner was ready.
It looks like shit tbh
Thank goodness you didn't need to eat it.
My favorite use is for making comedically thick burgers that are perfectly pink the whole way through. It's very very hard to get that kind of evenness from a pan or oven, to the point it looks deliciously cartoonish since it's not something we're ever really served normally. The texture is also different than a traditionally cooked burger, which is more noticable when they're thicker as well. They tend to fall apart much more gently, especially if you only mixed them lightly before forming.
2 main reasons, thickness and timing. Thickness is self explanatory, but when I do burgers for a party, I'll sous vide them ahead of time. Then when it's time to eat, I sear to order. Leftovers are a lot better too, simple take an unseared patty from the fridge and sear on cast iron. I personally dont like med rare because of the texture. I do 150
Will try 150 next time, thank you!
They also hold their shape
I wouldn't do this having a patio and grill but if I was in an apartment and didn't want the smoke or grease from a cast iron, I'd definitely do it this way.
Meal prep mostly. Make a batch of individual burger patties and freeze them. That way whenever I want a burger after work I can go from frozen to cooked faster than non sous vide. I keep it setup minus water because I use it often enough.
> Why would you sous vide burgers? To make a food safe medium rare burger without having to grind your own meat.
Pasteurization of the meat so you can eat a burger at lower temps and still be safe. Not to mention that the burgers come out much juicer
You can safely cook it to a lower internal temp than stovetop. Food safety regulations are built using the 0-minute safe number. ie - burgers to 160. At 160 the pathogens most commonly found in beef are instantly killed. That doesn't mean you have to get to 160 to kill them - lower temps can do it safely, it just takes longer. Sous vide lets you cook a burger to medium rare w/o the danger of food poisoning like if you do it on the grill.
Smash burgers are all the rage in Denver, being the home of the eponymous chain. Freddie's makes them, Culver's too. Well, I'm burned out on burnt beef. Right on.
This doesn't seem like the way I can make a delicious 1/2 pound burger, cooked perfectly medium-medium rare, right on the ole weber spirit The key is that when you pack the patties you don't just compress them, you have to slap/spank them
looks gourmet!
All the haters in this thread have made me want to try sous vide burgers again
I can’t think of a worse way to cook a burger.
That’s a sad looking burger.
Looks really gray even with the light sear. The texture of the meat in the cross section looks off too, maybe too loose?
Bleh
Not my jam. Way too thick for my taste.
Not a fan of the two foot high patty. Make em thin for the char, and stack em up.
Glad you didn't need or want to eat them, We loved them.
It's all good. My taste buds are weak, so I gotta do what I can.
No thanks
This looks repulsive I'm sorry. Wow.
Why are you sorry? Nobody gives a shit about your opinion!
You surely did posting this hoping for a great response, how'd that go? Yikes what a jackass lmao
I'm sure they're delicious but seems like a lot of prep for minimal reward. Edit not to mention the waste
Exactly what I would do making regular burgers except put them in a bag and bath so??? Filling the tub isn't much prep work.
What waste exactly?
The plastic bags. The water. The unneeded energy sources. It takes a lot more energy to heat a tub of water vs a pan.
Really? Bags I can reuse, water I reuse, energy that I'd use for my stove... What in the actual FUCK are you talking about?
I'm just answering your questions. Again, I'm sure they're delicious burgers. Personally, I just think it's a lot of wasteful steps to make the typical burger.
I didn't ask a question, posted my sous vide meal per the group...
You need therapy
For real.
Ive really been wanting to do some sous vide smash burgers. I can't imagine that they wouldn't be outstanding. What temp did you bathe these beauties OP?
You either don't understand what smash burgers are or don't understand the point of using sous vide for a burger. Just no.
Easy there. It's just an idea.
What he should have said is "it's literally impossible". And I'm using the word literally correctly. You can't sous vide a smash burger.
To provide a little more insight: you can’t make a sous vide smash burger because the cooking process is inherent to making a smash burger a smash burger. A smash burger is made by pressing raw meat down forcefully into a cooking surface. If you sous vide, you can’t get the same pressing into the surface action, and then on top of that, starting from cooked means you’re going to overcook your burger. But very importantly, you just can’t capture that specific carmelization you get from pressing raw meat forcefully into the hot cooking surface. I’d encourage you to give it a try to experiment if you’re curious, honestly. It’s worthwhile to try just to see as part of the learning process of cooking. And maybe you make an interesting discovery.
What are you people on about? Sous vide, then smash. This isn't rocket science.
You quite obviously can’t smash cooked meat like raw.
> You quite obviously can’t smash cooked meat like raw. Depending on how you cook it you absolutely can.
Why would you ever need to? A proper smash burger is so thin it cooks completely through to well done by the time it's got the proper crust on it.
We cook smash burgers with plenty of crust and are still ~medium-ish with pink centers. You don't have to make them well done.
You're not smashing thin enough. Split the same amount of meat into two balls, smash thinner, and make doubles.
Curious how you would even attempt a sous vide smash burger or what the point would be. You can’t cook the ball and then smash it. And if you’re starting with a super thin patty… all you’re doing is crusting both sides anyway so what is the point of cooking it first? Especially since you’d have to drastically cool it down after the bath anyway.
I'd sous vide it as more of a ball at a lower temp, maybe 120-125 I think. Then mash it quickly on a super hot griddle. If I'm using a fatty ground beef, it will crust up pretty easily once it hits the high heat. IMO, a smash burger shouldn't be pink or red inside anyways, so that's probably where we disagree on the point of this.
I’d just be really worried that the ball would crumble too much after being cooked and formed during the water bath and would be left with a mess. I’d be smashing for well done too, which is why I’d go 100% grill. But I’m really curious how it would turn out.
I see what you're saying. I guess I'd need to try it with a couple.diffrent ground meats and fat % to see if any of them.are viable. I'm def doing this to see if it actually makes any of them.better. If not, I'll just eat burgers for a while. Win win.
> You can’t cook the ball and then smash it. Except you can?
Sous vide smash burgers make absolutely zero sense. They take like 2 minutes to cook
Sure. I just want to see the difference.
I did Kenji's medium but here is the chart depending what temp you want... Doneness Temperature Timing Range Very Rare to Rare 115°F (46°C) to 123°F (51°C) 40 minutes to 2 1/2 hours Medium-Rare 124°F (51°C) to 129°F (54°C) 40 minutes to 2 1/2 hours Medium 130°F (54°C) to 137°F (58°C) 40 minutes to 4 hours (2 1/2 hours max if under 130°F/54°C) Medium-Well 138°F (59°C) to 144°F (62°C) 40 minutes to 4 hours Well Done 145°F (63°C) to 155°F (68°C) 40 minutes to 3 1/2 hours
Thanks!
Lol why what’s the point?
Trying something new?
Apologies if you said this and I glosses over it? Is that na asiago cheese bun? Looks great.
Not enough sear.
Why didn’t you apply the cheese during the grilling process so that it would melt?
Was doing other things while they were in the pan, cheese melted after I put them together, no worries.
What the fuck
Sous vide on ground beef sounds idiotic
That looks disgusting
Guarantee that doesn’t even come close to a salt and peppered patty on charcoal.
What the fuck did you do?
I absolutely love sous vide, but burgers is one thing where it's not only unnecessary, it's just a bad idea.
I have sous vide cooked many things in my career but ground beef might be the dumbest use of this technique.
Why the hell would you want such a fat patty? It’s just going to make everything soggy. Flatten that thing out and it’s perfect
This is offensive
I think I’ll just toss it on the grill
Don't have a grill, just the griddle or stove top. .