Thin Burger Recipes

JULIA CHILD'S PAN-FRIED THIN BURGER

Steps:

• In a small sauté pan, over high heat, sauté the shallots in the butter or oil until soft, about 5 minutes
• Divide the meat into 4 portions
• One at a time, flatten each by chopping and spreading the meat with light strokes of your chef's knife
• Season each with salt, pepper and 1/2 teaspoon of the shallots
• Blend seasonings into the meat, chopping and turning it as you shape the portions into 4 1/2 to 5-inch round patties, each 1/4-inch thick
• Toast the hamburger buns and distribute them to your guests
• Suggest that they dress the bottom halves of their rolls as they wish while you cook the burgers
• Lightly dust the surface of a large, hot sauté pan with salt
• When the pan is very hot, but not smoking, lay a patty in the pan
• Rapidly add a second burger
• Brown the meat, about 20 seconds
• Turn patties to other side
• Cook until done, about 1 minute
• Remove cooked burgers to a warm platter
• Repeat process with 2 remaining burgers
• Place finished burgers onto guests' buns as quickly as possible so they can add their finishing touches
• Serve potato chips alongside

THIN BURGER

Steps:

• Divide beef into 4 mounds, and evenly place on a 12-by-14-inch piece of plastic wrap. Place another piece of plastic on top. Roll into 5 1/2-inch patties, about 1/3 inch thick, with a rolling pin.
• Heat a griddle or 2 large cast-iron skillets over medium-high. Season both sides of patties with salt and pepper. Cook patties, pressing with a spatula, 3 minutes. Reduce heat to medium, flip, and top with cheese. Cook 2 minutes.
• Butter cut sides of rolls, and toast on griddle until edges just start to brown, about 1 minute.
• Sandwich burgers in rolls with onion, pickle, lettuce, and mustard.

THIN BUT JUICY CHARGRILLED BURGERS

Steps:

• Divide the beef: Line a 13-by-18-inch rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Divide the ground beef into 4 even balls. Working with one ball at a time, massage the meat gently in your hands until it is cohesive and tacky, about 15 seconds. Next, using clean hands, roll each into a smooth ball about the size of a golf ball. Place the balls on the baking sheet, one ball in the center of each quadrant.
• Form the patties: Lay a second sheet of parchment on top, then place a second rimmed baking sheet on top of the first. Press down very firmly on the baking sheet, pressing directly over each patty in turn, to spread each ball into a thin patty that is wide enough that it will extend at least a full inch around your burger buns on all sides. (If using a vegan beef alternative, form a patty that is just large enough to extend 1/4 inch to 1/2 inch beyond the edges of the buns, as vegan beef alternatives do not shrink as much during cooking.) Refrigerate the patties until ready to cook.
• Heat the grill: If cooking with charcoal (the preferred method, as charcoal gets hotter than gas), ignite a full chimney of coals. When the coals are mostly covered with gray ash, spread them out evenly under one side of the grill and allow the grill to heat with the lid off for 5 minutes. If cooking with gas, set the hottest burners to high heat, cover and let the grill heat for at least 15 minutes.
• Season the burgers: When ready to cook, gently peel the top sheet of parchment off the burgers and season them generously with salt and pepper. Replace the top parchment, flip the parchment sheets with the burgers in between them over entirely, then peel off the other piece of parchment, which will now be on top. Season burgers generously with salt and pepper on the second side.
• These burgers will cook very quickly, so prepare your buns with toppings and condiments as desired. (Placing any vegetables on the bottom bun makes the burger more stable and allows them to absorb juices that may drip from the patties.)
• Cook the patties: Using your hands or a spatula, carefully lay the patties on the grill over the hottest part of the flame. If using charcoal, leave the lid open. If using gas, keep the lid closed as much as possible. Let cook, undisturbed, until the patties are well charred and juices start to pool on their top surfaces, about 1 minute.
• Carefully flip the patties. (There will most likely be flare-ups; this is OK.) Add a slice of cheese, if using, to each, and continue to cook until the meat is just barely cooked through, about 15 seconds.
• Transfer the patties to the buns, add any extra toppings or or condiments as desired, close, and serve immediately.

JULIA CHILD'S PAN-FRIED THIN BURGER

Steps:

• In a small saute pan, over high heat, saute the shallots in the butter until soft, about 5 minutes. Divide the meat into 4 portions. One at a time, flatten each by chopping and spreading the meat with light strokes of your chefs knife. Season each with salt, pepper and 1/2 teaspoon of the shallots. Blend into the meat, chopping and turning it as you shape the portions into 4 1/2 to 5-inch round patties, 1/4-inch thick. Toast the hamburger buns and distribute them to your guests. Suggest that they dress the bottom halves of their rolls as they wish while you cook the burgers. Lightly dust the surface of a large, hot saute pan, with salt. When the pan is very hot, but not smoking, lay a patty in the pan. Rapidly add a second burger. Brown the meat, about 20 seconds. Turn patties to other side. Cook until done, about 1 minute. Remove cooked burgers to a warm platter. Repeat process with 2 remaining burgers. Place finished burgers onto guests buns as quickly as possible so they can add their finishing touches.

THICK BURGER

Steps:

• Preheat grill to medium-high; brush grates with oil.
• Gently form beef into four 1-inch-thick patties, about 4 inches in diameter. Make an indentation in the top of each patty. Generously season both sides with salt and pepper.
• Grill burgers 3 minutes. Flip, top with cheese, and grill 4 minutes for medium-rare. Toast rolls face-down on grill until just lightly charred, about 30 seconds. Spread them with mayonnaise if you're a condiment die-hard -- though our food editors swear you won't need it.
• Sandwich burgers in rolls with tomato, onion, and lettuce.

SMASH BURGERS

Steps:

• Place a 9-in. cast-iron skillet over medium heat. Meanwhile, gently shape beef into 4 balls, shaping just enough to keep together (do not compact). , Increase burner temperature to medium-high; add oil. Working in batches, add beef. With a heavy metal spatula, flatten to 1/4- to 1/2-in. thickness; sprinkle each with 1/8 teaspoon salt and pepper. Cook until edges start to brown, about 1-1/2 minutes. Turn burgers and sprinkle with additional 1/8 teaspoon salt and pepper. Cook until well browned and a thermometer reads at least 160°, 1 minute. Repeat with remaining beef., Serve burgers on buns with toppings as desired.

THE PERFECT BASIC BURGER

Steps:

• Preheat an outdoor grill for high heat and lightly oil grate.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together egg, salt and pepper. Place ground beef and bread crumbs into the mixture. With hands or a fork, mix until well blended. Form into 4 patties approximately 3/4 inch thick.
• Place patties on the prepared grill. Cover and cook 6 to 8 minutes per side, or to desired doneness.

THIN SANDWICH BUNS

Steps:

• In a bowl sprinkle the sugar over the warm water, then do the same with the yeast. Add the egg and oil and combine. In a separate container, use a fork or a whisk to stir together the flour, bran, wheat gluten, and salt. Add 1/2 of this mixture to the wet ingredients and blend. This is the sponge.
• Let rise 30 - 45 minutes.
• Add rest of flour mixture and knead for about 5 minutes. I use my stand mixer with the dough attachment. This dough will be sticky.
• Spray 2 cookie sheets with cooking spray. Divide dough into 16 equal portions. This is a wet dough so instead of adding any additional flour, I weigh the dough on a food scale and divide it by 16. Then I weigh out each portion and put 8 on each cookie sheet. Don't worry about how it looks now.
• Take a 4" biscuit cutter and place it over one of the dough portions. If you wet the inside of the cutter as well as your fingers you can spread the dough into a perfect circle by using your fingers to flatten it to the inside edge of the biscuit cutter. (These will be very thin but they will rise). Remove the cutter, re-wet the inside and use it to do the same thing to the remaining 15 buns.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Let the buns rise until double in bulk, about 30-45 minutes.
• Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven 12-15 minutes until golden brown. Don't overbake. Cool the buns and then cut them in half for sandwich buns.
• Edit Note: Since I first started making these I've made 2 changes. One is that I make them in muffin top pans sprayed with Pam. No cutting involved.
• The other thing is that I use oat fiber instead of the wheat bran. I ordered oat fiber online. It is NOT the same as oat bran and is in many things these days, so I decided to try it instead of wheat bran. It is very high fiber, few calories, and pleasant tasting. Just use in moderation. In this recipe I use only 1/4 cup. It is 5 calories and 26 grams of fiber for the 1/4 cup. Also, it is more mild tasting than the wheat bran.
• Each bun has 108 Calories; 1g Fat; 5g Protein; 20g Carbohydrate; 4g Dietary Fiber; 13mg Cholesterol; 124mg Sodium.

CRISPY BURGERS

Steps:

• Lightly mix together the sirloin, brisket, chuck, 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt, 1 1/2 teaspoons pepper and the garlic powder in large bowl with a fork until just combined.
• Divide the mixture into 6 equal mounds. Gently press each meat mound between two sheets of wax paper to make a thin patty, each about 4 inches wide and a little under 1/2 inch thick. (I used a tortilla press for this. If you don't have one, use a rolling pin.) Refrigerate until ready to use. The patties can be refrigerated for up to 1 day.
• Heat a cast-iron griddle or cast-iron skillet over high heat until very hot and smoking. Place each patty on the griddle and cook, undisturbed, until a deeply caramelized crust forms, 2 to 3 minutes. Using a spatula, carefully flip each patty and top with a slice of cheese. Continue to cook for 1 to 2 minutes longer until the cheese is melted and the desired doneness is reached.
• Meanwhile, brush the inside of each bun with melted butter and place on the griddle until toasted, about 1 minute. Place each burger patty on a bottom-bun half. Dress each bun top with ketchup, mustard, onion and pickles and flip on the the burgers. Serve immediately.