Juicy Pub-Style Burgers with Peppered Bacon and Aged Cheddar
Hand-ground beef gave us deep flavor, but getting a crusty exterior plus a juicy interior that was evenly rosy from center to edge required a couple more tricks.
Gather Your Ingredients
Key Equipment
Before You Begin
Sirloin steak tips are also sold as flap meat. When stirring the butter and pepper into the ground meat and shaping the patties, take care not to overwork the meat or the burgers will become dense. If food safety is your primary concern, you may want to cook your burger to a higher internal temperature. To learn more, check out this guide.
Instructions
1.
Place beef chunks on baking sheet in single layer. Freeze meat until very firm and starting to harden around edges but still pliable, about 35 minutes.
2.
While beef is in freezer, adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 375 degrees. Arrange 6 slices bacon on rimmed baking sheet and sprinkle with 2 teaspoons coarsely ground black pepper. Place second rimmed baking sheet on top of bacon and bake until bacon is crisp, 15 to 20 minutes. Transfer bacon to paper towel–lined plate and cool. Cut bacon in half crosswise. Reduce oven temperature to 300 degrees.
3.
Place one-quarter of meat in food processor and pulse until finely ground into ¹/16-inch pieces, about 35 one-second pulses, stopping and redistributing meat around bowl as necessary to ensure beef is evenly ground. Transfer meat to second baking sheet. Repeat grinding with remaining 3 batches of meat. Spread meat over sheet and inspect carefully, discarding any long strands of gristle or large chunks of hard meat or fat.
4.
Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 300 degrees. Drizzle melted butter over ground meat and add 1 teaspoon pepper. Gently toss with fork to combine. Divide meat into 4 lightly packed balls. Gently flatten into patties 3/4 inch thick and about 4½ inches in diameter. Refrigerate patties until ready to cook. (Patties can be refrigerated, covered, for up to 1 day.)
5.
Season 1 side of patties liberally with salt and pepper. Using spatula, flip patties and season other side. Heat oil in 12-inch skillet over high heat until just smoking. Using spatula, transfer burgers to skillet and cook without moving for 2 minutes. Using spatula, flip burgers and cook for 2 minutes longer. Transfer patties to rimmed baking sheet, top each burger with 1 ounce grated aged cheddar cheese, and bake until instant-read thermometer inserted into burger registers 125 degrees for medium-rare or 130 degrees for medium, 3 to 6 minutes.
6.
Transfer burgers to plate and let rest for 5 minutes. Transfer to buns, top with Pub-Style Burger Sauce (see related recipe) and bacon, and serve.
0 Comments
Posting GuidelinesFROM OUR TV SPONSORS
We are thankful to the sponsors who make it possible for us to bring you the America's Test Kitchen TV series on public television. Read more about why we have sponsors.