Grass-Fed Half-Pound Burgers
Sometimes the grass is greener on the other side of a juicy ½-pounder with cheese.
A cookbook recipe exclusively for ATK Essential members from The Ultimate BurgerGather Your Ingredients
Key Equipment
Before You Begin
Normally we call for trimming chuck roast of excess fat before grinding, but because grass-fed beef is leaner than grain-fed, we leave the fat on in this recipe. Brush buns with softened butter and toast on wire rack set in rimmed baking sheet in 400-degree F/200-degree C oven for 4 to 6 minutes, rotating sheet halfway through toasting. In Step 1, we give a wide time range because home freezers can vary a lot. You want the meat to be very hard so that the food processor cleanly chops it into small pieces. If the meat starts to stick together during processing, it is too warm. Return it to the freezer until properly firm. Click here for our simple Pickled Red Onions recipe. 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 on baking sheet in single layer. Freeze beef until very firm and hard around edges but still slightly pliable, 1 to 2 hours.
2.
Place one-quarter of beef in food processor and pulse until finely ground into 1/16-inch pieces, about 35 one-second pulses, stopping to redistribute beef around bowl as necessary to ensure even grinding. Transfer beef to second baking sheet. Repeat with remaining beef in 3 more batches. Spread beef over sheet and inspect carefully, discarding any long strands of gristle or large chunks of hard meat or fat.
3.
Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 225 degrees F/107 degrees C. Set wire rack in rimmed baking sheet and spray with vegetable oil spray. Divide beef into 4 lightly packed balls. Gently flatten into 4-inch patties and place on prepared wired rack. Make slight depression in center of each patty. Bake until burgers register 120 degrees F/49 degrees C for medium-rare, 30 to 40 minutes. Tent burgers with foil.
4.
Dress bun bottoms with ketchup, lettuce, and pickled red onions to taste.
5.
Heat 1 teaspoon oil in 12-inch skillet over high heat until just smoking. Pat patties dry with paper towels and season liberally on both sides with salt and pepper. Using metal spatula, transfer 2 patties to skillet and cook, without moving them, until well browned, 60 to 90 seconds. Using metal spatula, flip burgers. Top each burger with 1 slice cheese; cover and cook until second side is browned and cheese is melted, 60 to 90 seconds. Transfer burgers to prepared buns. Wipe skillet clean with paper towels, add remaining 1 teaspoon oil, and return to high heat for 30 seconds. Repeat cooking with remaining 2 patties and remaining 2 slices cheese. Serve.
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