A Dab Of Insurance? Tim Love's Secret Burger Ingredient Might Save Your Sliders.
We're as tired of eating dried out, overcooked, flavorless burgers as you are. Thankfully renowned chef and grillmaster Tim Love stopped by FR Headquarters last week with patties, fixins and no shortage of advice for ensuring this most avoidable of grilling problems never happens to you. While he made no secret of his disdain for ketchup (what?), he did pump up the virtues of another condiment you'll find on the picnic table for its flavor and texture-enhancing properties. Good thing he's hawking Hellman's.
That's right: mayonnaise. (But good instinct if you were thinking mustard, that's also important on a good burger.) Mayo helps bind the meat so it stays together on the grill, adds a little acid and salt and most of all, prevents the burger from drying out. This is particularly helpful if you're making a ton of them and can't necessarily be responsible for all of them turning out perfectly.
Sliders are particularly vulnerable to drying out — due to their size they tend to be overcooked. Love suggests mixing in 1-2 tablespoons of mayo (seasoned, if you like) per pound of meat, then refrigerating the mix for an hour to make churning out patties easier.
Related: How To Make Burger Patties
"Everyone wants their burger to be juicy but nobody wants a medium-rare burger, they're scared of that," he says. "When people cook their burgers well-done, no matter what the fat content is it dries out, plain and simple. I came up with the idea of putting mayonnaise in the burger and frankly, it works. It's a great trick for turkey burgers, which have to be well-done anyway."
So there you have it. Not a mayo fan? Add it in anyway, you won't taste it (weirdo). You'll just enjoy a juicier, more succulent burger. Unless you're not a fan of that either.
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