Room Temperature Hamburger Meat

Straight out of the 38 deg f fridge.

Room temperature hamburger meat.

Meat provides the ideal environment for bacteria to breed so the u s. My goal is to maximize a maillard crust with a nice medium rare to medium interior. Photo by alex lau. The more freshly ground the meat is the more tender and flavorful the burger.

Remove all packaging then place the meat on a plate and microwave it at 50 power for 2 to 3 minutes rotating and flipping the beef every 45 seconds until it is fully thawed. That all depends on the room temperature schweid says. Since this variable may be difficult to control it s best to keep it refrigerated until use. It s a matter or preference.

Cook room temperature burgers. Meat that has been at room temperature for over 2 hours or at 90 f 35 c for 1 hour. If ground beef is left out in a place that s particularly warm the meat will warm up faster. The meat should thaw in less than 15 minutes.

For hamburger patties or chicken breasts insert the thermometer through the side. Set the zip top bag with the frozen meat in a sink or large bowl cover with cold water and weigh the package of meat down with something heavy like a skillet or big platter. For juicy burgers get ground chuck with a fat content of at least 18. I ve searched online and found varying answers.

This tip is true for turkey burgers or lamb burgers too look for grinds with around 18 fat it s all about finding the best meat for burgers. You are clobbering the meat with a lot of heat and if you want to serve the meat at optimal medium rare 130 f you want the interior to remain relatively cool so it doesn t overcook. Some of the outer parts of the meat might start to cook which is why you should use the ground beef immediately after defrosting it in the microwave. You want to keep the meat submerged in the cold water.

In fact you are better off cooling it down in the freezer a few minutes. The more you handle the meat the more it will be homogenious which will give the burger a consistent texture through out but it will also become tougher more dense. Department of agriculture cautions consumers against thawing raw meat at room temperature. Letting meat sit out at room temperature before cooking it is a total game changer.

Let s say for a. Letting the meat come to room temp is actually self defeating. Brought to 70 deg f room temp. Wundervisuals getty images.

And no it won t kill you. Less handling will give you a more tender burger. By claire saffit z.