The Genius Mixing Bowl Trick For Evenly Sized Burgers Every Time
If you don't want the kids (or the adults) to fight over who gets the biggest hamburger at your next cookout, then you should try this genius mixing bowl trick for perfectly even burgers every time. During an episode of her show, Rachael Ray shared that after you've mixed your seasonings into your hamburger, but before you form your patties, you want to score the meat.
To do so, simply use your hand as a knife and gently move it down the center of your hamburger in the bowl. Then, still using your hand, divide it diagonally, similar to how you cut a pie, until you have as many portions as you need. This way, when you remove a section, you're working with roughly the same amount of meat each time to form your patties. Ray further detailed this technique in a Facebook post, pointing out that the simple method will ensure no one ends up with a slider-sized burger — unless that's what you intended to make in the first place.
Beware of shrinkage
Scoring your hamburger will not only produce perfectly sized patties so no one feels "cheated," but it'll also help your patties cook more evenly and, roughly, at the same rate. To help this process along, Ray recommends making the edges of your patties a little thicker and the middle a little thinner when you form your burgers. This will reduce what she calls the "flying sauce effect," while helping to guarantee the middle isn't raw and the edges don't burn.
When it comes to choosing what type of ground beef you want to use for your burgers, it's important to note that a higher fat ratio will produce a juicer burger. However, more fat also causes greater shrinkage. Therefore, if you're using higher-fat meat, just remember to make certain your perfectly sized burgers are bigger than the buns, or you may end up with more bun than burger.