The 3-Meat Blend Alton Brown Uses For Flavorful Cheeseburgers Every Time

When it comes to making burgers, it seems everyone has their own special trick to make the best, from seasoning the meat to the condiments preferred for topping. Some burger enthusiasts go as far as selecting the kind of meat they use for the perfect patty. When Alton Brown revealed his formula for the best burger ever, he upped the ante to include three different meats to make the burger patty: a combination of sirloin steak, chuck steak, and lamb shoulder. 

This combination works for various reasons. Sirloin steak adds a rich, beefy flavor, but since it's a lean cut, adding chuck steak balances the lean-to-fat ratio to keep the patty juicy. The lamb shoulder is a preferred cut for making burgers since its high fat content keeps the patty moist during cooking, while adding a deep, savory, slightly gamey richness.

But that combination is not the only trick Brown uses for making a fabulous burger at home. Like other celebrity chefs who make their own burger blends, Brown also insists you must grind the meat yourself to achieve the best texture. You don't need special equipment to do so — while a meat grinder is useful if you have it, Brown says you can cube the meat, then pulse it in a food processor to a medium grind; about 10 quick pulses should do. If you do have a food grinder, put the meat through the coarsest die. Be sure to cube and refrigerate the meat before grinding. This helps you not overprocess the meat into what Brown describes as "beef mousse."

To make his best burger ever, Brown grinds each type of meat separately, then puts them together in a bowl and mixes them to combine the different types of meat. However, it's important not to overwork it — that's one of the common mistakes to avoid when making hamburgers. It will make the meat tough and destroy the texture you worked so hard to achieve by grinding the meat yourself! Brown also recommends you let the meat rest in the refrigerator for two hours before forming the patties.

While in general he prefers to season the meat simply with kosher salt, there's a burger technique Alton Brown and In-N-Out share: adding yellow mustard to the patty while it cooks instead of using it as a condiment. To do this, he smears a thin layer of mustard on the meat, folds it over in half, and gently presses on the patty to seal the mustard inside. Adding extra mustard to the bun when serving is optional. 

Last but not least in Brown's bag of burger tricks is the cooking method. For the best burger ever, he suggests grilling, flipping the patties every two minutes, and using an instant-read thermometer to check when they reach an internal temperature of 135 degrees Fahrenheit. But if you don't have a grill or it's not the right weather to fire it up, Brown has an unexpected method for cooking burgers: deep-frying the patties in oil in a Dutch oven. Counterintuitively, this doesn't produce greasy burgers; rather, it yields patties that are juicy on the inside, with a lovely crispy crust on the outside. Following Brown's instructions carefully will give you one of the best burgers you've ever had, right in your own kitchen!