# Identifying a Burger Type



## Epsilon37 (May 21, 2010)

Hello,

I am new to this forum and kinda new cooking business.
My question goes as following:

How can you tell the differences between burgers, i mean the way you cook them.

I want to know a good way to know how to cook the following types and how to identify:

Rare
Medium Rare
Medium
Medium Well
Well Done 

I hav tried to google this question but couldn't seem to find a good answer. Your help will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks


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## mcnerd (May 22, 2010)

I only use those designations for full cuts of meat and their internal temperature will dictate their doneness.  For me ground meat has too much potential for bacteria contamination so it is either well done, medium well, or burnt.


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## Kayelle (May 22, 2010)

I agree fully with mcnurd.......especially if you are cooking burgers to sell.  You sure don't want to be responsible for a sick customer. Use the touch test on the burgers. Poke the top with your finger, a "no pink left" burger will feel firm to the poke.  I know it sounds too easy to be true, but it is. 
Good luck, and welcome to DC


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## mcnerd (May 22, 2010)

With hamburgers one should also make an indentation in the middle of it, which will prevent the ends from curling up.  The indentation can be made with a clean thumb, spoon, golf ball, or similar object.  I tried using an egg once and ended up with an egg [shell] burger.


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## philso (May 24, 2010)

Rare - pink all the way through, but not actually raw in the center; juices just starting to run noticably around edge; meat soft to the touch, but some "bounce back to shape" as opposed to raw hamburger
Medium Rare - mostly pink; juices just starting running within burger; meat still soft to touch
Medium  - about 1/2 pink; juices exiting center of burger and pooling on outside; meat feeling firmer, somewhat "bloated"
Medium Well - still some small vestige of pink in center; little juice left inside; meat rather firm 
Well Done - no pink left; meat fairly dry; quite firm

this is about how they should be when you bite into them, but there's no way around it; to tell by look and touch will just take experience 

a thin burger can be cooked quite quickly on fairly high heat, but a thick burger should be done on a slower section on the grill for a longer length of time to ensure that it's not raw in the middle and burnt on the outside.


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## TATTRAT (May 24, 2010)

Though I agree, and would go to the "more done" temp for burgers, here is a simple, and easy method to test:

The Finger Test to Check the Doneness of Meat | Simply Recipes


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## JamesS (May 24, 2010)

mcnerd said:


> I only use those designations for full cuts of meat and their internal temperature will dictate their doneness.  For me ground meat has too much potential for bacteria contamination so it is either well done, medium well, or burnt.



Scaredy cat! You're right of course, but I won't live my life in fear of  a little food poisoning.

If you're like me and enjoy your meat (ground or otherwise) extremely rare you need to  be comfortable with the food handling procedures of the folks you buy  your meat from...and you have to take extra precautions once it's in  your possession. I'd never leave hamburger from the local grocery store rare. 

However, when I buy meat from an Angus ranch two hours away, that's butchered and packaged well beyond competently and grind it myself, I'm comfortable cooking to taste...or not cooking at all. 



Kayelle said:


> I agree fully with mcnurd.......especially if you are cooking burgers to sell.  You sure don't want to be responsible for a sick customer. Use the touch test on the burgers. Poke the top with your finger, a "no pink left" burger will feel firm to the poke.  I know it sounds too easy to be true, but it is.
> Good luck, and welcome to DC



That method also works with well with steaks. Actually, it works better for steaks because there's seldom a big slab of cheese on a steak!  It takes a bit of practice to be able to tell a medium from a medium rare/well that way, but it's a skill well worth learning. An instant read thermometer is the best training partner you could hope for.

Here's a rough guide to temperature:
Rare 120
Medium Rare 130
Medium 140
Medium Well 150
Well  160 
Burned beyond all recognition 170

Most folks will tell you to take ground beef to 160...good advice if you aren't comfortable with the meat.


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## Bigjim68 (May 24, 2010)

For me, the simple answer for rare burgers is to chop or grind whole cuts just prior to cooking.  I prefer to chop rather than ground as I prefer the texture.  "Ground" beef is more crushed than ground.  The meat is forced through a plate until it becomes a paste.
If you have sharp tools, chopping does not take that long.


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## LPBeier (May 24, 2010)

Burgers MUST be cooked all the way through.  To keep mine moist I cook until there is just a touch of pink left and the burger is slightly soft to the touch but still fairly firm.  Then I take them off the heat, put cheese on if wanted, and tent with foil for a couple of minutes.  When you eat it the burger is fully cooked but juicy.


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## Epsilon37 (May 24, 2010)

Thanks the finger test is the best. And about eating it undercooked? Hmm i like to take chances


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## niquejim (May 24, 2010)

I grind my own and always cook to rare-medium rare. I don't want a well done steak, or burger.
It does take some practice to get them the way you like it.


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## PaulyWally (May 26, 2010)

I've eaten tartare using ground beef.  A little pink in the middle of my burger doesn't scare me.  

To the OP... I use my finger.  The finger test posted earlier is a good place to start.  Although you need to compensate a bit for the ground meat.  And with anything, you get better with practice.


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## buckytom (May 27, 2010)

be careful using colour to determine doneness in a burger.

game meats like bison and elk take a very long time for the "red" to be cooked out in the center. if you cook it that long, you'll end up with something better suited for a hockey rink than a bun.

as far as contamination goes, i prefer my burger rare and bloody, but i would never serve one that way unless requested.


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## ChefJune (May 27, 2010)

Epsilon37 said:


> Thanks the finger test is the best. And about eating it undercooked? Hmm i like to take chances


 
The finger test is totally inaccurate. If you want to be certain your burger (or any other meat) is cooked to a certain temperature, you will need to use an instant-read thermometer, or a probe thermometer.


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