The Food Lab: Better Home Cooking Through Science

(Nandana) #1

the patties have been formed.
As for the pepper, I like to be liberal with it. A
burger without pepper is like a bath without bubbles.
Sure, it’ll get the job done, but where’s the fun in it?



  1. Love your bun.
    This is good general life advice that is particularly
    appropriate for burgers. Buns come in all shapes,
    sizes, densities, and styles. Make sure you’ve got the
    right one for the job at hand and treat it with the
    dignity and respect it deserves. I can’t count the
    number of times I’ve seen an otherwise decent
    hamburger marred by an inappropriate bun
    selection.
    For smaller, thinner patties, like the diner-style
    griddled burger, soft, sturdy, and slightly sweet
    Martin’s Potato Rolls set the benchmark, although
    any soft, squishy, supermarket bun will do. (I like
    Arnold or Pepperidge Farm buns in the absence of
    Martin’s. Sesame seeds are up to you). And, for the
    love of science, butter and toast that bun before you
    put your burger in it! Sliders, with their thin slip of a
    patty, require the softest of the soft supermarket
    buns, steamed through and designed to completely
    melt away as you eat. The generic store brand will
    almost always work.
    A bigger pub-style burger can overwhelm a soft
    bun with juices, soaking through and dissolving the
    base before the burger even hits your table. Toasting
    the bun can mitigate some of these effects, but for

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