Ultimate Burger tips from Chef Hubert Keller

Fellow chefophiles, did you watch the Top Chef Masters premiere on Bravo Wednesday night?  A spinoff of the traditional Top Chef, this series features renowned, elite, VIP chefs competing against each other for their favorite charities.  No spoilers here, but James Beard winner Chef Hubert Keller of Fleur de Lys won our heart completely.  Born in France and originally a pastry chef, Keller surprisingly has a love for hamburgers, and has authored the newly released cookbook  “Burger Bar: Build Your Own Ultimate Burgers“.  In an excerpt from the book, Keller says,

“We knew everyone loves burgers, but we wanted to offer something new.  What if we reimagined burgers and applied our fine-dining culinary training to create the best-tasting burgers possible?  We would take them seriously because, we noticed, burger lovers take the subject seriously. Very seriously.”

We discovered this video from Chow with Hubert Keller’s tips for how to cook the ultimate burger.  The burger he makes is a tad huge and over the top (stuffed with short ribs!), but the video contains some great tips.

Never use frozen beef patties or prepackaged buns.
Fat is required!  (He recommends 25 – 30%)
Never season the meat ahead of time.
Do not overheat or underheat your skillet.
Don’t push down on the burger!  You’ll lose all of the great juices.
Use water on your hands to shape the patties, and be creative with seasonings.
Use Canola or another high heat tolerant oil (not olive).
Let the meat rest before serving, so that juices will evenly distribute.
Toast the bun at the last moment.

Find more of Chef Keller’s recipes on his restaurant site, including a veggie curry burger, an arugula pesto burger, a Thai chicken burger, a New York Strip burger, a crab burger, a Nordic salmon burger, an Asian tuna burger, and a savory breakfast burger made with eggs, avocado, and prosciutto.