A number of factors go into building the best burger. Of course, toppings and sauces are important, but the most flavorful burger starts with the patty. For a rich, juicy burger, you want a decent fat ratio. Andrew Zimmern, a burger-loving celebrity chef best-known for his “Bizarre Foods” series, builds his perfect patty with a fat ratio of about 75% lean to 25% fat.
Fat ratios are important because the fat is what gives burger patties their juicy texture and rich flavor. The higher the fat percentage, the juicier that burger will taste. Most burgers are made with somewhere between 20% and 30% fat, so Zimmern’s ratio falls right within that threshold. You can search for the 75/25 ratio at the grocery store in the pre-packaged meat section, but if you have the means to grind your own meat, then you should; doing it yourself ensures the meat’s quality and flavor as well as its fat content.
Andrew Zimmern uses a blend of meat for his burger patties
As the burger cooks, the fat renders, making it extra juicy and flavorful. That fat liquifies when it hits the pan, also helping the burger to build the perfect crust on both sides. To achieve this perfectly fatty patty, Andrew Zimmern uses a blend of chuck, short rib, and brisket. The meat will have marbling, as well as some areas that have more fat than others. To achieve the right fat percentage, when grinding your own meat, do your best to make sure about 25% of what you put in the grinder is beef fat.
If you don’t have a meat grinder, talk to your grocery store’s butcher. They know how to grind meat and understand those fat percentages, so you can likely ask your grocery store for a custom order of ground chuck, short rib, and brisket, as long as you give them a bit of notice. Chuck steak is the most common cut used for burgers due to its fat content, but as you experiment with flavor, you can change up the other meats you blend in, if desired.
