Recipe: Sous Vide Hamburger
May 19, 2022
Sous vide is a perfect paring with hamburgers, despite all appearances. Like with steak sous vide cuts down on the amount of shrinkage during cooking. As a result your burgers are going to be a lot juicier than normal, and bigger too. If you've never given sous vide hamburger a spin it's definitely worth a shot!
- Prep: 10 mins
- Cook: 50 mins
- Yields: 2 regular burgers, or 2 double-patty smashed burgers.
Ingredients
1 lb freshly ground beef for two patties.
1 tbsp vegetable oil - ideally something flavourless
1tbsp unsalted butter
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.
Sliced cheese - chedder for traditionalists, or american cheese for a fairground feeling.
Toasted burger buns
Sliced toppings as desired - we like tomato, white onion (soak the rings in water for 10-15 minutes to cut its acidity), and shredded iceberg lettuce.
Directions
Cooking
1Begin by heating your water bath to 129 degrees Fahrenheit for a medium-rare burger.
2DIvide your ground beef into equal parts and press into patties. If making smashed style burgers we suggest using two baking sheets lined with parchment paper to compress the patties.
3Season the outside of your patties with kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper. Remember, burger seasoning is best on the outside of the patty to create a great crust. Let the beef speak for itself.
4Vacuum seal your patties, or use a Zip-lock bag and the water displacement method.
5Cook the burger patties for at least 40-minutes, or up to 2 1/2 hours.
6Very carefully remove the burgers from their bags and place them on a kitchen-towel lined plate. Pat dry to remove excess moisture that will interfere with the sear, re-season with salt and pepper, then let rest for 10 minutes or so.
Searing
1Heat 1 tbsp of oil in a large, cast-iron pan until lightly smoking.
2Place patties in the pan most seasoned side down and add 1 tbsp of unsalted butter. This will help develop more colour on the burger.
3Cook 45 seconds to 1-minute per side.
4Flip and add your slice of cheese. If you want to encourage melting then remove the pan from the heat and cover for about 30seconds to allow the cheese to melt more.
5Finally, plate up your burgers on some toasted buns and have your condiments at the ready!