Tips & Tricks: Perfect Hamburgers

Hamburgers are a super easy weeknight dinner. They're especially great during the summer. Have I mentioned that I love grilling? Haha! Anyhow, I've discovered a trick for forming the perfect hamburger patty. This method will make your hamburgers all come out the same size and shape which means they will all cook for the same amount of time. The pre-formed hamburger patties also cost more per pound than just bulk hamburger; by making your own patties, you can also save some money! So, what's my secret trick? This handy little plastic tub that contained crumbled bleu cheese at one time.

I saved the empty tub and washed it out. It's been so handy that I've had it for a couple of years now. If you need a reason to purchase bleu cheese, try making my Black and Bleu Cheeseburgers. You can get the same kind of tub when you purchase feta cheese or mascarpone cheese. Just remember to save the tub the next time you buy one of these items. In the picture, you can see that I've lined the tub with some plastic wrap. I learned the hard way that the hamburgers are much easier to get out if you use plastic wrap. If you skip this step, you'll have to really give the tub a whack to get the hamburger to come out.

Once you've got your tub lined with some plastic wrap, get the hamburger ready. For a pound of ground beef (or turkey or chicken), separate the meat into 5 evenly sized balls. Then take each ball and gently pat it down into the plastic tub.

Once you have a perfectly shaped hamburger patty, gently lift the plastic wrap out of the plastic tub and peel the plastic wrap off of the hamburger patty. Place the patty on a plate and set aside. Once all of your patties are formed, season them and cook them! It's that simple!

Here are my two favorite hamburger recipes:

Black & Bleu Cheeseburgers

Cheeseburgers with Sriracha Aioli

Tips & Tricks: Greek Strained Yogurt

Ok, this is my tip/trick of the month. Back when I was taking culinary classes, Greek yogurt wasn't really widely available like it is now. So, if you needed it for a recipe, you had to strain your own. In case you were unaware, the only difference between regular yogurt and Greek yogurt is that Greek yogurt is strained; that's why it's thicker. It's really not that difficult of a task to strain it yourself and it will save you a little bit of money.

I paid about $2.50 for a 16oz tub of plain yogurt. This will yield about 8oz of strained (Greek) yogurt. That same amount of Greek style yogurt would cost you anywhere from $4 - $5, depending on where you buy it. So, not a huge savings but every dollar counts! Plus, little savings like this add up over time.

Here's what you do:

1. Line a mesh strainer with cheese cloth or paper towel; either one will do.
2. Set the strainer in a large bowl so that there is at least 3 inches between the base of the strainer and the bottom of the bowl.
3. Dump in the entire 16oz container of plain yogurt. You will immediately see liquid start to drip out the bottom of the strainer.
4. Cover with plastic wrap (to prevent refrigerator funk) and place in the refrigerator.
5. After 30 minutes, take the yogurt out of the refrigerator. Take the strainer out of the bowl, dump out the liquid that has collected in the bottom of the bowl, then place back in the refrigerator.
6. After 1 more hour, again take out the strainer and dump out the liquid that has collected.
7. After another 1.5 hours, again take out the strainer and dump out the liquid.
8. At this point, the yogurt should be nice and thick and will have decreased in volume by about 50%. You can transfer the yogurt back to it's original container for storage. Just make sure to wash it first!
9. After step 5, you can actually just leave it in the refrigerator overnight if you don't have time to keep checking on it.