If you’re looking for the best cut of beef for hamburger, you’ve come to the right place. Before we get started, it’s important to remember some things about hamburgers:

When you think about hamburger meat, your mind may jump to that familiar fast food chain. The one with the golden arches. What you may not realize is that they don’t make their patties out of just any type of beef. There’s actually a lot going on behind the scenes to make that juicy burger in the pictures you see on their website.

THE ART OF THE BURGER BLEND: THE BEST CUTS OF BEEF FOR BURGERS

What’s in a Burger? If you’re ambitious, then it’s a lot more than you’d think.

WHAT ARE THE BEST CUTS OF BEEF TO USE IN BURGERS?

The classic American Burger that we have all come to know and love is made from pure chuck. Chuck comes from the upper inner shoulder of the animal. It can broken down into cuts like the chuck eye, chuck filet, and classic pot roast, or it can be ground to create a perfect Burger.

Chuck has a buttery beef flavor that suits a wide variety of beef dishes. It’s decadent, classic, and what most people believe is the go-to cut to grind for Burgers.

But what happens when you grind other cuts of beef for Burgers?

And what happens when you blend those cuts?

ARTISANAL AND PREMIUM CUSTOM BLEND BURGERS

What you get is a flavor party, basically. Over the years, it’s become popular to grind and combine other cuts of beef for Burgers, and the results have established a new palate that is every bit as diverse as that which you find at a steakhouse.

There are many different cuts of beef that work well in this context, including:

• Brisket
• Hanger
• Short rib
• Steak tail
• Sirloin

Each of these cuts comes with its own unique flavor profile that, when combined with chuck or each other, can create some of the best-tasting Burgers around. The key is understanding the attributes of each cut and coming up with your own ratios for the best combinations to create artisanal and premium-blend Burgers.

That’s why Schweid & Sons has put together this new guide, The Art of the Burger Blend. In this free, downloadable guide, you can learn all about the different cuts mentioned above and what makes each one a perfect ingredient for the classic Burger. You’ll also learn interesting facts about each cut and how else they’re used across many different cuisines around the world.

Also visit our main website, TheNibble.com. Get all new posts by email:   Go Best Cut Of Beef For A Burger: It’s National Hamburger Day May 28, 2021 at 7:08 pm · Filed under Food Holidays, Meat & Poultry [1] What’s different about this double burger, garnished with bacon, lettuce, tomato and pickles? A layer of mashed potatoes (photo © Idaho Potato Commission)! [2] Ditch the carbs: Add your burger to a mixed salad, lightly tossed in vinaigrette (photo © 5 Napkin Burger). [3] When you can’t decide between a cheeseburger and a fried egg sandwich with ham (photo © Chad Montano | Unsplash). [4] For the richest, most flavorful burger, try brisket or short rib (photo of brisket burger © Omaha Steaks).   May 28th is National Hamburger Day. It’s also National Brisket Day, which is a coincidence, since brisket makes a delicious burger.     WHAT’S THE BEST CUT OF BEEF FOR YOUR BURGER? Different chefs and grilling experts have their preferred choices of beef cuts and blend proportions. You can try different cuts and blends to see what works for you. In fact, it’s a fun activity for Memorial Day Weekend or other “grilling” holiday. Conventional beef cuts for grinding into burgers include: Brisket. A very beefy flavor and high fat content make brisket a deliciously rich burger. It’s also an expensive cut, so most people will blend it with a more affordable cut(s). Boneless Short Rib. Another cut with rich flavor and fat content, short rib, like brisket, is pricey. But blend it with chuck or sirloin for a very juicy, flavorful burger. Chuck. The most commonly used cut of beef in burgers and blends, chuck is well marbled with a good lean-to-fat ratio. While many home cooks make all-chuck burgers, chefs like to add flavor and richness by blending chuck with one or two other cuts of beef. Hanger Steak, Flank Steak & Skirt Steak. Hanger steak and skirt steak are cut from different parts of the diaphragm or plate, which is in the upper belly of the steer. The hanger steak is considered more flavorful, resembling flank steak in texture and flavor. Flank steak is cut from the abdomen. Sirloin or Tri-Tip. Tri-tip is cut from the bottom part of the sirloin, whereas sirloin tip comes from the top part). They are relatively lean cuts of steak, but with a good amount of flavor. Offset the leanness with another cut of beef that has a higher fat content: brisket, chuck or short rib, e.g. Round. Round is extremely lean and a less expensive cut. It’s a good choice for people who want the lowest-fat-content burger.   Where are all of these cuts located on the steer? Check out the chart in our Beef Glossary, which also explains the different cuts of beef.     WHAT ABOUT WAGYU? Also called American Kobe, Wagyu—for any purpose—is for those who have deeper pockets. Would you use it to make a wagyu burger? According to Lone Mountain Wagyu, a purveyor of wagyu beef: The quality of Wagyu beef ensures you’ll have the ultimate burger, one that’s so buttery, rich, and fantastically textured that it may ruin you for other burgers. Take the risk. Here’s their article on cooking wagyu beef burgers.     WHAT ABOUT GARNISHES? YouGov, an online community, polled more than 9,000 Americans to ask about their preferred burger toppings. The graphic is below, but allow us to take exception: Hot sauce, ketchup, mayonnaise and mustard are not toppings. They’re condiments! A condiment is a sauce, spice or other flavor enhancer that is added to food after cooking. A second note: Each survey comprises a different group of people whose demographics and psychographics will invariably differ. Thus, so will the survey results. On to the results of this one:

Get the Best Meat for Burgers [Infographic]

All hamburgers share one common thing that defines how good they’ll be, meat. Picking the best meat for burgers is a critical step before bothering with other ingredients, toppings, or condiments.

Let’s figure take a look at our options for meat and get a solid base to create awesome burgers. From there you’ll be ready to try adding things to the meat, trying different meats, and going crazy with toppings.

Selecting the Best Meat for Burgers

Just like when picking out a steak, you’ve got a bunch of options when picking out meat for your burgers. These include a variety of different cuts like:

• round
• rump
• chuck
• sirloin
• hanger steak

In taste tests, the cut that was the best meat for burgers is chuck.

Ground chuck starts at the neck and goes down to where the ribs end. The meat here is flavorful and relatively fatty with a fair amount of connective tissue. While it may not be great for a steak, once ground for a burger, the meat cooks well and tastes great.

How to Buy Ground Chuck

When picking out your meat, first look for 20% fat, 80% lean beef. Even if it’s not 100% chuck you’ll find this meat very flavorful.

If you go to the grocery store, you’ll often see pre-packaged ground beef. If this doesn’t specifically say ‘ground chuck’ it’s probably made from mixed trimmings. This may not be ideal, but its convenient… what’s most important first is buying the 80/20 lean to fat ratio.

To make it even better, ask your butcher for coarse ground chuck for burgers. The fat content will vary by the cut of meat that is chosen. If it looks too lean you can ask your butcher to add some fat into the chuck they grind for you to get it up to the 20+% fat range.

Grinding Your Own Burger Meat

Chuck is also the best meat to grind for burgers and you can buy a chuck roast to grind at home. First cut up the meat into medium size cubes to make it easy to grind. Then grind it coarsely, using the 1/4″ holes, and only run it once through the grinder. (I used this grinder from amazon)

Other Meat Options

Once you’ve made some burgers with 80/20 ground chuck you might want to try mixing it up a bit. Some things to try include:

• Mix in some brisket with your chuck
• Put some short rib in the mix, which is meaty and tender
• Include some ground dry-aged beef like rib-eye for a more steak like flavor
• Try Wagu beef, which is from Japanese cows and is extremely tender, melt-in-your mouth beef
• Add in some sirloin, which makes the patty stand out and extra beefy (top sirloin, tri-tip or knuckle)
• Try a non-beef burger like turkey, lamb, fish, brat, chorizo, etc