Why You Might Want A Higher-Fat Beef Ratio For Grilled Burgers - Tasting Table

"For perfectly plump patties, all you need to do is up the fat ratio in your ground beef. When it comes to grilled burgers in particular, you want to stay away from the lean end of the spectrum. That 93/7 ground beef - 93% meat and 7% fat - might sound good on paper, and it is probably healthier, but it makes a lousy grilled burger. Instead, go heavy on the fat with the 75/25 mix."

"Grilled meats sit on an open grate above the heat source. As they cook, any juices and fats produced drip off and are vaporized. All of the surface fat on the burger is lost, so having plenty in the mix ensures a good crust on the outside and a middle that stays nice and juicy. As a bonus, all of the fat dripping down turns to a rich, meaty smoke that also helps flavor the burgers."

"It might be nearly impossible to overdo the fat in a grilled burger, at least with the ground beef ratios that you can buy at the store, but cooking burgers indoors is a different story. When it comes to skillets and griddles, you might want to tone down the fat a bit. The reason that skillet burgers are better at a lower fat ratio is that unlike the grill, in these cases there is nowhere for that fat to go."

"If you try to cook a few 75/25 burgers in your cast iron, they will be swimming. That means the rendered fat stays in the pan instead of dripping away, changing how the burgers cook compared with an open-grate grill."

Grilled burgers benefit from higher fat content in ground beef. Lean mixes like 93/7 can produce dry, chewy results because grilling causes juices and fats to drip off an open grate and vaporize. With a richer mix such as 75/25, more fat remains in the patty during cooking, helping create a good crust on the outside while keeping the center juicy. The dripping fat also turns into rich, meaty smoke that adds flavor. Cooking indoors on skillets or griddles changes the outcome because fat has nowhere to go, so very high-fat ratios can lead to burgers swimming in rendered fat.

Read at Tasting Table