A commercial burger press is a pain to find and that problem is compounded further if you’re working on a budget.  Let’s face it, these things are expensive!  You can expect to pay at least $300 for a quality one, but when you factor in the time that they can save over pounding patties your investment will be recouped in saved labor dollars in just a few weeks.  In this post we’ll take a look at how they work, why they’re so expensive, and show you some affordable options.

A commercial patty press is like a giant elevated lever that squishes round balls of ground beef into equal and uniform patties.  To get the best results and speed with a burger press like this is to have your prep crew weigh out portions ahead of time and roll them into balls onto patty paper.  You can fit a few dozen of these prepped balls into a shallow hotel pan.  After they’ve all been rounded run them through the press with the patty paper on the bottom.  From there they can be popped out and neatly stacked and ready to cook.  You can get 15-20 patties a minute with these once you get the workflow down.

These things are so damn expensive because they’re huge!  The models that I’ve used are almost two feet tall and have a pretty large footprint on the prep table.  They’re usually made from heavy duty cast aluminum so that they’re durable and heavy enough that they won’t tip over but light enough to still be able to move around the kitchen.

If you’re looking for a cheap commercial patty press look for used ones.  Your local restaurant supply store might have some options for you.  If not, turn to the web.  Here are some options that Amazon has.  I know that’s not the traditional place for restaurateurs to buy their equipment, but savings are savings!

Related posts:

1. Which Is The Best Double Burger Press?
2. Why You Need A Burger Press