The Steakhouse Burger Press is the new “hot” toy for big time BBQ’ers and burger fanatics.  In this post I want to take a look at how it works, what makes it different from other burger presses, and what you can do to get the same results without it.

This cylinder shaped burger press makes one patty at a time in any size and weight you can imagine.  You can make everything between quarter pounders all the way up to almost a pound.  It’s silicone treated on the inside so nothing can stick to it and your patties come out clean and even.  It’s also dishwasher safe, so cleanup is a breeze.

The real selling point of this press is the “thumbprint” that it puts into the patty that prevents your burgers from bloating while they’re on the BBQ.  Ideally, this creates uniform and level burgers that cook more evenly.  The technique is an old restaurant trick that cooks and chefs have used for years and not a lot of home cooks know about.  This works by compressing the meat fibers right in the middle of the patty that will keep it close to the same thickness after it’s been cooked as it was raw.

There are a couple of problems here though.  You have to be able to cook a burger properly before starting.  Burgers cooked from medium rare to medium work best with this technique.  Anything cooked from medium well on are going to start to curl on the edges since the entire patty is cooking at the same speed and there’s no room for the extra heat to transfer through the meat.  Having your cook time down is a necessity before testing this trick out.

Second, you (I would assume) have a thumb on both of your hands (or at least know someone who does).  You don’t need a burger press to put a thumbprint into your patties, I’m pretty sure you can figure that out on your own!

I certainly don’t want to turn you away from this press, it’s a sweet setup.  I just want you to know what you’re getting yourself into by buying and using it.  There are other hamburger presses that will do the same job in the same price range.  Unfortunately, none of the other presses have the same cool black finish that this one does…