Food - Drink
How A Ring Mold Can Help You Make Better Burgers
By ERICA MARTINEZ
The perfect burger comes down to personal opinion, but most burger lovers would agree that cooks should pay attention to the patty. It can be difficult to form the perfect patty, since overworking the meat mixture can make the burgers dense, not to mention the patties can shrink while cooking — this is where a ring mold comes in.
Ring molds are metal, circular gadgets that are used in bakeries and restaurants to make perfectly circular pastries and dishes, but culinary director of Shake Shack Mark Rosati uses ring molds as a burger-making staple. Ring molds are great for thicker patties, but can help any patty hold its shape for even cooking and thickness.
To form burger patties, Rosati lines a ring mold with plastic wrap and loosely packs the ground beef inside, creating a patty with a perfectly even thickness and a flat bottom that prevents the meat from puffing up during cooking. Once unmolded, cook your perfectly uniform burgers however you like for tasty patties that don't shrink or fall apart.