Burgers are some of the most common foods in the world. They are easy to make, and you can find them at almost any good restaurant. Burgers are also one of those foods you can make on your own.
Most hamburgers you eat at the restaurant are cooked to be well done. However, you may not always want to get burgers that are well done. There are different degrees of cooking that you can do on meat. Like steaks, you can also cook burgers to be a certain way.
Today, we’ll investigate what a medium-well burger is and how you can get the perfect cook on a burger so that it’s medium-well.
What Is a Medium-Well Burger?
A medium-well burger is almost as cooked as a well-done burger. However, a medium-well burger is just juicier in the center. It is likely to be pinker in the center, which shows that it will be juicier and moister while eating. There are many ways to figure out that your burger is medium-well instead of well done. You can look at the following signs to identify a medium-well burger.
Appearance
The appearance of the burger’s center matters the most and is the most visual way to know that the burger is medium-well. A medium burger will have a very pink center, and a well-done burger will have a greyer center. However, if you’re looking at a medium-well burger, the tinge of pink in the center is relatively less. However, there will be some tinge.
Temperature
You can also define a medium-well burger from its other counterparts based on the temperature at which you have cooked your burger. The best way to know that the burger is well done or medium-well is by measuring the temperature of the meat as you get it off the grill. This method is also typically less invasive than others.
You don’t have to cut up the burger to see the burger’s center. You can insert a thermometer and measure the temperature for it. The interior temperature of a medium-well burger should be between 150 and 155 Fahrenheit. Cooking times also give you an idea of how well the burger is cooked.
Cooking Time
You must also note you will have to cook a burger for four minutes on each side if you want to get a medium-well burger. However, the cooking time vastly depends on the grill’s or broiler’s temperature. The thickness of the patty also describes the amount of time the burger will have to spend on each side so that it’s medium-well.
Why Do People Prefer Medium-Well Burgers?
With all the GMOs and rising health concerns of impending pandemics, cooking meat and food at high temperatures dedicates more energy to the breakdown of bacteria. Bacteria gets killed at high temperatures, so the medium-well burgers are better and much safer to eat from a health perspective.
How to Cook a Medium-Well Burger?
Step 1
Use a non-stick cooking spray on the pan that you’ll be using. You can use a grill or a broiler, depending on your preference. If you’re cooking on a grill, use a little non-stick cooking oil spray, so the burgers don’t stick to the grill. Otherwise, you risk the meat cracking and falling between the grill grates.
Step 2
Ensure the grill or pan is on medium heat and tempered there.
Step 3
Take the burger and gently put it on the grill. You don’t need to smash it in.
Step 4
Cook for seven minutes on each side for a medium-well burger. Let it cook without interruption from any other utensil.
Step 5
Gently flip the burger over once you feel like it’s grilled on one end. Let it cook for another seven minutes. You can also insert a meat thermometer into the burger and remove it from heat when it reads 155°F.
Is a Medium-Well Burger Healthier?
We have already mentioned how meat has some bacteria that can exist in burger meat for a long time. High temperatures are needed to kill this bacterium. Raw beef is not considered safe to eat, so you must cook your burger as well as possible.
A rare burger may be unhealthy to eat as you’ll consume a lot of bacteria by having it. The worst part of rare burgers is that people generally handle the patties, which lends a greater risk of contamination from the bacteria.
Burger patties, in general, can have all sorts of bacteria. They can cause illnesses, such as salmonella and E. coli, and any of these burgers can have you in the hospital for weeks, causing pain and illness.
Cooking your burger to medium-well protects you from any unpleasant health issues. This way, you remain safe from the harmful bacteria that may be present in store-bought burgers. However, you may be thinking getting a medium-rare burger this way is not possible? However, that is not the case.
If you feel like a place is more high-end, they likely source the burger patty from one source and make the burgers themselves. Thus, it makes the quality more high-end, and there are fewer chances of contamination in such burgers. If you’re interested in cooking burgers, buy them from the butchery section of your local store.
Medium-well burgers have a more fantastic range to be healthier. Regardless of the quality of the meat, when you heat it to a high temperature, it will lose all of the harmful bacteria it has. However, if you have a lump of low-quality meat and only cook it to a lower temperature enough for it to be cooked as medium-rare, the chances of you getting ill are higher.
Does a Medium-Well Burger Taste Better?
The taste depends on your preference. Many people prefer the greater juiciness of the medium burger. However, some people prefer their burger meat to have a little more bite, and the well-done burger is a perfect choice. The taste mostly depends on the seasoning that you have on your burger. The burger’s doneness will only inform how juicy and meaty it tastes.
Final Thoughts
You can use different categories to define a medium-well burger. However, the burger’s appearance and doneness are some of the best ways to determine whether a burger is medium-well or not. Medium-well burgers are also safer, making them an excellent option for many.
