Burgers Are Even Better In Your Cast Iron

While the temptation may be strong to fire up the backyard grill when cooking burgers at home, we implore you to resist! There is a better way. Get back into the kitchen, break out your cast iron, and prepare to enjoy the juiciest, most flavorful burgers you've ever created. 

Cast iron pans have been used for thousands of years and for good reason. More than any other material, cast iron excels at heating up slowly and evenly and is better able to retain heat even after the source is removed. From burgers to steaks, to frying eggs and sauteeing veggies, cast iron pans are highly versatile and remain an ideal tool for all kinds of cooking needs. In addition, a well-seasoned cast iron pan will last a lifetime. You'll even be able to pass it down to your children, and they'll pass it down to their children, and so on. 

We realize there's a lot of nostalgia around grilling burgers — family barbecues with Dad manning the grill while the kids play on the lawn — but do you remember how those burgers tasted? Often you were left with a dried, char-flavored meat puck saved only by obscene amounts of cheese and condiments. When grilling, all the fat (read: flavor) oozes out of the burger and is wasted on the hot coals below. The dripping fat also causes the flame to rise higher making your burgers taste more like charcoal than beef.

Cooking hamburgers in a hot cast iron pan, whether on the stove or on top of your grill, causes a chemical reaction between the amino acids and sugars in the meat. Known as the Maillard reaction, this process creates both flavor and color. As the burger cooks, the flat bottom and high sides of your cast iron pan enable the meat to cook in its own fat, develop a tasty crust, and maintain moisture. In less than 10 minutes in a preheated cast iron pan, you, and possibly dear old Dad, will be devouring the most delicious burgers you've ever made.