Don't Sleep On Cooking Burgers In Your Instant Pot

Using an Instant Pot might not be the most obvious method for cooking burgers, but think twice before ruling it out. Pressure cooking is a super quick and easy way to deliver tasty, juicy burgers. Why use a pressure cooker instead of a grill or the stove? Maybe the weather is an issue or you'd rather not make a mess on the stove. Or, maybe you just want to try a different, fun way to cook with your new Instant Pot Duo 7-in-1 Electric Pressure Cooker. No matter the reason, rest assured you'll be happy with how your burgers turn out if you just follow a few helpful tips. 

Pressure cookers trap steam in the chamber, creating a high temperature and pressurized environment that cooks your food fast. Cooking your burgers in an Instant Pot is similar to steaming them, which, as a bonus, is considered a healthier way to cook meat. Once you've formed your patties (about 4 ounces each) and seasoned them to your liking, wrap them in squares of foil or parchment paper, place them in your pressure cooker on the steamer rack, and add one cup of water for four patties in a  6-quart pressure cooker. Add more water for an 8-Quart Instant Pot. Allow them to cook on high for 10 minutes for a well-done burger (a couple of minutes less for medium or medium rare) with a quick release at the end. 

Your burgers will be nice and juicy straight out of the Instant Pot, but they will lack the browning or charring you get from the grill. Optionally, boost the flavor by broiling them in the oven for 2 to 3 minutes after they are cooked through in the pressure cooker. The broiler uses high, direct heat to brown the meat quickly, resulting in nicely charred burgers. 

When cooking burgers in the Instant Pot, avoid common mistakes everyone makes when making burgers, like under-seasoning your patties or using ground beef that's too lean. You don't have to use just one type of beef for your burgers — why not take advice from an award-winning chef and try Gordon Ramsay's go-to ground beef combo for burgers. Do your best to form patties in consistent shapes and thickness to assure they cooked through and use a meat thermometer to check for doneness — 160 degrees per USDA regulations for ground meat. 

Cooking burgers from fresh ground beef is ideal, however, it is possible to cook frozen burger patties in your pressure cooker. Keep in mind that frozen patties will take longer to cook (about 20 minutes on high), but it is super easy to pop a few pre-formed frozen patties in the Instant Pot. If your out of ground beef, you can always cook other frozen meals in the pressure cooker. For instance, an Instant Pot is also the best way to cook frozen chicken breasts.