How Many Hamburgers Can You Expect From A Pound Of Meat?

The popularity of burgers is easy to understand. The food comes together fuss-free and employs some of the most affordable beef cuts available. Whether you're cooking for a crowd or a date night, it's a dish that's easy to accommodate when grocery shopping. Aside from choosing how lean or fatty you want your ground beef, the biggest decision is how much to get. So say you're ready at the butcher counter, ready to purchase the ground beef — how many hamburgers will one pound yield?

An average, classic-sized patty is around 4 to 6 ounces, allowing three to four burgers per pound. Such a size will make forming burgers a breeze, and they'll easily fit between two buns. You'll still be able to cook your beef to the desired doneness and you'll still have room for some tasty sides, too. 

However, that measurement is not the end-all-be-all; burger sizes are malleable. If you're after an extra-juicy and thick burger cooked to medium rare, divide your pound of beef into two extra-big 8-ounce patties. Alternatively, with a thinner smash burger (or a smash burger-style taco riff), each patty should be 2 ounces, yielding eight per pound. So start with four burgers to a pound, and deviate based on the style.

When it comes to turning ground beef into burgers, there's no need to overcomplicate, but it is handy to make a few considerations. Steer clear of buying premade patties — it's one of the biggest mistakes everyone makes when cooking burgers. Additionally, you'll want to divide out your meat quickly while it's still cold and avoid over-mixing or touching the beef excessively, which will toughen up the burger.

Instead, keep your burger portioning nice and consistent. Lay out a sheet of parchment paper, and weigh chunks of beef on a scale, reaching that goal of 4 ounces. While every burger doesn't have to be perfectly identical, you do want to get it pretty close. Irregular deviations in size impact the cooking process, leaving some patties underdone, and others burning up — so try to keep it close to your desired weight. Form efficiently, aiming for a patty just a tad bigger than your bun, but still adhering to Anthony Bourdain's one-hand burger rule.

Continue the process with firm indentation on top of the patty, which will aid in keeping the shape intact during shrinkage. Finish with a liberal amount of seasoning, and you're ready to cook. Dividing out the beef in such a methodical manner will not only yield the ideally sized burgers but also ensure a terrific texture.

Especially when you're cooking for a crowd, rationing out all of the burgers can be time-consuming. Thankfully, you don't have to wait until grill time to divide out patties from your ground beef — there are techniques to craft in advance.

For one of the easiest methods, lay out all the beef in a resealable bag. Keep the zipper open and flatten out the meat, taking out excess air in the process. Then, use a ruler to divide out all of the beef into sections, and place it into the freezer. Store atop a flat surface, and you'll have already rationed-out beef sections ready for use. 

If you're prepping patties a day in advance, you can rely on an easier method. After forming, stack your patties between layers of wax paper, then wrap them in foil. That way once it's grilling time, the patties will be ready for action.