GRILLING HAMBURGERS
We start with good, aged ground beef with approximately 10 % fat content. Cook the ground beef in much the same way as steak. Sear it on both sides, then cook them over medium heat until you reach an internal temperature of 130-135 degrees. Remove them from the grill, cover with foil, and let the burgers rest for 5-10 minutes or so. The internal temperature should reach 165 degrees, at which point it should be slightly pink inside. Ground beef needs to be cooked throughout as all parts of it have been touched by the cutting blades of the grinding machine. Reaching the proper temperature is the only way to assure your meat is safe. You may want to experiment a little, double checking with the thermometer. When the burger starts to feel firm, you know you are about done. Cooking slower allows the internal portion of the burger to cook without drying out the outer part of the meat. Do not press the burger while cooking, as that forces the juices out of the meat.
Keep your eye on the fire, as it is easy to over-cook the burgers, resulting in a very dry piece of meat.
Another tip: don’t overwork the ground beef when making the patties. The less you handle the meat, the better the burger’s consistency
GRILLING STEAK
Lean beef, such as McLaughlin Farm Grass Feed Highland Beef, is best cooked “low and slow”. Steaks with bone have more flavor! If you can either bank a charcoal fire to one side of the grill, creating a hot area and a cooler area, or with gas, turn down on one portion of the grill, then you will be able to cook your steak to perfection.
We recommend having the steaks cut to about 1 ½ inches thick. This helps eliminate overcooking. Sprinkle the steaks with kosher or sea salt, fresh ground black pepper and non-MSG garlic powder. As an alternative, use one of the pre-mixed steak salt and herb mixtures, like the McCormick Montreal Steak Seasoning (again, non-MSG). Rub in the mixture (using a large spoon works great!), cover the meat, and let it stand for 20 minutes or so, coming to room temperature. This gives the salt an opportunity to work and is more effective than applying it at the end of the cooking process.
Start the steaks over the hot area of your grill, sear both sides, and then move the steaks to the cooler portion of the grill. Keep the top down as much as possible. Ideally the internal temperature of the grill (with the top down) should be about 300-325 degrees. Grill the steaks until they reach an internal temperature of 115 degrees (away from the bone), remove the meat from the heat, cover with foil, let sit for 5-10 minutes, then serve. This should produce a medium rare steak. The internal temperature continues to rise during the rest period, thus it will reach approximately 130-135 degrees. Note, resting also allows the meat to retain juice. Cutting immediately will cause much of the juice to flow out of the meat.
Meat that has not been touched by the processor’s cutting blades or exposed to the air can be eaten when cooked to lower internal temperatures. The exterior of the meat must be fully cooked however, in order to kill bacteria and germs.
INTERNAL TEMPERATURE GUIDE
Steaks and Roasts
Rare: 140°
Medium Rare: 145°
Medium: 150°-160°
Medium Well: 165°
Well: 170°
Lean beef best eaten rare or medium rare!
Ground Meat 160°
Ground Beef should be fully cooked when eaten.
Remove meat from heat when it is 5°-10° degrees from your desired doneness.
Cover with foil and let the meat rest 5 –10 minutes.
Juices are retained if the meat is allowed to rest.
