Yep… it’s another burger article. Come one, don’t pretend you didn’t miss them. I’ve written a lot of these articles, but I’ve never focused on what might be my favorite part of my favorite burgers…

That gorgeous lace.

What I’m talking about is the part of the patty that gets pressed so thin you can practically see through it (you know, kind of like cloth lace?). It’s gorgeously crunchy, and when combined with salt and some super gooey, melty cheese, it is irresistibly addictive.

The picture at the top of this article is from Freddy’s Frozen Custard & Steakburgers, home of my favorite burger in the world. They smash their burgers so reliably and so thoroughly that they always come out just teeming with abundant amounts of lace. Look at the sides of that patty and you’ll see what I mean.

So why is lace such a big deal?

I’ll give you a few reasons.

First, lace indicates quality. It’s literally not possible for McDonald’s and Wendy’s to get this type of burger. You need fresh, high-fat meat that hasn’t been overmixed. Most burger chains, on the other hand, go with the cheapest meat available, and they mix it to death in huge vats (and then often pour ammonia or other chemicals over it to keep the bacteria from building up. Yum). For a burger to have gorgeous lace, it has to be treated with a little more respect.

Second, lace provides a texture and flavor variety. It gives you some addictive greasy crunch, which contrasts with the juicy center of the burger, in addition to a strong hit of the flavor of maillard browning (the same reason we often like grilled and charbroiled burgers so much).

Third, it just looks gorgeous. A lacy burger clearly has more work, skill and experience going into it than your average burger, and I’m always happy to come across someone not just selling burgers, but who really loves their burgers.

Okay, I want a lacey burger. How do I make one?

This took me a long time and a lot of humbling experience to figure out. I’ll point out the biggest ideas you need to get down so that you don’t have to spend literal years learning the hard way like I did.

Use fresh meat. Fresh meat has a higher moisture content and hasn’t had time to dry out, which helps when creating that crispy lace. Freshly ground beef also tends to have a better texture and flavor, which contributes to an overall superior burger experience. Your biggest enemy when working with ground beef is the risk of overmixing, which will cause the meat to become overly springy—and this is the opposite of what you want when getting lace on that burger.

I get it that it’s not exactly convenient to grind your own meat. You can definitely skip this and go with pre-ground meat if you’d rather, but just know that grinding your own meat will always be cheaper, healthier, and endlessly more delicious. With that being said, I almost always default to pre-ground meat just for convenience…

High fat content is mandatory. This is one spot where I don’t compromise: you only want 80/20 beef (meaning 80% lean beef, 20% fat). Fat is the secret sauce here—literally. The higher fat content ensures that when the meat hits the hot surface, the fat renders and spreads out, creating those crispy edges. Lean meat just won’t give you the same effect because there’s not enough fat to produce that delicious lace.

Interestingly enough, most of that fat actually leaves the meat during the cooking process anyway. Don’t think of it as the food you’re eating, thinking of it as a delicious cooking oil that will get you some incredible bang for your buck.

No mix-ins! This is a big deal. Don’t mix oatmeal into that burger meat. Don’t add egg yolks. Don’t even add salt! Anything you add before cooking will dilute the beefy flavor, and worse, harm the cooking process. And yes, that includes salt! Salt draws out moisture and will wreck the molecular properties of the patty before cooking.

Instead, wait until your patties are on the griddle and then sprinkle salt over the top.

Balls, not patties. Starting with a ball of meat instead of a pre-formed patty allows you to smash it down onto the hot surface, spreading the fat out evenly and creating more opportunities for crispy lace to form. This technique also gives you better control over the thickness of the patty and ensures more contact with the cooking surface.

I gently roll my meat into balls about half the size of my fist. Come cooking time, I drop the ball on, leave it for about ten seconds, then turn it over and squash it as flat as possible. That little flip before pressing the ball is just a simple way to keep the meat from sticking to your spatula; otherwise you might accidentally get a hunk of raw meat glued to your spatula instead of bonding to the pan like you want.

Don’t grease the pan at all. This was a huge thing for me to learn. I always greased the pan just because that’s what I grew up doing. But when I sent out feelers online, the biggest bit of feedback I got was to stop greasing my pan.

Why?

Because the meat sticks to the ungreased pan, preventing it from springing back on itself, and thus guaranteeing you’ll get some solid, crispy edges.

When you smash your ball of ground beef down nice and firm, it forces a ton of surface contact with your cooking surface, which leads to a ton of maillard browning and caramelization. Then when you’re ready to flip, grab a nice metal spatula and scrape that burger up in one fell swoop. Make sure to get all those cooked on bits firmly up, and you’ll turn out with the most delicious burger you’ve ever touched.

I mean it, follow this technique and you’ll end up with a burger so tasty that ketchup actually makes it worse.

Add some high-fat cheese that melts well. When you’re done cooking this patty, it will have lost a lot of its fat content. In fact, it’ll have lost so much fat that it’s not a bad idea to add some back. That’s where the cheese comes in. To me, the cheese isn’t for the flavor, it’s for the mouthfeel. Nothing is better than classic American cheese for this because it melts the best without tearing. However, cheddar and muenster are also good alternatives.

I hope this has been instructive! Go forth and make burgers with lots and lots of lace.

    Matthew Christensen
    Weekly Newsletter Contributor since 2023
    Email the author! matthew@dvo.com