Fire Up the Grill, It’s Time for Hamburgers

By Katie Reim, Oklahoma State University

First posted on 05-25-2010

May is National Hamburger Month and with Memorial Day just around the corner, this is a great time to kick off the summer with a nutritious hamburger. Barbara Brown, Oklahoma State University Cooperative Extension food specialist, said one out of every five times Americans fire up the grill it is to cook a hamburger.

To ensure a winning hamburger, it is important to follow certain tips from purchase to plate.

“Ground beef packages are labeled according to the USDA standards and by preference of the supermarket,” Brown said. “Lean to fat ratios vary. The information on the label will be expressed as percent lean and percent fat. However, if a package is labeled ground beef, it must be no more than 30 percent fat.”

When shopping for ground beef look for beef with a bright, cherry red color. A darker, purplish-red color is typical of vacuum-packaged ground beef or the inside of packaged ground beef. Once exposed to air it will turn bright red.

Brown suggests purchasing meat last when shopping to ensure ground beef and other meats stay as cold as possible.

“Most labels have a sell by date and ground beef should be purchased on or before that date,” she said. “Store it in the coldest part of the refrigerator. Put it in the freezer if it’s not used within two days after purchase.”

Ground beef can be frozen in the original transparent package for two weeks. To freeze for up to four months, wrap in a heavy-duty aluminum foil or place in a food-safe plastic freezer bag. Press out as much air as possible before freezing. Be sure to label with the date and weight.

To cook hamburger safely, Brown suggest the following tips:

** To prevent bacterial growth, defrost frozen ground beef in the refrigerator and never at room temperature. Allow approximately 24 hours to defrost a one to 1 ½ inch thick package.

** Wash hands with hot soapy water before and after handling raw meat. It is important to wash any surfaces or utensils that raw meat has touched.

** One pound of ground beef makes around four, cooked three-ounce servings.

** When cooking, it is important to cook all ground beef thoroughly. Never eat raw or rare ground beef.

“To check the doneness of the burgers, insert the stem of an instant-read thermometer horizontally in the center of the patty and allow about 10 to 15 seconds for the thermometer to register the temperature,” Brown said. “Make sure the patties are cooked to an internal temperature of 160 F.”

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