Hamburger patty - press it flat, or not?

Question

At Wendy's today, as I was waiting for my meal, I noticed the guys in the back making the burger patties. They were using their spatulas to press down on them, really hard. I've seen people doing this at barbecues and other places, too.

Is it good to do this, bad to do this, or does it even matter?

My question is: Does pressing a burger patty with

Ignore that last line above - it's a leftover.

Answer 1

This is very bad to do this, it squeezes all the juices out of the burger and leaves it drie and flavorless. It does cook it a little faster however, and it is a fast food restaraunt, speed is key! As a cook when I see this however I just want to smack them upside the head, I feel badly for the cows that had to die for their meat to be brutalized in such a way by these absolute asses. Sorry, I am just passionate about food.

Answer 2

Press it out flat and then right before cooking it, put a big thumbprint right in the center of the patty (but not deep enough to go all the way through). It will help keep it from shrinking and fattening up as much.

Answer 3

its bad. pressing the burger forces out the juice and will leave you with a dry burger. wendy's and those places do it to make the meat cook faster.

Answer 4

its personal choice MacDonald's hungry jack burger king do if you make the rite sort of burger patty with good quality meat you will have a nice burger any way!!

Answer 5

We don't press on our home made burgers. They come out just fine.

Maybe they were just trying to get more grease out of them? We use lean cuts, and this isn't a big deal.

Answer 6

Do not press patties. It nakes them dry and they really do not cook any faster

Answer 7

You will have juicier burgers if you don't press them .