Talk to Your Butcher

Fresh ground beef is the single most important element in any great burger. You care enough about quality burgers to buy this book, so you probably already know this. There are a few simple scientific reasons why fresh beef makes for the very best burgers, but it’s the end result that matters—fresh beef tastes better than frozen.

Scientifically, the moment raw beefsteaks are sent through a grinder, liquid is released as the muscle fibers are basically crushed. The clock is ticking, so it goes without saying that the best burgers come from beef that has just been ground. When the Midwestern burger chain Steak ’n Shake opened in 1934, they would grind beef in the dining room in full view of customers to prove this point.