Got The Raw Beef Ick? Here's A Hack To Making No-Touch Beef Patties

If you get a little disgusted looking at raw beef, or a little more disgusted when you have to cook with it, you're not alone. Whether it's the texture that disturbs you, the creepy red juice (that isn't actually blood, it's myoglobin), or the fact that raw beef has the potential to harbor a boatload of bacteria and foodborne illnesses, we get it. Unless you switch your diet and become an all-out vegetarian or insist your partner takes care of the raw beef, dealing with it sometimes is unavoidable. Have no fear, we scoured the internet and compiled a few of our favorite no-touch hacks for making perfect beef patties. 

The most common technique for no-touch beef patties (or minimal-touch patties) is known as the plastic bag method. After you've seasoned the ground beef, scoop it into a large, plastic freezer bag. Press down on the bag to evenly disperse the beef into every corner, ensuring extra air is squeezed out before it's sealed shut. Once you're happy with it, use a ruler to gently portion the beef into square patties. With a large bag, you'll most likely get nine ready-to-use patties. You can either put the bag of hamburger patties into the freezer for later use or take a few out of the bag and cook immediately, with no hand-rolling or squishing necessary.

If you don't have large freezer bags on hand, you could also prepare beef patties with little to no touching using some parchment paper, a rolling pin, and a biscuit cutter. Lay a sheet of parchment paper on the counter and dump the raw beef on top. Then, place another sheet of parchment paper on top of the beef and use a rolling pin to create an even spread. Remove the top layer of paper, press the biscuit cutter into the meat, and marvel at the perfectly round patties that require very little touching. 

If you're searching for a technique that's less DIY, you could always invest in a burger press, which eliminates a lot of the unnecessary raw beef handling. Burger presses come in various sizes, from quarter-pounder to half-pound, and allow chefs to evenly portion and press symmetrical beef patties in a hands-free way. With these tricks, there's no need to let your raw beef phobia hold you back from whipping up a show-stopping hamburger patty.