How To Make A Juicy Burger....

 For this experiment, I wanted to see which way of cooking would make the juiciest burger! I was interested in pan frying, grilling, and cooking in the oven. After discussions in class, I figured the burgers cooked in the oven would be the juiciest because of the radiation and convection heating. The oven uses radiation and convection heat by transferring heat in the air to the burger as well as transferring the heat from the pan to the burger. It also uses conduction because the outside of the burger transfers heat to the inside of the burger. The pan fry uses convection heat because the burger is touching the pan and the oil that’s on the pan. The grill uses convection heat as well because the two sides of the George Foreman are touching the burger, transferring heat that way. My theory was that broiling the burger would make it the juiciest because broiling keeps the juices in by using the radiant and convection heat.

What Did I Think Would Happen?

My hypothesis was: If I grill, pan fry, and broil a burger, then the broiled burger would be the juiciest.

Independent Variable: The Cooking Method (Grill, Pan Fry, and Broil)

Dependent Variable: Juiciness (Weight of the burger before and after cooked)

How Did I Control This Experiment?

            I used all of the same burgers for each cooking method. I followed the instructions on the Great Value Beef Burgers package for each cooking method to make sure every burger was cooked medium well.

In an ideal world…

            I would have had a thermometer to make sure the burgers were all cooked to the exact same temperature. I would have used a more precise scale than the scale that I had. I would have made sure all of the burgers were cooked medium-well. Also, I would have retrieved all the juices from the burgers to see how much liquid was lost, which may help further this experiment. The last thing I would change is use an oven that has a broil setting. My gas oven has no settings and just heats up. In an ideal world, I would use an electric oven that has a broil setting.

What I Used:

            Great Value 100% Pure Beef Burgers (80% lean, 20% fat)

How I Cooked These Burgers:

George Foreman Grilling:

1.      Preheat grill

2.      Spray with pam

3.      Place burgers on grill

4.      Let cook for 6-8 minutes flipping halfway through the grill time

5.      Take off and let sit for 5-10 minutes

Below is a picture of the patty on the George Foreman

Below is a picture of the grilled patties.

Broil:

1.      Preheat oven to 325 deg F

2.      Place burgers on pan 2 inches away from each other

3.      Cook in oven for approximately 18 minutes flipping halfway through

4.      Take out and let sit for 5-10 minutes

Below is a picture of the two patties in the oven.

Below is a picture of the patties that were cooked in the oven.

Pan Fry:

1.      Preheat skillet to 325 deg F or medium temperature

2.      Fry burgers for 5-8 minutes flipping frequently

3.      Take off and let sit for 5-10 minutes

Below is a picture of uncooked the patty on the pan. 

Below is a picture of the pan fried patties. 

What Did I Find Out?

	Uncooked Burgers	Cooked Burgers
Oven 1	.45 lbs	.5 lbs
Oven 2	.45 lbs	.5 lbs
Grill 1	.45 lbs	.48 lbs
Grill 2	.45 lbs	.49 lbs
Pan Fry 1	.45 lbs	.48 lbs
Pan Fry2	.45 lbs	.5 lbs

Above is a graph of my experiment. The blue represents the uncooked burgers and their weight and the red represents the cooked burgers and their weight. 

My hypothesis was supported with this experiment. The burgers that were in the oven weighed heavier compared to their uncooked weight than the rest of the other burgers. I believe this happened because the pan fry fries off a lot of the liquid and the grill squeezes the juices out by the top of the grill compressing on the burger. Although putting a burger in the oven creates juiciness, the burger itself did not look pleasant and was falling apart. The grilled burgers came out intact and still were pretty juicy. There wasn't much different within the juiciness of the burgers with the varying methods so although my hypothesis was supported, grilling burgers may be the way to go just as most have done and continue to do!