Thanks to years of watching Alton Brown, I have a pretty healthy dislike of unitaskers. I don’t like clutter, and I tend to just MacGyver anything I don’t already have on hand.
But obviously there’s a “but” here. One unitasker I bought and have kept, used regularly, and loved for over 5 years: my hamburger press.
This is my particular model, courtesy of Amazon. Granted, it’s pretty cheap and doesn’t take up a ton of room, but for those who are wondering why anyone would need a gadget like this (kitchen minimalists, you know who you are), I’m just saying that this is worth it. I have had some truly microscopic kitchens, but I’ve kept this little press through them all.
Weirdly, though it’s clearly a meat-oriented tool, it’s actually super useful for vegetarians and vegans. If you want to try making your own veggie burger mix, this tool goes a long way in helping you achieve a more consistent, easier-to-handle patty. Same goes for the meat-eaters; patties are easier to handle and cook, and you can make stuffed burgers (again, you might wonder why you would need this, but stuff a burger with blue cheese and get back to me).
Long story short, despite this thing saying it’s 3-in-1 like it does sooooo much more than make patties, that’s all it does. You put the meat in and use the handled top to press down. It’s really not rocket science. But I will say most people who see I have one say, “huh, that’s cool” and have ultimately splurged the $10 on one of their own.
So that’s it. That’s the post (forgive me, I got my vaccine yesterday and I am dragging). This thing is cool, and I’m just saying it’s worth having. Even if you don’t eat burgers all that often, you’ll find you’re more likely to make them (or any puck-shaped foods).
Also, if you’re going all out on burgers, I highly recommend the Bob’s Burgers cookbook (you can buy a copy here). It may seem like overkill, but we’ve made a fair few of the recipes and it’s actually a really solid cookbook.
Enjoy, and thanks for reading!
Happy Heloise 