Juicy Sous Vide Hamburgers Mayo Seared

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If you’ve never tried sous vide hamburgers mayo seared, then you’re in for a treat. You just can’t disagree with the taste and juiciness of sous vide hamburgers cooked with a mayo sear. They’re perfect for grilling or finishing in a cast-iron skillet.

Today, I’m going to show you how to make ‘em. I’m so excited.

Let’s do it.

Why mayo sear hamburgers?

Most people would finish a sous vide hamburger with butter or olive oil. They’d cook the burger sous vide style. Then grease a cast iron pan and sear it until a brown crust forms.

Mayo sear is totally different because there is no butter or oil.

In fact, you don’t put anything in the pan other than the hamburger.

So let’s sous vide cook hamburgers!

Ingredients for juicy sous vide burgers

You can use premade hamburger patties or make them yourself with the directions in this recipe. As you’ll see, it’s so easy to make your own ground beef patties for hamburgers. You just need ground beef and some simple seasonings.

Making sous vide ground beef hamburgers

Step 1. Preheat sous vide machine to 138ºF.

 Step 2. Form the burger patties. First, season ground beef with salt and pepper. Mix together the ingredients until combined.

Separate the burger meat in four 8-ounce balls and then flatten the ground beef into disc shapes.

Add an additional sprinkle of salt and pepper to the outside of the burgers, or any other spices, if desired.

If you have the time, pop the burgers in the freezer for 15 minutes, which will make it easier to vacuum seal them.

Step 3. Vacuum seal ground beef patties in a flat layer.

Pick up extra tips on how to vacuum seal burgers. 

Then sous vide them.

Sous vide hamburger temps and times

• Rare – 120-128°F
• Medium rare – 129-134°F
• Medium – 135-144°F
• Medium well – 145-155°F
• Well done – 156-162°F

Use any of the temperatures above to sous vide the beef for 45 minutes.

See below for tips on cooking from frozen.

 When sous vide cooking is complete, move the bag of burgers to an ice bath for two minutes. Remove burgers from the bag and pat dry.

Step 4. Add a smear of mayo on both sides of cooked hamburgers.

You can also add one side of mayo and place it mayo-side down in a cast iron skillet. Then add mayo to the other side.

The finishing steps for mayo hamburgers

Step 5. Finish hamburgers in a cast iron skillet on the stove, or with a BBQ grill.

Add mayo-patties directly to the hot pan or the grill.

To pan-sear, sous vide hamburgers: preheat a large cast-iron skillet on the stove to medium-high or high heat.

Give them a quick sear to stay at medium-rare – just enough of a sear to brown the outside of the burger on each side, and to brown the edges (use tongs) so there is no white mayo left.

To cook burgers to medium or medium-well, use a digital thermometer to know when it is done. Don’t forget to brown the edges of the burgers.

To grill finish hamburgers, add the mayo hamburgers directly to the grill.

Serve hamburgers these buttery sous vide corn and a big family-style bowl of caprese salad.

Top sous vide hamburgers with tasty things like sous vide onions, gorgonzola cheese, sous vide bacon, or these sauteed mushrooms with thyme.

 See over 100 of my favorite sous vide recipes in my new cookbook – The Home Chef’s Sous Vide Cookbook.

What do mayo seared burgers taste like?

Mayo searing sous vide hamburgers gives them a crunchy burger bark. While the inside is infused with massive flavor and juicyness. Mayo has a little tang to it from the vinegar. And that’s really tasty when hit with some heat.

Mayo searing sous vide burgers is one of my all time favorite sous vide ground beef recipes.

You can mayo sear regular burgers, too…

Aren’t these sliders cute?

Basic sous vide equipment

Here are some products with affiliate links to check out

1. Sous vide machine Joule, SousPreme multipot, Anova, or Instant Pot Slim
2. Sous vide container – bucket or stockpot to hold sous vide water
3. Bag to cook food in – vacuum sealer or ziplock gallon bags – learn about your options for choosing the right bags for sous vide cooking

Want wagyu?

Get something special to cook from my affiliate partners. This recipe featured meat from Crowd Cow. Crowd Cow and Snake River Farms ship craft butcher cuts of meat right to your door. Check out more on how to sous vide from frozen.

What’s up next?

This technique for finishing sous vide hamburgers is a way to level-up your sous vide cooking. For more must-try sous vide recipes, check out sous vide NY strip steak, sous vide lobster tails and sous vide shrimp kebabs.

Is mayo the way?

Think this technique is crazy? Already tried it and love it? Want to tell me about your life-long hatred for mayo? Drop a comment below.

Last tips for sous vide hamburgers with a mayo sear

• Don’t add anything to the pan other than the burgers coated with mayo.
• Add 60 minutes to the sous vide cook time for hamburgers when cooking from frozen.
• Swap out salt or pepper for a flavored seasoning. Try hickory smoked black pepper, black garlic sea salt, Texas-style bbq salt, or liquid smoke.

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