Why David Chang Believes Burgers Should Never Touch The Grill

Sometime in May, or even April, if spring is shaping up to be a warm one, all of the food sites begin publishing article after article about how to grill the best burgers. While it's fun to learn about hacks like sticking an ice cube in the middle to keep the meat moist, you might feel a certain amount of FOMO (fear of missing out) if you don't own a grill or aren't a skilled enough cook to use it well. Another factor that may be preventing you from grilling includes having a small yard or possibly no yard at all if you live in an apartment or condominium. From now on, however, no more FOMO for you — or for anyone else not engaging in the great American grill-o-rama — thanks to restaurateur David Chang. Chang, founder of the Momofuku mini-chain, is adamant that burgers should never be grilled.

As he said on an episode of his podcast "The Dave Chang Show," he feels that the whole idea that grilling gives burgers a "smoky flavor" is just a bunch of marketing hype. He believes burgers would need to be grilled for an entire day (and way past the point where they've carbonized into coal dust) before they really get smoky. He dismissed the concept by stating, "This whole idea of imparting flavor from the grill, the only flavor that's being imparted is the carbonized crap that's on the grill. The stuff that hasn't been scraped off from the iron brush [or] steel wool."

The best way to cook a burger, in David Chang's opinion, is in a frying pan (call it a skillet if you're feeling fancy, but it's the same darn thing) or on a griddle. In fact, one of the mistakes people make with smashburgers is trying to grill them. This is because you need a flat surface to smash them on. Cooking patties in a pan is nice and simple, too, which is exactly how Chang likes his burgers. He once published an entire manifesto about how he doesn't like it when burgers get too fancy; just give him a standard bun with a patty and American cheese, topped with ketchup and pickles.

While not specifically endorsed by Chang, another indoor cooking method that works well with burgers is baking. It's especially useful if you're cooking more than one at a time, since you can load up a sheet pan without overcrowding. If you bake the burgers on a wire rack over a pan, you won't even need to flip them, since this allows enough air to circulate to let the bottoms cook at the same time as the tops. Sure, baking your burgers takes a little longer (up to 20 minutes), but it's mostly hands-free, which leaves you more time to prep the fries or onion rings. Oh, and if you're worried about baked burgers not being as crispy as the grilled or pan-fried kind, you may want to ask yourself why you think a burger needs to be a little bit burnt on the outside. David Chang's favorite fast food burgers are the steamed ones from White Castle, and they're not crispy at all.