Serious Eats - seriouseats.com

I personally love the photography of the burgers as I'm one who prefers her burgers as rare as possible. Whenever I see an autopsy shot of a burger that's been cooked through, my mind just goes down the rabbit hole of "well, that's a damn shame" because my brain equates gray/pink-gray meat with dry and tough. Sort of the opposite reaction of the folks that have the visceral reaction to the red and rosy burgers.

Well not entirely. I absolutely think it's true for a number of those who don't order rare burgers (including real life friends and some commenters above, such as the one who said he wasn't going to diss his digestive tract), that fear of food-borne ilness plays some role in their preference. For that subset of burger fans, I'm wondering when and how their concern developed.

Anecdotally, when someone takes issue with my ordering a rare burger, it's typically on the grounds that I am playing Russian Roulette with my life.

Actually, this last comment makes me wonder if there should be a new poll--whether a burger has ever given you food poisoning, e coli, etc. I've never been felled by any of the above, nor has anyone I know, but maybe there's a well-reasoned fear of rare after all? I've previously attributed a liking for well-done burgers to irrationality, a la those who fear immunizations, etc. Anyone?

Looks from the poll like the medium-or-more vote only has slightest of margins (51 to 49 right now). Also, I imagine that people who want a medium burger (I'm on the MR/MED line) will not be made squeamish by seeing a picture of one that is medium-rare so I don't know how useful it is to lump them in with the well-doners.

Here in Toronto it is a battle against regulations, servers, and proprietors to get a less-than-well burger so it is always good to see photographic evidence when restaurants are (safely) serving burgers the way I like them. You can always ask for a more well-done burger.

Thanks for the great work.

Medium for me,...and I dont think I've had a burger that was as succulent as it had been at medium. Anything made less than that is still "moo-ing".

@Sov: To be crystal clear: I meant come out as in leave. The more the beef is cooked, the more the fat breaks down and the fat juices and the meat juices are progressively cooked out of the burger.

Bebo and Daniel, reading over this, I still think the meaning of "come out" is confusing. Now, as I read most of your initial post, Daniel, you like burgers rare or medium rare because there "is far more meat flavor when the burger has more fat and juice in it". The next clause of the sentence seems to be adjectival, alluding to "elements that come out the more the meat is cooked." The "come out" can be interpreted two ways: come out as leave, or come out as be increasingly noticed.

From what you said earlier in you post I suspect the former, but I don't think it's entirely clear yet.

I think its all a matter of individual taste. Not everyone likes their meat medium-rare or below, and that does seem to be the overwhelming majority of review pictures.

Personally i don't like when the meat is too dry either, but as has been mentioned above, cooking it a bit more, say medium or medium-well on the rare occasion, doesn't have to be a bad experience.

I don't know if its common or not, but i enjoy the cooked taste, with just the right proportion of juices. A steak cooked medium does that for me, and it probably varies with taste.

When given a choice, like at a brewpub, I order medium without thinking. My 2 favorite burgers are 5 Guys and White Rose, which I guess would be considered well done or medium well. Nick, I know you've been to these places as well as the Windmill. Would you consider these burgers well done?

@bebo: I think he's saying that when meat is cooked too long, the juice and fat have a tendency to come out too. We're against overcooking meat to the point that it's dry and tasteless, not against cooking meat in general. And we know cooking meat to well done doesn't automatically mean it will be dry and tasteless, but it happens a lot.

jkdrummer is the genius. He's hit it on the nose. What he said is what is the essence of the "hamburger sandwich".
If my hamburger looks like it does in that picture, it damn well better be a tuna.

It's always been medium for me. Most places know that "medium" is still very pink in the middle. That said, I've often gotten burgers overcooked and have started asking for "medium rare" to get "medium."

And I agree with Nick that there are plenty of places out there that do a damn fine burger or slider cooked "through."

My vote is medium or higher.

However, I don't knock people's preferences. Eat what you want they way you want it.

Having said that, AHT has AMAZING pics of burgers though the one above looks extremely rare. I always get hungry when I come to this site, dammit!