I used to hand-form every patty for our Saturday cookouts, the way my dad taught me, squeezing the beef between my palms and hoping they came out roughly the same size. They never did. One patty was done in six minutes, the next needed twelve, and somebody always got the raw one. It took me embarrassingly long to try a burger press. The Meykers burger press runs under ten bucks on Amazon and comes with 150 wax patty papers. I have been using it for two full grilling seasons now, and I will not go back to hand-forming.
If you are still shaping patties by hand and wondering why your burgers cook unevenly, here are the ten reasons a burger press changes everything, all based on what I actually noticed once I switched.
If you are feeding more than two people, the Meykers press pays for itself the first cookout.
It ships with 150 wax papers, so you do not need anything else to get started. Uniform patties mean every burger hits the right internal temp at the same time.
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Hand-formed patties almost always come out thicker in the middle than at the edges, which means the center stays pink while the outside overcooks. The Meykers press stamps out a flat, even disk every single time. Once I switched, I stopped second-guessing doneness and started trusting my thermometer. If you want to go deeper on technique, my <a href="how-to-make-perfect-smash-burgers-at-home">smash burger how-to</a> covers how press thickness affects sear time.
You Can Press 10 Patties in Under Three Minutes
When I am cooking for eight people, hand-forming takes fifteen minutes and leaves my hands cold and sticky. With the press and the included wax papers, I can knock out ten patties in the time it takes the grill to finish pre-heating. I press them, stack them on a sheet pan separated by wax papers, and slide the whole thing into the refrigerator to firm up. By the time my guests have grabbed a drink, everything is ready to go on the grate.
The Wax Papers Mean Zero Sticking and Easy Stacking
The 150 wax papers that come with the Meykers press are not an afterthought. You press the patty directly onto a paper, then stack them with another paper on top. They come off the grate clean, they peel off each other clean, and you do not lose a single ounce of beef to the spatula. When the papers run out, standard pre-cut burger patty papers from any restaurant supply work fine.
Uniform Size Means Every Burger Fits the Bun
Hand-shaped patties shrink differently depending on how compact you packed the beef. Some end up bigger than the bun, some smaller. With the press, the diameter is consistent every time, so the patty shrinks into the bun ring as it cooks rather than hanging over or disappearing inside it. Small thing. Big difference in how the final burger looks on the plate.
It Makes the Smash Burger Technique Actually Work
If you have ever tried a smash burger, you know the move: drop a loose ball of beef on a ripping-hot surface and smash it flat in the first 30 seconds. The Meykers press is wide and flat enough to do this properly on a cast-iron griddle or a flat-top grate insert. You get the lacy, crisped edges and maximum Maillard crust that you cannot get from a thick hand-formed patty. My full guide on <a href="how-to-make-perfect-smash-burgers-at-home">making smash burgers at home</a> walks through the exact process.
You Handle the Meat Less, Which Keeps It Tender
Over-working ground beef breaks down the fat and protein, and you end up with a dense, hockey-puck texture instead of a loose, juicy bite. With a press, you portion a loose ball, drop it in, and press once. The whole process takes about five seconds per patty. The less time your hands spend on the beef, the better the texture when that patty hits the grill. This alone was enough reason for me to keep using it after the first summer.
All the Burgers Hit the Right Temp at the Same Time
When every patty is the same thickness, they all hit 160 degrees Fahrenheit at roughly the same moment. No more pulling one early because it looks done while the others need five more minutes. No more guests waiting in uneven waves while you stand over the grill juggling a spatula. I put eight patties on at once and pull all eight together. That kind of consistency is what separates a relaxed cookout from a stressful one.
It Works for Turkey, Chicken, Salmon, and Black Bean Patties Too
My husband does not eat red meat, so I started pressing turkey burgers with the same tool. Turkey and chicken patties are harder to hand-form because the mixture is looser and stickier. The press holds them together perfectly. I have done salmon patties, black bean patties, and even breakfast sausage discs for biscuits. One tool, six uses.
Cleanup Is About 30 Seconds
The Meykers press is solid non-stick plastic with no moving parts, hinges, or springs. Rinse it under hot water, wipe it dry. That is the whole cleanup. Compare that to washing your hands three times after kneading two pounds of raw beef, wiping down the cutting board, and scrubbing the knife you used to portion the meat. This is a real advantage on a hot afternoon when you would rather be sitting with your guests.
It Is Cheap Enough That You Will Not Second-Guess the Purchase
Most kitchen tools that genuinely improve your cooking cost thirty to sixty dollars. The Meykers press is a fraction of that and comes with a full set of wax papers so there is nothing else to buy. I mention price here not to oversell it but because I put off buying it for two summers just assuming it was a gimmick. It is not. For a full breakdown of what two seasons of use actually looks like, read my <a href="meykers-burger-press-review-long-term">long-term Meykers review</a>.
What I'd Skip
If you are only ever cooking for two people and you have the time to hand-form carefully, a press is not urgent. It is a crowd tool and a speed tool. Also, the Meykers press makes one standard size, roughly four inches in diameter and a half-inch thick at standard pressure. If you need a slider-sized patty or a thick steakhouse-style burger over an inch high, this particular press is not the right fit. For those use cases, a different press with an adjustable thickness dial would serve you better, though it will cost considerably more.
I put off buying one for two summers because I assumed it was a gimmick. It is not. My Saturday cookouts got noticeably easier the first time I used it.
Ready to stop fussing with hand-formed patties that cook unevenly?
The Meykers burger press ships with 150 wax papers and fits under any grill setup. Uniform patties, faster prep, and a lot less sticky mess on your hands.
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