How can I avoid my patties bulging in the middle?

Question

When cooking beef or turkey patties on the skillet, I often end up with them bulging in the middle. See photo below. One patty is bulging like crazy, the other is more normal.

This bulging results in the middle not making contact with the pan, and thus cooking less. Then when I go to flip the patties, the bulge makes the patties tip to one side, making the cooking even more uneven.

Sometimes I cook patties straight out of the freezer, sometimes the fridge. I think the frozen ones bulge more, but not exclusively.

What's the best way to handle this? Should I try cooking with a lower/higher temperature? Or do I need to buy a weight for the patties?

Answer 1

When you create the patty, make a slight indentation in the middle. That way, the "bulge" will result in a flat patty. If you purchase patties from the store, and cook from frozen, the only solution will be a weight or heavy pan on top as they cook.