Use a gentle touch with ground beef. Overmixing or compacting will result in firm dense burgers, meatballs or meatloaves when cooked. Salt beef after cooking or browning. Salt draws out moisture and inhibits browning. Moist heat methods, such as braising and cooking in liquid, are better choices for less tender cuts.
High heat can overcook or char the outside of beef cuts while the inside remains underdone.
For tender beef, cooked to the desired doneness, use medium heat with dry cookery methods and low heat for moist cookery methods. Turn steaks and roasts with tongs. Do not use a fork, which pierces the beef and allows flavorful juices to escape. Turn ground beef patties with a spatula. Do not flatten them, causing flavorful juices to escape and resulting in a dry burger.