Preventing a burnt burger patty when pan frying So when I cook the burger patties on a frying pan (I lack fancier methods of cooking them), the bottom tends to get burnt pretty black. Yet when I bite into the burger, you can see that it's only a thin layer of burntness outside, but the inside was medium-rare.

Is there a way to prevent them from being burnt too dark? I'm not sure if eating too much burnt stuff is good for the body. Perhaps it's a different oil that I must use? (I'm using canola oil atm).
I would try frying at a lower temperature. This will slow the burning of the exterior, but you'll need to re-assess how long to fry them to achieve medium-rare doneness.