How to grill a burger? The burger is one of the most popular foods to grill and barbeque. Smoked burgers cooked the right amount of time couldn’t taste better.
Preparing the Burgers
One of the most popular grilling recipes is the burger. You can buy frozen patties from the grocery store or make your own from raw meat. To make your burger, you will first need to thaw the meat. One of the easiest ways to do this is to put it in the refrigerator overnight. You can even use this method the day before you want to grill your burger.
Next, shape your burger. To avoid “puffing,” make sure to indent your burger’s center. A burger with a puffy center will be harder to cook and will burn on the outside. In addition, it will take longer for your burger to reach its internal temperature.
Before grilling, season the burger with basic seasonings. You can add kosher salt, freshly ground black pepper, and some dried herbs and spices. These seasonings will add tremendous flavor to your burger. It’s best to apply them just before grilling since they will draw moisture out of the meat.
Preparing the Grill
Before you start grilling, prepare your grill. To ensure a burger that cooks evenly, use a seasoned charcoal grill. It will add flavor and provide a conductive heat. Alternatively, you can use a cast-iron skillet placed on the grill grates. The drippings from the meat will be caught in the pan and enhance the burger’s flavor.
You can also use a gas grill to make the hamburgers. For gas grills, add more flavor to your burgers with some wood chips. You can get all kinds of wood chips to add different flavors from apple, cherry, pecan, post oak, hickory and mesquite, to name a few.
When getting the grill ready, my preference is charcoal. I also use what is called a Charcoal tower to get all the briquettes burning.
How to Grill a Burger the right way
When grilling a burger, it’s best to grill it in two to three minutes per side, turning the burger once. This will help it char nicely while leaving a little pink in the middle. The FDA does not recommend eating rare ground meat, so be sure to keep an eye on your burger’s temperature.
Hamburgers should be cooked to a safe minimum internal temperature to destroy harmful bacteria that may be present. Use a food thermometer to be sure they have reached a safe minimum internal temperature of 160 °F. If you’re cooking turkey burgers, they should be cooked to 165 °F.
USDA
In the picture above. You can see the charcoal has started, and I cleaned the grill as well as I could get it with a brush. I then put the frozen hamburger patties on the grill. Notice I didn’t put the hamburgers over the hottest part; I put them circle around the coals. This will hopefully make it, so the patties get too hot and burn quickly on one side.
It should reach a temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit. While experienced grillers can judge the level of doneness by touch, you should invest in a quality instant-read thermometer. To use this tool, you can buy a Thermapen from Thermoworks. Keep in mind that the burger’s internal temperature will continue to rise even after it’s removed from the grill.
Cooking Hamburgers from frozen patties, you have to wait before you add your spices. After putting the hamburgers on the grill, I had put the lid on and opened the vents fully. Once the burgers had started to melt is when I added the spices to flavor the burgers.
In the picture above, you can see after the hamburgers had cooked for about 3 minutes, I had taken the lid off, and some burgers were more done than others. I flipped the burgers over, moving the ones that had cooked the least to the hotter spot while moving the ones that had cooked the most to the lower-temperature part of the grill.
After flipping the burgers and letting them cook for 3 minutes, I fully closed the upper vent to smoke the hamburgers as much as possible. If I were going to add Cheese, I would do it after having the vent closed for one minute, put the lid back on for about 45 seconds, and then remove the juicy hamburgers.
I removed the burgers onto a sheet pan, letting them sit for about two minutes so the meat would pull the juices back into the hamburgers. These hamburgers had no pink and were fully cooked.
After grilling, allow the burger to rest for a minute or two. This is necessary because frequent flipping can cause your burger to cook unevenly, resulting in dry and undercooked burgers. You can also test if your burger is ready by sliding a spatula underneath it. If it sticks to the cooking grate, the burger is not done.
For the last two minutes close any vents so the smoke builds and flavors the burgers!
Smoking Hot Grills
The most important thing to remember when cooking a burger is that it should have the perfect thickness. The patty should be about an inch thick but not thicker. Any thicker and you risk overcooking it. A thin patty might burn quickly, while a thick one might turn black before reaching the safe internal doneness level of medium. Also, the patty should be firm, with a slight indent in the middle.
Once your burger is cooked, serve it on a toasted bun with melted cheese and other toppings.
How to grill a burger – Conclusion
In conclusion, grilling a burger is easy and only requires a few simple steps. With a little practice, anyone can make a delicious grilled burger. So fire up the grill and get cooking!
Let us know how it turns out or any special trick you use to grill your hamburgers on the Smoking Hot Grill.
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