How to Grill A Hamburger
Piled or plain with toppings, grilling the ideal burger is very important to have a fantastic cookout. If you’ve ever volunteered to handle the tongs, then you know the pressure is on. The attributes of a simple burger sometimes can be that it is oddly tough, falling apart, too dry, overdone, underdone, charred outside but a bit raw in the middle.
You need to know that ketchup cannot cover up everything. This review is going to be doing an expose on the best ways to grill a hamburger with step by step instructions on how to go about it. If you want to cook a juicy, tender burger with just the blush of pink in the middle, try to avoid these common mistakes people make when grilling burgers.
Tip #1: Don’t go for pre-made patties
Picking up a bag of pre-made burger patties at the store can be more tempting than you possibly can imagine, especially if you don’t have much time on your hands. The best of results start when you go for the freshest possible meat.
You would also have more control over the fat content and type of your flesh, as it will dwell more on in tip 2. It is effortless and straightforward to make burger patties from scratch; just follow our guide to make natural homemade burgers.
Tip #2: Grab the right pack of meat
You can make ground chicken burgers, delicious turkey burgers, or even black bean burger recipe, but for meat-lovers, we go with the classic, which is ground beef. The trick here is to ensure you go for ground beef that has higher fat content.
The leaner the meat is, the drier your burger would also be. Ground sirloin is the thinnest, ground chuck and lastly, ground beef. The package should let you know the lean-to-fat ratio. 85-15 is not so good for a tasty burger, as it would probably be too dry. 70-30 ration offers the best-grilled burger, and it’s one of our favorites to cook with.
Tip #3: Don’t over-handle the meat
Everybody loves to add spices, seasonings, and extra ingredients to boost the flavor of burgers. Chopped onions and garlic powder are my favorites though. But over-mixing and mashing the meat would make it become a dense, dry puck. An easy solution to shaping your burger to your taste is by combining any add-ins in a separate bowl first. Then, try to work the mixture into the meat by pressing it in using two forks. Stop once the ingredients start looking dispersed.
Tip #4: Don’t cut corners to make perfect patties
If you’ve ever worked extensively with ground beef or shaped a meatball, you’ll understand what I’m talking about. Things start nicely as soon as you mold the meat into the desired shape. But then, gradually, globs of the pink stuff start sticking to your fingers, making it more challenging to handle. It thus becomes increasingly challenging to mold anything into the desired shape. If you want to avoid this mess, you can start by dampening your hands with water. This would help stop the meat from clinging as you try to shape the burgers.
Tip #5: Ensure the patties are not too petite
Ground meat would usually shrink as it sizzles on the grill. The more fat is in the flesh, the more it would shrink. To stop the burgers from becoming pint-sized, you need to plan. Shape the raw patties in a way that it is larger than the bun. The parties can’t be too fat or too thin, either. Too much fat and the outside would char before the inside starts cooking. If it is also too small, the patty will start losing moisture, thus becoming dry fast. You might prefer to shape yours into a 4-inch round that is about 1/2-inch thick. The beef will then plump a bit as it cooks.
Reader Tip: —Jean K., Golden, Colorado once said “When shaping hamburger patties, I poke a hole through the center of each one with my index finger. The burgers cook faster this way, and the outside doesn’t get overcooked before the center is done. As the burgers cook, the hole almost disappears-it’s barely noticeable when they’re done. This works whether you grill, broil or cook burgers in a skillet.”
Tip #6: Let the grill heat up enough
Burgers are best cooked when placed over medium heat. A gas grill will fire up fast. But if you’re going for a charcoal grill, then it is a bit trickier to know because it takes more time for the charcoal to catch fire and for the kettle also to warm up.
Tip #7: Don’t press on the patties as they cook
As a lot of us have observed in movies and on TV, the cook uses his spatula to press it down on the patties as they cook, thus releasing a fury of sizzle and spit. This is a major mistake! That cook tries to effectively squeeze out all the meat’s juices, thus dropping them into the flames underneath. As satisfying as it looks when you’re watching it, don’t try this at home.
Tip #8: Get a good and quality thermometer
You need to invest a lot in a good instant-read thermometer. You can do this by picking one up for cheap in the gadget aisle of most stores. Not only will it make you feel like a professional as you wield it, but it’ll offer you confidence as you cook. You can also use a timer for the sake of guidance, while a thermometer can help in a final check.
You need to grill the burgers for about 6 minutes on each side. Then check the temperature. Use tongs to hold the burger firmly in place while inserting the metal spear of the thermometer through the patty. Make sure the thermostat is placed in the centre. Pork, beef, and lamb burgers should get to 160°, while turkey or chicken burgers should be cooked to about 165°.
Next time you decide to make the best-grilled burger, try to remember these tips mentioned above, and you would quickly become the hero of your next holiday backyard barbecue.
How to grill the best Hamburgers
- Flavor = Fat. Use beef that is not leaner than 85 percent. Meat that has a higher fat content will be more flavorful and juicier. But don’t forget that patties from higher fat meat would shrink more easily when they cook. If you shop at a butcher that grinds their beef, or a store, don’t forget to choose coarsely ground beef to get juicier burgers with a pleasing texture. For turkey burgers and ground chicken, you need to add a little olive oil to the mixture.
- Add Additional Flavor. Add anything you would like to have to your burger mixture. Here are some flavoring suggestions:
Seasoning mixes for soups or salad dressings
Dried or fresh herbs and spices
Dehydrated or fresh minced onion and garlic
Prepared sauces including oyster sauce, salsa, BBQ sauce, soy sauce, teriyaki sauce, Worcestershire sauce, hot pepper sauce, hoisin sauce, plum sauce, or salad dressing. Other tidbits like crumbled bacon, olives, capers, chopped tomatoes, diced chilies, or minced ham
- No Salt! Don’t add salt with the mixture, especially if you do not plan to grill the patties immediately. Salt would remove the moisture from the meat, leaving you with just dry burgers. Instead of this, try to sprinkle each burger with the right quantity of salt before you place it on the grill.
- Don’t Mix many quantities. Use a light touch to add seasonings to the ground beef. If you mix it too hard, your burgers will end up being heavy and dense.
- Allow the Flavors mix. Leave the patties in the refrigerator for a couple of hours to allow the flavors to mingle. To form patties, keep your hands a little wet to keep the meat from sticking. If you make your patties before time, you need to place them on a plate halved by waxed paper and cover it using plastic wrap before placing it in the refrigerator.
- Form a nice Patty. Don’t form patties that are too thin or too thick. A 3/4-inch thick patty is perfect. To keep the patties from swelling from the middle, try to make small indentations in the center.
- Temperature is important. Make sure the grill is conditioned to the appropriate temperature. Medium-low to medium heat is ideal. If it is too hot, the burgers will burn on the outside before even getting done on the inside. Try to ensure that the lid is closed while cooking, as it serves to shorten cooking time and also keep the burger moist.
- Ensure your Grill is always clean. Always start with an oiled grill grate. This serves to make sure that the burgers don’t stick, thereby extending the life of your grate, as you get those beautiful grill marks on your patties.
- Turn just once. It’s tough to resist, but try to avoid flattening your burgers with the aid of the spatula, as it only squeezes out the flavorful juices.
- Cook intensively. In case you’re wondering how long to grill hamburgers for, just cook ground beef to a temperature of 160 degrees F. To get a precise and accurate reading, insert the thermometer into the patty.
Bonus Tip: Methods to keep grilled burgers moist. A hot grill achieves the perfect char and helps to paint the excellent grill marks on your burgers, but the intense and fiery flames can also help dry them out. Graham Elliot, who is renowned on MasterChef, has an alternative: just hide a small ice cube in the center of the patty! The cube melts as the burger also grills, and it helps keep the meat moist and sweet.
When to toast the buns?
If you are an individual who likes toasted brioche bun, don’t be discouraged, as they are rich with butter and strong enough to hold all your fixings and burger, but also you can bite through them quickly. Whichever of the buns you prefer, try to butter the bottom and top of the bread, and then also plop them at the back of the grill, out of the heat, until they turn golden. You can start toasting the buns even if you have a minute left on the patties.
Don’t forget to rest your burgers
Resting isn’t for humans alone. Let the burgers stay for a minute after they are off the grill. This offers enough time for the juices to be shared throughout the burger, thus providing you with a flavorful experience.
Ways to flavor your burgers
Once you’ve been able to master the basic burger in the recipe above, you can then get funky with the flavors. You can then blend different cuts of meat, herbs, add mushrooms, anchovies, add mushrooms, anchovies, or cubes of cheese. I like to have lemon zest in my burgers because it helps to remove the flavor of the beef. In the end, you still have the choice, because as long as the patty is juicy and meaty, you can’t possibly go wrong.
Conclusion
Grilled hamburgers are ideal for backyard barbecues and also giant neighbourhood block parties as well. So, you might be wondering how long it takes to cook the perfect burger, as knowing how long it would take to grill hamburgers is something that any serious griller has to know convincingly well.
But, grill times can be different based on the thickness of the patty, the kind of meat also used to make them, and exactly the way and method you want your burger to be cooked. Just follow these tips to make sure your patties come out the way you and your guests prefer them.