Tips For The Best Burgers You'll Ever Grill At Home

Daniel Hopkins

I was just thinking about this post earlier today.

jamesbirkett1969

todd

Serious Eats seems to think it's okay to smash your burger. I don't necessarily agree, I'm just posting this to be contrarian.

http://tinyurl.com/8fxxar9

scott.reitz moderator editor

@todd Smashing is OK with the caveats James listed in that Serious Eats post. You have less than a minute to get all your smashing done. As soon as the fat starts to melt, and juices begin to render, you can't squish anymore. The post you linked to is great. We touched on smashing at Smashburger a little here.

http://blogs.dallasobserver.com/cityofate/2012/01/breaking_down_the_lingo_why_sm.php

mavdog topcommenter

grinding the meat fresh makes a much better burger.

trying different cuts of meat until you get the ratio you really, really like is also a good way to justify eating more burgers, too. my favorite burgers are 1/3 sirloin, 1/3 chuck and 1/3 short rib.

Also Scott, 3 minutes/side on my Weber gets me medium rare, perfect burgers. 4 minutes gets them medium and no pink left in the center....

scott.reitz moderator editor

@mavdog Know thy grill. Gas, charcoal, in the sun, in the shade, winter, summer, wind: there are so many variables. The only way to figure this out for YOUR grill is lots of practice. Glad you've figured it out. I'll be over this weekend with beer.

Scruffygeist topcommenter

Season right before you're placing it in the pan/on the griddle/on the grill. It's not a steak, you'll just draw out juices salting too early.

Cheese can be melted easily just by using an inverted bowl over the burger to capture steam.

Mayo on the bottom bun can be an effective (and tasty) way to keep it from getting soggy--it acts as a water-resistant barrier.

And it's been said but bears repeating over and over until people get a clue--don't press the damn burger while it's cooking!

primi_timpano topcommenter

@Scruffygeist The inverted bowl is genius. No more rushing from the grill to the broiler.

Joshjuststruckoutagain

1 Like

Cheese and Veggies are on the wrong side Scott..other than that doesn't look bad.

mavdog topcommenter

nope, putting them on the bottom keeps the bun from getting soggy.

typically tho I prefer the lettuce on the bottom and the tomato/onions on the top....

Colin1

@mavdog Which also happens when you put them on the bottom, absent a barrier on either the top or bottom bun, and I don't feel like dressing works well enough as a moisture barrier.

Personally I prefer no dressing anyway with sufficiently moist meat, flip the burger over when I go for cheese, so - bottom bun, cheese (acts as a meat moisture barrier), meat, tomatoes, onions, lettuce (moisture barrier again), top bun.

scott.reitz moderator editor

3 Like

@mavdog Maybe, but I hardly did it on purpose. I dressed the wrong side of the bun. I ate it standing on my head though, so it was still delicious.

kergo1spaceship

I fell into a deep crater reading this.........bring back that Daniel guy that watches you cook BBQ.

Blah blah blah dont squish the meat blah blah blah cook the bun.......Christ, did you people have parents growing up? When common sense becomes neat tricks, we are f+cking ruined as a society! What's next, tips on breathing?

ps-I'd rather you would have mailed it in Scottie with:

-An Eddie Campbell story

-A Matt M Story

-A food truck story

...........and the beating of all beatings; THE TOP 100 FOODS OF DALLAS. You know, that story that all Village Voice Media are REQUIRED to write.

________

Tomorrow we are going to have a story about eggs-and the many ways we can cook them....we have fried, poached, boiled...........

Joshjuststruckoutagain

Got to remember Kergs, he's talking to Dallass proper.

kergo1spaceship

@Joshsbrokendisqus

Oh yeah....are you really a man when someone has to TELL you how to cook a burger? You just gotta love em Metrosexuals! Iff'n someone is teaching you how to drink scotch, or proper fishing technique.....you may be a "left handed hitter".

TheCredibleHulk topcommenter

@kergo1spaceship @Joshsbrokendisqus Not all of us had the good fortune of being at the knee of a dad with a Blatz in one hand and spatula in the other as he stood watch over that old Weber kettle.

*sigh*

Seems there's and entire generation of folks that think that grilling is something that can be accomplished with *gasp* propane!

TheCredibleHulk topcommenter

@kergo1spaceship In a town where I have seen many 5-star kitchens that are a decade old but have still to see a single scorch mark in their $3,000.00 ovens, I really don't think a primer on proper burger preparation is too rudimentary.

joe_x71

1 Like

Don't squish the burger with the spatula as it cooks. Great suggestions offered here, but that one is vital...

Willie

1 Like

Don't forget about grilling the buns, with butter, of course. Nothing like a little crunch that soaks up the juices.

primi_timpano topcommenter

Excellent article. Somewhere I recall reading that using forks or other kitchen tools to form the patty, as opposed to hands, makes it less likely to over compress the patty. I also follow the one flip rule. For the perfectionist, an instant read thermometer will help manage the center, but won't help one from burning the exterior. Last, but the cheeseburger under the broiler for a few seconds to melt the cheese.