Ultimate Guide to Grilling Burgers

Grilling has become one of the most popular cooking methods, especially in the warmer seasons when no one wants to stand over a hot stove. While your grill can be used to cook almost any foods to crisp and tender perfection, from meats to veggies to desserts, hamburgers are by far the favorite reason to fire up the grill. The Weber grill company estimates Americans eat 50 billion burgers a year! With all that grillin’ going on, isn’t it important that you perfect your burger game this year?

Tips for Grilling Burgers

Here are 10 top tips to make sure you and your grill tag team to bring ALL the delicious to this summer’s burgers:

1. Measure the meat: For the best flavor, choose ground beef that is at least 80% lean and 20% fat. This will help keep the burger juicy and flavorful.
2. Keep those patties chill: To ensure that the burgers stay together and cook evenly, keep the ground beef cold until just before you’re ready to grill.
3. Be gentle, yet firm: When forming the patties, handle the meat as little as possible. Overworking the meat can lead to tough burgers. If forming patties by hand, it helps to wet your hands with cold water to keep the meat from sticking to them. Gently form the meat into a loosely packed ball, a bit larger tha a baseball, then flatten slightly to form a roughly 1-inch-thick patty.
   Pro Hack: For perfect-every-time patties, try the 3-in-1 Burger Press and skip the messy hand work!
4. Get hands-on: Use your thumb to make a small indentation in the center of each patty. This will help the burgers cook evenly and prevent them from puffing up too much.
   Pro Hack: Just before grilling, place an ice cube in the indentation. It will melt while the burger cooks, keeping the meat moist.
5. Shake on the flavor: Sprinkle your favorite Tastefully Simple seasoning over both sides of the patties, or add your favorite seasonings.
   Pro Hack: Ultimate Steak™ Seasoning has all the best flavors in one handy shaker jar!
6. Get ready, grill: Make sure your grill is hot (450-500°F) before adding the burgers. This will help sear the meat and lock in the juices.
7. Burgers love heat: Place the burgers on the hot grill over direct heat. The USDA recommends heating burgers to an internal temperature of 160°F.
8. It’s easy being cheesy: If you like cheeseburgers, add a slice of any variety of cheese to the burger during the last minute of grilling.
9. Give ‘em a little time: After removing the burgers from the grill, let them rest for a few minutes before serving. This allows the juices to redistribute and makes for a more flavorful burger.
10. Serve with your favorite toppings: Top the burgers with your favorite toppings, such as lettuce, tomato, onion, pickles and condiments. Serve on a bun and enjoy!

What About Griddling?

Rising in popularity due to the success of products like the Blackstone™ Griddle, cooking burgers on a griddle is technically different from grilling, as the meat cooks over a solid surface rather than an open-air grate. That said, the growing popularity of “smash burgers” makes the process worth mentioning here.

Smash burgers are made by smashing a ball of ground beef onto a hot griddle and flattening with a spatula or press for 10-15 seconds. This causes it to quickly sear and develop a crispy crust and a thin, flattened patty. After smashing, the patty is seasoned and cooked to desired doneness.

Now Let’s Start Grilling Burgers!

Now that you have the basics down, try some fresh and fab NEW burger recipes:

Anything-But-Basic Burgers

Start with a simple patty. Then things get really interesting