Five Essentials to Properly Grilling Burgers

Cooking burgers seems like an easy chore. To others, cooking burgers is a sweet science. Whichever class you fall into, there are five essential details to know when it comes to cooking a perfect burger. When it comes to ground beef there are plenty of ways to ensure your burger is the tastiest and the juiciest. For now, we will simply stick with the basics and give you the five things you need to know to grill the best burger possible.

1. Keep your burger juicy: Most people think of burgers simply consisting of ground beef. This is true, but in order to keep your burgers moist you should use a mixture of ground chuck and ground round. Ground chuck is typically around 18% fat, and ground round is roughly 12% fat. In order to keep your burger juicy, make sure to ask the butcher for some ground chuck to include in your burger. Nobody likes a dry burger; and we do mean nobody.
2. Season the burger, leave your mark on it: If you’re just using ground beef, you’re going to end up with a pretty boring burger. You should always, at minimum, add salt and pepper to your ground beef prior to cooking. After that, it’s up to you. Worcestershire sauce makes for a great marinade and will also help to keep your burger juicy. Hot sauce and grated or even pureed onions can make it even more delectable. Trial and error with ground beef is never frowned upon.
3. Shape your burgers before you put them on the grill: Please, never ever prepare a raw burger that is less than ¾” thick. The thinner the burger is, the more likely you are to overcook your burger and end up with a dry lump of meat. On the other hand, if your burger is too thick you’ll more than likely burn the outside before you’ve thoroughly cooked the inside. Find a happy medium and never forget to take the heat level into account.
4. Keep your burgers level: Keeping your burgers level simply means keeping them from puffing up in the middle. If they are puffed up in the middle, adding toppings and condiments can prove difficult and awkward. In order to keep your burgers flat on the side you wish to apply toppings and condiments, press an indentation directly into the middle of the burger while it is raw using either your finger or a small spoon. This is a very important step.
5. Flip the burger only once! To ensure the juiciest burger possible, you should only flip your burger once. The easiest way to tell when it’s ready to be flipped (as almost everyone has found out) use a spatula and see if the burger is still sticking to the grates of the grill. If the burger is still sticking, it’s not ready to be flipped. Once you are able to slide a spatula under the burger without it sticking, you’re ready to flip the burger. If you flip the burger too early, the juices will escape and you’ll be left with a half dry burger. Remember, nobody likes a dry burger.

These steps are simply the basics. Once you have honed your skills using these basic steps, you’ll be almost ready for any kind of burger requested or desired. The sky is the limit when it comes to cooking a good burger. There are so many options and variables that can go into making a unique burger that we will soon put into our upcoming articles. New recipes are on the way for both burgers and steaks, so stay tuned to see what we think are the best ways to cook a burger or steak. Our Knowledge Center is here to provide you with information regarding all types of grilling and to ensure you have the best possible outcome. If you ever need to reach us, simply call us at +966 13 845 6798.