How to Grill the Best Burger
Start with a clean grill – scrub with grill brush then oil the grill by dipping a folded paper towel in oil and rub the oil soaked towel on the grates.
Mert’s ground chuck or burger blend are the best lean to fat ratios for burgers.
Keep the Meat Cold. Heat from your hands combined with room-temp ground beef can melt and smear the fat, preventing the fat from binding with the lean meat, causing too much of it to render during the cooking process, resulting in a dry, dense burger. Keep the meat cold and shape the patties as quickly as possible. After you shape your patties, put them back into the fridge until you are ready to grill.
Don’t Over-Mix the Ground Beef. Evenly sprinkle your seasonings over the ground beef and use your hands to fold them in gently.
To correctly size your patties to fit on your buns, make your burgers about 1 inch thick at the edges, and one in larger than the bun.
Dimpling your Patties. Shape your patties so the outer ½ inch of the patty slightly taller than the middle. Rather than smash the patties together in your hands, place approximately 5 oz of meat on a tray or platter lined with parchment (or the shiny size of the butcher paper the meat came in). Gently flatten the top of the burger and make your wide shallow depression (dimple) with one hand while pressing your other hand against the sides, form a circle. This creates a depression without overheating or overworking the ground beef.
Preheat grill to 450 to 500 degrees before adding your patties, whether charcoal/wood or gas grills.
How Long to Grill Burgers. Check the temperature of the burger by inserting the meat thermometer through the side, not through the top.
Rare burgers cook 4 minutes (125 degrees internal temp)
Medium-Rare burgers cook 5 minutes (135 degrees internal temp)
Medium burgers cook 6-7 minutes (145 degrees internal temp)
Well-done burgers cook 8-9 minutes (160 degrees internal temp)
Flip – Don’t Press! – Your Burgers. Once you put those patties on the grill, don’t press them down. Pressing forces the fat and flavor out of the burgers which results in dry, bland patties. Feel free to frequently flip your burgers – it will cook the burger more evenly.
When to Add the Cheese? Add cheese about 1 minute before the burger is finished cooking.
When to Toast the Buns? Butter the top & bottom of the bun and then put them on the grill out of direct heat. Start toasting the buns when you have a minute left on the patties.
Don’t Forget to Rest Your Burgers. Let the burgers rest for a minute after they come off the grill. This allows time for the juices to redistribute throughout the burger.
