Should You Dimple Your Patties
All over the Internet and in cookbooks, you will find burger recipes that will instruct you to make an indentation in the center of the patties, usually about the size of a thumbprint or a tablespoon.
The goal of “dimpling” is to prevent the burger from puffing up in the center. But does it really work? Like everyone else, I wanted to prevent puffing, but I also wanted to minimize shrinkage with my burgers, so I tested it out.
I found that a thumbprint or tablespoon indentation prevented center puffing, but the burgers still shrank. Making a wide, shallow depression in the patty, however, worked like a charm. Think of a salad plate rather than a donut.
- Shape your patties so the outer 1/2-inch of the patty slightly taller than the middle.
One more tip: Rather than smash the patties together in your hands, place approximately 5 oz of meat on a tray or platter lined with parchment. Gently flatten the top of the burger and make your wide shallow depression 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.
What Is A Butter Burger
A butter burger is a hamburger that cooks the meat with butter, making it the most delicious and juicy burger ever. We all know that fat = flavor when it comes to beef, so these burgers are crafted with an additional 10% of salted butter .
The secret to cooking the perfect burger patty is taking your time. I prefer grilling burgers on a charcoal grill because it adds that extra special flame-kissed flavor that I love. If you dont have a charcoal grill, no worries! This method can be adapted to any type of grill.
There are many things that make a butter burger awesome, but the top priorities are good meat, good seasoning, and a good fire. You deserve to be the backyard BBQ Burger Master, so read on and start thinking of who youre inviting over for your next cook-out.
Make The Best Homemade Burger Seasoning
Upgrade your favorite burger recipe by adding the best burger seasoning recipe to your hamburger patties. Your cookouts will never be the same.
Have you ever wondered about the best way to season your homemade burgers? Do you usually buy a ginormous jar of a seasoning mix that you only use once because the flavor combination isnt quite right? This copycat hamburger seasoning recipe solves your problem, soon you will be grilling the perfect burger.
You can make this easy seasoning blend in your own kitchen. This easy recipe will help you make enough seasoning for several dinners. Your burgers will taste so good when you use this perfect burger seasoning mix. Store all of the seasoning you make in extra spice containers to save for later.
This homemade burger seasoning is so simple to make but really takes your burgers to the next level! How do you make the best burger seasoning? Its simple. You combine paprika, cayenne, salt and pepper, onion and garlic powders, cumin, and brown sugar.
One thing I love about this ground beef burger seasoning is how versatile it is. Its a savory mix with just a hint of sweetness and is perfect for all kinds of homemade burgers beef, turkey, chicken, or veggie burgers. Heck, this is even great in meatloaf!
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How To Cook Burgers On The Grill
Set your gas grill temperature to high heat and give it a few minutes to warm up, or prep a charcoal grill for direct heat. Brush off those grill grates to remove any stuck on bits and use a paper towel, tongs, and neutral oil to slick them up so your burgers dont stick.
The total time it takes to grill your burger will fluctuate based on your grill temperature and the size of your burger patties. Whatever your idea of a done burger is, use the timing suggestions below as a guideline for your cookout, not a rule.
- Medium-rare: 67 minutes total
- Medium: 78 minutes total
- Medium-well: 9 minutes total
- Well-done: 10 minutes total
While approximating grill times can definitely help you grill hamburgers to temp, using an instant-read thermometer to check the internal temperature is the surest way to know that your burgers are cooked to perfection.
- Medium-well: 150°155°F
- Well-done: 160°F
Other than occasionally checking the temperature, leave the patties alone once they hit the grill, aiming for one single flip halfway through the cook time. Resist the urge to press on the patties, which can cause flare-ups and lead to dry burgers, and you won’t be sorry.
Our Favorite Burger Recipes
RECIPE: Green Chili Cheeseburgers
What it is: This recipe is a crash course on how to make the best burger of your life, straight from a World Champion BBQer. How to keep from overworking your patties, how to reverse sear for the perfect crust, how to get the perfect cheese pull for the gram: its all right here.
Why we love it: The green chilies join forces with our Original Bar-B-Q sauce to give this burger just the right amount of smoke and spice.
FULL RECIPE: Green Chili Cheeseburgers
RECIPE: SOUTHWESTERN BBQ BACON BURGER
What it is: Light up the grill for this southwestern BBQ Bacon burger with crispy bacon, fire-grilled corn, cowboy candied jalapenos, and crunchy jalapeno chips on top. Dont forget the BBQ sauce and pepperjack cheese.
Why we love it: Fresh and smoky flavors come together to deliver one of the great American regional flavor profiles. Also? Theres bacon.
FULL RECIPE:Southwestern BBQ Bacon Burger
RECIPE: MARINATED MUSHROOM AND SWISS BURGERS
What it is: Marinated mushrooms team up with crusted patties of sizzling beef in this umami bomb of a burger.
Why we love it: Melted sheets of rich, complex Swiss cheese and chopped fresh parsley add bite, and butter-browned buns satisfying crunch.
RECIPE: BOURBON & BACON BLUE CHEESE BURGER
What it is: Stacks bourbon against bacon, blue cheese, our Sweet & Spicy seasoning, and our Hot & Spicy Bar-B-Q sauce, and youll have a winner of a burger every time.
FULL RECIPE:Bourbon & Bacon Blue Cheese Burger
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Seasoning For Butter Burgers
Throwing an epic burger bash requires more than your standard salt and pepper. To make my butter burgers memorable, I used my Beef BBQ Rub. It has a salt and pepper base with onion and garlic, as well as a slew of other spices that give it a true steakhouse feel.
This seasoning is an NBBQA 1st place winner that adds great flavor to burgers This steakhouse butter burger eats like a prime cut, I tell ya!
Tip No : Make A Dimple In The Center Of The Patty
After seasoning burgers, its time make sure they cook evenly when they hit the grill. This is because a burger shrinks and can sometimes bulge in the middle during cooking.
To counteract this, Doug advises thinning out the middle of the patty before loading up the grill.
Put a little dimple in the center, Doug said. When the burger is cooking and starts shrinking, will actually fill out. Skip this step at your own riskand at the risk of trying to keep toppings on a dome-shaped burger.
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What To Serve With Grilled Hamburgers
I have so many amazing recipes that would be perfect on the side of a grilled hamburger!
- Grilled Corn: Our very favorite side dish for grilling is corn, and we have a full post telling you how to make it to perfection.
- Arugula Salad: This is a recent recipe, and Im kind of obsessing over it. Only five ingredients!
- Strawberry Spinach Salad: This is a really popular recipe, and for good reason its delicious and easy. That dressing though!
- Greek Pasta Salad: If you arent really feeling leafy greens, make this! Its easy and one of those recipes you will come back to over and over.
If you make this hamburger seasoning or any of the recipes listed here, please be sure to leave me a comment letting know what you think!
Should You Let Burgers Rest After Grilling
For the juiciest burger, let the patties rest for at least five minutes before serving. The meat experiences carryover cooking during this time, where the internal temperature can rise as much as five degrees. If youre worried about the burgers cooling off, feel free to tent a piece of aluminum foil over the top to keep the heat in.
taste of home
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Can I Use This Spice Blend On Turkey Meat
You can use this spice blend to season turkey burgers, beef, veggie burgers, and more. It doesn’t just work with ground beef!
Get the latest scoop on all the recipes I’m whipping up in the kitchen by following along with All She Cooks on , , and . Also, don’t forget to join my Facebook Group where you can share your favorite blogger recipes: Easy & Delicious Recipes.
Making The Tastiest Hamburger Starts With A Well
You may be tempted to skip seasoning a hamburger patty because you know it will soon be topped with an assortment of condiments and eaten between a bun, but we encourage you to resist that temptation!
A hamburger is only as good as the sum of its parts, and the beef patty is the star of the show. Give it the respect it deserves and season it properly before you cook it!
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How To Season Burgers
How should I store burger seasoning?
Add your burger seasoning mix to an empty spice container or jar and label it. Store with your other seasonings!
Should you mix seasoning into burgers?
It’s better to season your burger as it’s cooking so it develops a crust on the outside. Either season your patties just before grilling them but after forming the patties, or season while they’re cooking on the grill or in a pan.
Mistake #: Grabbing The Wrong Pack Of Meat
You can make delicious ground turkey burgers, ground chicken burgers or even our favorite black bean burger recipe, but when it comes to meat-lovers, we stick to the classic: ground beef.
The real trick here is to choose ground beef with a higher fat content. The leaner the beef, the drier your burger will be. Ground sirloin is the leanest, then ground round, ground chuck and lastly, ground beef. The package will tell you the lean-to-fat ratio. 85-15 is too low for a tasty burger itll be too dry. 70-30 makes the best grilled burger, and its our favorite to cook with.
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Buy An 80/20 Mix Of Ground Beef
A burger can be seasoned a hundred ways to Sunday, but it means nothing without a solid foundation. For a juicy, flavorful burger, skip the extra-lean ground beef patty blends and use ground beef with a higher fat content.
Ground beef with an 80/20 mix is the best for grilled burgersthis means a mix 80 percent lean beef and 20 percent fat. The 80/20 ground beef you would buy in the supermarket is usually ground chuck, which is great for burgers.
Raichlen actually prefers mixing ground chuck and ground sirloin to create his own mix of 80 to 83 percent beef and 17 to 20 percent fat
I opted for 80/20 ground chuck because its easily available in most supermarkets, but dont be afraid to ask your butcher to grind your own blend or grind a higher fat-to-beef ratio.
Cook Time/how Long Do You Grill The Burgers
Total cook time will vary based on how done you like your burgers. You can also use a meat thermometer to gauge. These are total cook time, be sure to flip halfway.
- 4 minutes, 125 degrees rare
- 5 minutes, 135 degrees medium rare
- 6 minutes, 145 degrees for medium
- 7 minutes, 155 degrees for medium-well
- 9 minutes, 160 degrees for well done.
According to the USDA, hamburgers should be cooked to a safe minimum internal temperature to destroy harmful bacteria that may be present. Use a food thermometer to be sure they have reached a safe minimum internal temperature of 160 °F. If youre cooking turkey burgers, they should be cooked to 165 °F.
Per these standards, you should aim for a burger thats medium-well to well done. Ground meat is different from steak consumption.
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Should You Press Down On Your Burger While Grilling
No! Please, dont make this common burger mistake. Pressing down on the patty with a spatula squeezes out all those tasty juices. We worked so hard to not overmix the beef and to keep the fat as cold as possible before we grilled the patties. Dont let it go to waste by sacrificing the juices to speed up the cooking time.
Best Smash Burger Recipe
If you’ve ever visited Smashburger, you know the classic smash burger is just amazing. I’m going to show you how to make it at home in this easy step-by-step recipe. If you know, you know… this burger is just amazing!
And, don’t tell anyone, but my secret burger sauce is even better than their smash sauce. Seriously! It’s out of this world.
I am obsessed with this juicy smash burger recipe. You have not tasted burger perfection until you try this recipe! Whether you make these burgers on a griddle pan or in a skillet, they’re guaranteed to be the best you’ve ever had.
Paired with my homemade burger seasoning and special burger sauce, it just doesn’t get any better than this. My family is constantly asking me if we can have these for lunch or dinner!
This is hands down the best burger I have ever made!
Matt on Pinterest
- Burger seasoning: salt, pepper, paprika, onion powder, garlic powder
- Burger special sauce: mayo, ketchup, spicy brown mustard, minced pickles, pickle
You can check out the step-by-step instructions on how to make the perfect burger seasoning.
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Mccormick Grill Mates Brown Sugar Bourbon Seasoning
McCormick Grill Mates Brown Sugar Bourbon seasoning is our top favorite from the entire McCormick collection.
The unique thing about this seasoning is that it lets you simultaneously add sweet brown sugar, molasses, red bell pepper, and bourbon flavors to the food. Thats why its so high in demand on Amazon.
Like most McCormick products, this one also has no MSG or artificial flavor. Thats probably why the brand has a reputation for being pro-supporters of non-monosodium glutamate salt and non-artificial flavored foods.
There is a significant difference between the other McCormicks seasoning and this oneit has molasses, evaporated cane syrup, and bourbon, which gives it a bit of a sweet taste.
Sprinkle this seasoning if you love to treat your tastebuds with umami flavors!
Pros
Franks Redhot original seasoning focuses on adding the perfect hot spicy flavor to your meals.
Your first question would probably be, whats new in it compared to other seasonings?
Its Cayenne pepper sauce! Yes, this ingredient sets this seasoning entirely apart from other seasonings. The real magic is done by its super corn taste that uplifts the overall flavor of the food.
Pros
Cons
How To Make A Butter Burger
Heres how to make a butter burger:
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The Best Ground Beef To Buy
taste of hometaste of home
You cant make a great grilled burger without tasty beef. Sure, you can dress-up ground beef with Worcestershire and garlic powder, but the seasonings arent the star of the burger: The beef is. So skip the bargain-bin and buy the best quality beef you can afford. That might be grass-fed beef if you prefer meatier, pastoral flavors, or grain-finished options if you like a sweeter, richer taste.
When it comes to fat content, youll also want to take a pass on lean offerings. The best-grilled burgers weve had are juicy and rich, and that comes from fat. Ground beef with 20 to 25% fat is just about perfect, so look for an 80/20 blend. More fat and the burger can fall apart. Less fat and the burger will turn out dry. If your butcher will grind beef to order, ask for a coarsely ground chuck roast, or a mixture of brisket and sirloin.
Hamburger Grill Time Chart
Make sure that you preheat your propane gas grill or indoor grill pan to “HIGH” heat, which should be a temperature of 450°F – 500°F. Here’s a handy time chart that I created to help you gauge the general cooking time for your perfect hamburger. Of course, these times are only estimates. The total time for grilling hamburgers varies depending on the temperature of the grill and the thickness of the patties.
Please note that the USDA recommends cooking ground meats to an internal temperature of 160°F, which is well-done without any pink in the center. If you prefer a more rare burger , consume at your own risk. And as always, an instant-read meat thermometer is the best way to know when your grilled hamburgers have reached your preferred temperature.
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