Perfect Grilled Burger Recipe

A perfect grilled burger recipe doesn’t even exsis……. oh wait it does, and you found it!!! This is the juiciest and most flavorful hamburger recipe! Using all the tips and tricks in this recipe you will end up with perfectly grilled burgers. It is the recipe you will use again and again on your grill, all summer long.

Thick or thin, full size or slider size, when you make homemade hamburgers you can choose YOUR perfect burger! Use all the toppings you love and cook it to medium rare or well done… it’s your choice!

We LOVE a good burger on the grill here at Mom’s Dinner! If you do a lot of grilling then check out this Amazing Grilled Pork Burger and Juicy Turkey Burger.

Ingredient Tips

Pictured are the ingredients you need to make delicious homemade burger patties, plus some tips on a few ingredients:

Ground Beef: I definitely recommend using an 80/20 lean ground beef or ground chuck for your hamburgers. The 20% fat content is just the right amount to keep your grilled burgers super flavorful and juicy.

Ground chuck is definitely preferred if you can get it at your store.

I also recommend buying your ground beef from the meat counter if you can, where it is fresh ground. Avoid the square “bricks” of ground beef. They can tend to have a funny texture. All-in-all buy the best quality ground beef you can to ensure the very best burgers.

Now if you are interested in grinding your own meat, this is a great video that recommends a mix of chuck and sirloin for max flavor.

Bread: white or wheat bread will work here, however I would stay away from a very seedy or grainy bread. You are using the bread and milk to make a panade, which will help keep your hamburger patties nice and juicy even if you cook them well done.

If your bread has a thin crust you don’t need to remove that. But if it is a thicker crust like a ciabatta or sourdough remove and discard (or eat) that portion.

Kosher Salt: this is not the same thing as table salt or iodized. It has a larger crystal and a less salty and chemical-like flavor. I recommend exclusively using kosher salt in your kitchen. We like Diamond Crystal Brand.

Panade

A panade is a mix of a starch, usually bread, bread crumbs or crackers, and a liquid, usually stock, water or milk, to keep a ground meat recipe moist. We do just that in this recipe to keep this grilled burger recipe nice and juicy.

I also use a panade in most meatball and meatloaf recipes!

How To Make The Best Burgers

You are going to start by making a nicely flavored panade in a large bowl. Add the torn or cut bread pieces, milk, kosher salt, onion powder , black pepper, minced fresh garlic, Worcestershire sauce and Dijon Mustard.

Mash that all together until it forms a smooth paste, this is your panade.

Now add the ground beef to the bread mixture. With clean hands or a fork mix until everything is combined. You do not want to overwork your patty mixture or you will end up with tougher meatball-like burgers.

Divide the mixture into 5-6 equal potions. This will be five ⅓ pound burgers or six ¼ pound burgers.

To form the patties I like to roll the meat into a look meatball shape and then press to flatten. You can also shape them in the palm of your hand.

Form each burger patty about ½-1 inch larger than your buns. This allows for some shrinkage on the grill. Then your burgers will fit perfectly in your buns.

Pro Tip: using your thumb or a small spoon make an indention in the center of each patty. That will prevent your hamburgers from completely shrinking into little hockey pucks on the grill.

You can grill your burgers right away or pop them in the fridge, covered, for a day or two.

If you choose to refrigerate the raw patties then place them on a baking sheet covered with plastic wrap. OR you can stack the patties with a little square of parchment paper between the patties so they don’t stick together, cover and refrigerate.

Freezing

You can freeze these raw burger patties for up to 3 months!

Simply form the patties and freeze them on a plate or baking sheet for about 6-8 hours. Once they are frozen transfer to a freezer safe container or baggie.

Thaw in the fridge overnight before grilling!

Grilling Hamburgers

When using a charcoal grill make sure the grill grates are nice and hot. Place the hamburgers over direct heat, covered, for 3-4 minutes per side for a medium well.

On a gas grill set the temp to 375-400, medium/high heat. Grill over direct heat for 3-4 minutes per side, covered.

The direct heat will put a beautiful char on the outside of the meat, which is nothing but FLAVOR!

To add cheese on charcoal or gas move the burgers to indirect heat and place a slice of cheese on top of each burger, cover and let melt for about 1 minutes.

Remove from the grill and let rest at room temp for about 5 minutes before serving.

If you want an even more in depth resource on the actual grilling of hamburgers, this article from Smoked BBQ Source is amazing!

Cooking Temperatures

Everyone likes their burgers at different temperatures! The very best way to check the internal temperature of your burgers is by using an instant read thermometer. “Instant Read” is important on the grill because you don’t want to hold your hand above the HOT grill for an extended amount of time.

The best Instant Read Thermometer on the market, even recommended by America’s Test Kitchen, is the Thermoworks Thermapen. It reads the internal temp in 1 second, that’s fast!

By USDA standards any ground beef dish under 160 degrees Fahrenheit is considered unsafe. But for your guidelines, here are the temps from rare to well done:

• Well Done: 160°F to 165°F – This will be cooked through to the center. It is the recommended temperature if you use store bought ground beef.
• Medium Well: 150°F to 155°F – This burger will have a small amount of pink in the center.
• Medium: 140°F to 145°F – Slight pink throughout the inside of the burger. 
• Medium Rare: 130°F to 135°F – If proper precautions are taken, and you are making your own ground meat, you can cook and eat at this temperature. 
• Rare: 120°F to 125°F – It is recommended that you never cook and eat a burger at this temperature for safety reasons.

Hamburger Buns

If you like a grilled bun go ahead and do that before you grill the hamburgers.

Spread a little butter on each bun and place over indirect heat on the grill grates for just 1 minute or so. Don’t walk away, they can go from golden to burned very quickly.

The grilled bun will help reduce the chance of having soggy buns when you add all your toppings and condiments.

We like to serve our hamburgers on brioche buns or sesame buns. A potato bun will also work if you have heartier hamburgers and toppings.

My very best advice when choosing buns is to look for a bun that will not overwhelm the size of your burger. You do not want to have more bun than burger!

Grilled Hamburger Toppings

Obviously when it comes to burger toppings you can choose whatever you like! When I think of a classic burger it is topped with cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion, pickle, ketchup and mustard. But here are a few more options for delicious burger toppings!

BBQ Burger

• BBQ sauce and mayo mixed together
• pickled jalapenos
• American or cheddar cheese
• French fried onions

Bacon Jam

• Bacon Jam
• Boursin Cheese
• mayo
• lettuce
• tomato

California Burger

• Provolone Cheese
• Pesto mixed with mayo
• Avocado
• Tomato
• Onion
• Lettuce

Goat Cheese Lovers

• Caramelized Onions
• Sauteed Mushrooms
• Goat Cheese

Asian Flavors

• Sambal Aioli
• Kimchi or Cilantro Lime Coleslaw

Amazing Side Dishes

Nothing better than a summer grill out with all the delicious side dishes and a cold beer or glass of lemonade. When you are planning a BBQ here are some great side dishes to prepare and serve with this grilled burger recipe:

• Potato Salad
• Instant Pot Corn on the Cob
• Fresh Creamed Corn
• Cilantro Lime Coleslaw
• Easy Pasta Salad
• Broccoli Bacon Salad

Grilled Burger Recipe Tips TL;DR

(Too Long ; Didn’t Read) …. Follow these final tips to make sure you end up with the best burgers on the block:

• Start with the very best ground chuck that is 80/20 lean beef.
• Mix the panade before adding the beef.
• Do not overwork the beef.
• Form your patties about ½-1 inch larger than the bun, it will shrink to fit your bun perfectly.
• Make an indention in the center of each patty with a spoon or your thumb, this prevents your burgers from shrinking into little hockey pucks on the grill
• Grill your burgers over direct heat, covered, for 3-4 minutes per side.
• Do not “smash” or press your burgers on the grill, you want all that juice IN your burger.
• Move to indirect heat for 1 minute to melt cheese.
• Choose a bun that is appropriate for your burger size and will not be “more bun than burger”.

More Burger Recipes!

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