Grilled Burgers

Tammy
Jun 2
4 min read

Updated: Aug 7

An American Classic

"Grilling season is upon us, and this year it's time to master the art of America’s summertime grilling favorite—the hamburger."

The Ultimate Weeknight Burger: Easy, Flavorful, and Crowd-Pleasing 🍔🔥

Let’s be honest—everyone wants that burger. The one that’s easy enough to whip up after a long day, flavorful enough for the person who piles on every condiment in the fridge, and still satisfying for the “just ketchup, please” minimalist. Basically, the burger that checks all the boxes.

In our house, we’re big fans of cooking burgers indoors, searing them on a hot, slick cast iron skillet (highly recommend!) or an indoor grill. But when that smoky, chargrilled flavor calls your name? Nothing beats a good old-fashioned grill. Charcoal is king when it comes to depth of flavor, but a gas grill can still get the job done beautifully.

Now, a little word of advice from the grill-side: don’t smash your burgers with the spatula while they cook! As tempting as it is, pressing down only forces out all those flavorful juices and fats—sending them straight into the fire and leaving your burger dry and flat. Instead, let the heat do the work. 🔥

If the grill’s running too hot, just move the patties to the cooler side for a little breather. And don’t forget—closing the lid helps melt the cheese faster, if that’s your thing.

Speaking of... cheese or no cheese? That’s a hot debate in our house. 😄 What’s your burger style?

Grilled Burgers

Servings – 6 Prep Time – 10 Min

Cook Time – 8 Min

Ingredients:

2 pounds (32 ounces) 80/20 ground beef, cold
2 cloves garlic, minced finely
2 tablespoons onion, minced
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 3/4 teaspoons freshly ground pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
6 hamburger buns
Butter for buns

Directions:

Put the cold ground beef in mixing bowl. Add in onion, garlic, Worcestershire sauce, pepper, and salt. Fold the meat over a few times to get everything incorporated. This entire process should only take about 30 to 45 seconds. Don’t over handle the meat.

Rather than forming the patties in your hand, form them on a tray. This makes it easier to shape the patties without over-handling or warming the meat. I prefer to use a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper, but any tray or platter will do.

On the tray, divide the meat into 6 equal parts (about 5 1/4 ounces each). Gently form each portion into a patty that is 4-inches across with 1-inch sides and create a shallow depression in the middle. You want the outer 1/2 inch of the patty to be slightly taller than the inside. This keeps the patty from shrinking too much and from puffing up in the center during grilling. This helps cook the burger evenly and it will create an even level.

Cover the patties with plastic wrap and transfer to the fridge while you heat up your grill and butter your buns. 🙃

Heat a gas or charcoal grill to 450 to 500°, or hot enough that you can only hold your hand above the grill grates for about 1 second.

Butter the insides of all the buns and set them aside; near the grill.

Place patties on the grill over direct heat. Cook to your desired doneness:

For rare burgers, cook for 4 minutes total (125°F)

For medium-rare burgers, cook for 5 minutes total (135°F)

For medium burgers, cook for 6 to 7 minutes total (145°F)

For well-done burgers, cook for 8 to 9 minutes total (160°F)

Flip the burgers only once during cooking. Do not press down on the patties at any time.

When you have about 1 minute left on the cooking time, add the cheese to the burgers and the buttered buns to the grill over indirect heat.

Remove burgers and buns from grill and transfer to a clean platter. Let the burgers rest for 1 minute before serving.

Serve with mayonnaise, blue cheese sauce, sautéed mushrooms, Thousand Island, or the classic and always wonderful lettuce, tomato, pickles, and red onion!

Notes:

This recipe will make 6 burgers that are 1/3 pound each. The patties should be 4 inches across and 1 inch thick at the edges before cooking.

In general, follow these total grilling times:

For rare burgers, cook for 4 minutes total (125°F)
For medium-rare burgers, cook for 5 minutes total (135°F)
For medium burgers, cook for 6 to 7 minutes total (145°F)
For well-done burgers, cook for 8 to 9 minutes total (160 °F)

With that said, ultimately, the time it takes for a hamburger to reach a certain temperature depends on how hot your grill is and how thick your patty is.

In my experiences, my 1-inch thick, 4-inch diameter patties were medium done at 5 minutes total (2 1/2 minutes on each side), and well done at 6 minutes total (3 minutes on each side). So it will all depend on your liking of grilled burgers.

Nutrition:

This website is the project of an unpaid hobby, fully maintained and supported by CWT. There are NO paid affiliations, professional photographers, nutritionists or paid product reviews associated. CWT is not a certified artist, dietician or nutritionist. Any nutritional information shared on this site is an estimate counted through measurements and package nutritional information used in each recipe at that given time. If calorie, macro counting and other nutritional values are important to you and your health, CWT recommends running the ingredients through your choice of nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories can and will vary depending on national brands used per recipe. Anything created by using CWT's recipes, or tutorials is fully the readers responsibility. CWT is not responsible or will be held liable for the outcome of the readers completed project or recipe(s).