The Secret to Grilling Burgers That Are Always Tender and Juicy (2024)

FAQs

The Secret to Grilling Burgers That Are Always Tender and Juicy? ›

Secret Ingredients – My secret to juicy burgers is mixing olive oil and Worcestershire sauce into the meat prior to cooking! This locks in the moisture and amps up the flavor. Try it and taste the difference. Seasonings – I keep it simple with sea salt, black pepper, and a little garlic powder.

Fattier Is Better. Choosing a fattier ground meat option helps keep patties tender as well: 85 percent lean ground beef is our favorite for tender, juicy burgers. Leaner ground beef is more likely to turn leathery and tough.

Make sure you have enough fat in your burger blend

The high heat cooking needs fat to melt into your burger or you will end up with dry, rubbery, bland burgers every time. Your basic ratio should always include 20% fat.

Try using some 80/20 or 85/10 ground beef. I thoroughly mash together the meat after adding the sauce and seasonings and then create the patty by flattening and then throwing the patty from hand to hand with some force. The result is a nice juicy tightly packed burger.

Cook the burgers in a cast iron pan with butter and a splash of Worcestershire sauce until golden brown and slightly charred on the first side. Flip the burgers, add more butter, splash more Worcestershire, and cook the burgers until golden brown and very slightly charred on the second side.

The fridge time will help the burger cook more evenly and trap the juices inside. Before cooking, you should preheat the grill. While that's happening, brush the burgers with a high-heat oil. Oils like grapeseed oil or vegetable oil can withstand higher temperatures before burning than butter or olive oil.

Baking soda acts as a tenderizer for ground beef, keeps it moist during cooking, and encourages deep browning by raising the acidity level of the surface of the meat. Simply add 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda to 1 pound of ground beef for more tender meat with better browning.

You should grill with the lid open when you're cooking quickly at high temperatures. This applies to your typical grill fare - beef burgers, brats, frankfurters, chicken legs, or vegetarian alternatives like halloumi, grilled asparagus, or vegetable kebabs.

Mixing salt, pepper and any other seasonings right into your ground beef is one way to season them. This method has the advantage of distributing the flavors throughout the meat, and it's the only realistic way to get add-ins like minced onion or herbs into the mix.

Baking soda! Add a slurry of 1/4 teaspoon of baking powder and a little water to a pound of lean ground beef and let it sit for a while. This will help the beef retain moisture. You only need a little baking soda.

Do you mix egg with ground beef for burgers? ›

Instructions for How to Make Ground Beef Patties for burgers: In a mixing bowl, combine the ground beef, 1 egg, and a generous amount of salt and pepper to season (half tsp each). Egg is a burger binding agent for the ground beef patty. Divide the well mixed beef into four equal round balls and form into patties.

PRO TIP: By starting burgers while the grill is preheating, it helps prevent flare-ups. and grills burger slowly. Once grill reaches temperature, the turned patty will begin to char and remain juicy. Flame flare-ups will possibly occur if you use a 75/25 ground chuck or place patty on a high-temperature grill.

Cook 2 minutes per side for rare, 3 for medium-rare, 4 for medium and 5 for well-done. 2. Don't Press Burgers While Cooking: This is a common mistake in grilling burgers. The juice that seeps out holds most of the flavor and moisture — let your burgers hold on to it!

Even if you were to cook a burger on a surface more conducive to browning (like a cast iron), pushing it down with a spatula does more harm than good. Pressing the patties pushes out all of the natural juices collecting in the center of the burger. And no amount of secret sauce is enough to recoup the lost moisture.