Smoked Costco burgers last weekend and they were incredible

westernbbq

No picts as i was managing ten kids who just won a spring league flag football championship and they were swimming and having fun.  But, if anyone out there wants to try this it is awesome.  I used mesquite charcoal, no other flavoring wood and baked burgers on two levels on Large indirect at 300F for 45 mins or so.   Some charred up a little and as i was pulling em off, people were asking me why i would waste filet mignon this way....they said burgers were fantastic but one parent who was there said i shouldnt have wasted a filet tenderloin in such a way!   When i told him these were costco burgers he insisted on seeing the packaging....

So, indirect, charcoal, 300F, 45 mins to an hour yields one of the best burgers youll ever have....i had forgotten about this technique and how it yields awesome results.....every time.....put salt and pepper on the burgers and that was it.....

500

Sounds good.  

GoooDawgs

What kind of meat was it?  Did you grind it yourself? 

westernbbq

GoooDawgs said:

What kind of meat was it?  Did you grind it yourself? 

It was the pre formed patties that costco sells in packs of 12. The burgers have a hole in the center which is fine, the burgers are pretty thick, at least 1" and they are really tasty char smoked.

Gotta do indirect and i would recommemd against adding any wood for flavor.  RO, or pretty much any brand of lump should yield delicious results.....

tarheelmatt

I didn't come here to read.... 



Sounds good though.  

Killit_and_Grillit

tarheelmatt said:

I didn't come here to read.... 



Sounds good though.  

Words are hard. 

JohnnyTarheel

Killit_and_Grillit said:

tarheelmatt said:

I didn't come here to read.... 



Sounds good though.  

Words are hard. 

Pictures are results....

tenpenny_05

Before my first egg, i was part of the "blazing hot, flip once" crowd. But I really feel like raised direct is the way to go with burgers. Whether its 300 for a half hour or 400 for 15 minutes, you cant beat that red color ground beef pics up when cooked this way.

westernbbq

@tarheelmatt, @JohnnyTarheel, @Killit_and_Grillit, i messed up by not taking pictures.   But in my defense, trying to keep a bunch of 12 year old boys from climbing on the roof to do belly flops intonthe pool distracted me from providing photographic evidence.   Sheesh these kids are crazy these days.   The worst thing i did at that age was steal hood ornaments off of cars.....

Legume

westernbbq said:

@tarheelmatt, @JohnnyTarheel, @Killit_and_Grillit, i messed up by not taking pictures.   But in my defense, trying to keep a bunch of 12 year old boys from climbing on the roof to do belly flops intonthe pool distracted me from providing photographic evidence.   Sheesh these kids are crazy these days.   The worst thing i did at that age was steal hood ornaments off of cars.....

You can ignore Matt, he's a bit salty today. Underwear riding up a bit or chafing.

But seriously, wtf?  No pictures?  I can't tell if hot dog or not hot dog.

caliking

What's the upside of this method? The smoke flavor? What IT were the burgers when they came off the egg? Or does that not matter because the fat renders and keeps it tender and juicy?

Apologies for so many questions, but it's what you get for not posting pics of a mythical cook

Killit_and_Grillit

@westernbbq

1) I think I may give this a try for nights I have a qty. cook I don't want to spend all night working on. 

2) it can always be worse. When I was a kid my dad came home to find the neighbor kid and I moved his zip line over our pool and were testing it out as the insurance guy came by for an inspection. 

Boys...

westernbbq

caliking said:

What's the upside of this method? The smoke flavor? What IT were the burgers when they came off the egg? Or does that not matter because the fat renders and keeps it tender and juicy?

Apologies for so many questions, but it's what you get for not posting pics of a mythical cook

Hey fire away all the questions you want, ill do my best here,

Upside of this method is mostly the flavor.  These things come off succulent in taste, texture and dark red maroon appearance that makes your mouth water,  they look good, they feel good and they taste incredible.  The other thing i found is convenience,  no need to babysit them and while this isnt a searing type process, the burgers will develop a light bark on edges and if they are thick, they wont dry out.   But not having to babysit the cooking is great. This is also a time benefit as its similar to making a chicken.   Roughly an hour.  Not overly smoky but a temder juicy flavor that is great.  I didnt measure the IT but they looked medium to well done and they did not dry out.   The results really are tender juicy burgers that you dont have to watch 100 % of the cook time.   

@Killit_and_Grillit, if you make these for a party, they will be a hit.  I used to make them in the pitts and spitts barrell drum smoker and now thats gone so the bge is the best apparatus for this application.

I would advise against using anything for fuel and flavor beyond natural lump.  Ie dont use wood, i did this once and they were overly smoky.   Lump produces the best flavor without being overpowering....

Zip line?  LOVE IT!

BierMugg

Costco burgers by me are all frozen. Do you put them on the grill frozen ?

vegas slim

BierMugg said:

Costco burgers by me are all frozen. Do you put them on the grill frozen ?

if your costco has ground hamburger they should aslo have the ready made burgers

westernbbq

BierMugg said:

Costco burgers by me are all frozen. Do you put them on the grill frozen ?

I recommend thawing in fridge overnight, then putting em on indirect with a 300F or so heat, not too much higher but 250F at the lowest....and would season them up with salt amd pepper just before putting them on...season both sides


It is a metaphysical impossibility to screw this up by following these instrux