Memorial Day Burgers, Dogs, Corn

FlaMike

Thought we'd keep it simple yesterday. Ran out of homemade patties, so I used Costco's 1/2 lb chuck burgers. Pretty good, unless they get a bit overdone.... then pretty dry. All was done direct, raised @ 250° dome. Flipped at 20 mi, pulled at 40 min. The Nathan's dogs were left on and finished at 500° to get some char.
The corn had DP pinapple head ( fantastic stuff). All in all, a pretty good meal.


About 5 min in for the burgers & corn. Used Cherry and Hickory for smoke.


burgers and corn done. Dogs left to char a bit.

Mud Pig

Looks like a nice good old American backyard BBQ to me. You know say what you will about frozen patties, but man it brings back good old memories of my Dad.

Bubba burgers from BJs or Costco are good stuff.

Theophan

Wow -- those looked GREAT!

I'm still new with the Egg, have only cooked burgers twice, once at around 600, once around 400, and this is the first I've ever heard of cooking burgers at 250! I would have thought they'd be "baked" rather than "grilled," but your pictures look GREAT!

What can you tell me about cooking burgers at 250 compared to higher temperatures? Did you only do that so you could cook them with the corn, or do you always cook burgers at 250? Do they taste any different? Are they more or less juicy?

Thanks!

Theophan

FlaMike

I usually cook them at 250 so they have plenty of time to absorb the smoky flavor that we love. Higher temps and faster cooks don't seem to allow for that. There may be less char crust with a slow cook, but under the bun, tomato, onion, lettuce..... I really don't miss that so much. Just as juicy, but easy to overcook if not paying attention. I always use 1/2 lb of meat, use a hamburger press for a uniform patty, and flip at 20 min. Done at 40 min total. That's for pinky medium. Haven't been disappointed in 5 yrs.

FlaMike

I like the onion bubba burgers also, but these costco 1/2 pounders are better. I usually make the patties myself with ground chuck, and add wooster, and seasonings and vacu-freeze them. I thought I had some in the freezer, but all gone. Thanks for the kind words.

Theophan

Well, you've convinced me to try it. I think I'm going to have to try at least a couple more "experiments," at least, on my way to deciding how I want to cook burgers in the future, one of which will be cooking at 250. Even though I've always preferred higher-fat burger for juiciness, I think I may also try a leaner burger again, at least once, just to see what they're like in the Egg. I like the fat IN the burger, but I'm not so crazy about how much of it drips down into the fire and fills the egg with smoke from burned fat.

Many thanks for the very helpful information!

Theophan

FlaMike

Don't forget to use a raised grid when doing the 250 thing. Gets the meat a little further from the heat. I never had a problem with them flaming up either, and I almost always use 80/20 ground chuck. Good luck, and let us all know how it turns out for you.