Slow Roasting Hamburgers

Steve-B

Didn't someone slow roast hamburgers recently? What were the details on this? WOW, I cannot remember anything today.[p]Steve-B

CampCook

Steve-B,
We always do burgers over slow heat. -- 200 to 250 and cook to 150 internal. Don't bother to flip em. Best burgers you will ever have. We started doing this on the offset prior to learning about BGE. They are even better on the BGE
Dave

Wise One

CampCook, how long do they take at that temp? for a medium? for well done?

CampCook

Wise One,
They take about 45 minutes for mediun and an hour for done. That is for dome temps near 200 to 215. They are easy to speed up or slow down. Personally, I prefer temps nearer 200.
Dave
BTW, They really soak the smoke in a good way. Good to experiment with the wine soaked oak and so on.

CampCook

Forgot to mention I use lean but not extra lean and go for about 1/2 punders. Also do both direct and indirect. I think indirect works well but there is no charring.........
Dave

Smokin Joe

CampCook,
M R some big burgers... LOL Joe

mollyshark

Steve-B,[p]Really interesting concept. I have NEVER thought of doing burgers low heat. I know they are supposed to be well-done, but I still need a tinge of flavor and much less 'done'. Can you achieve that with a 1 hr low heat cook?[p]DEFINITELY will try this.[p]mShark

Unknown

Steve-B, I taught my two sons how to cook burgers using the indirect and slow method of cooking burgers on the grill. They have won several Kid's Q contests using this method. (I hope Eric Brewer isn't reading this.....) Here is what I showed them.[p]First of all, get the fattest burger you can get, 70% lean. Fat is where the flavor is and the fat helps keep the meat together. Make BIG burgers as in half pound burgers into as flat of patty as you can make while manipulating the meat as little as possible. The more you work the meat, the tougher the burger gets. Once the patties are made, apply a liberal amount of rub to each side of the burger at least an hour before they are to be cooked.[p]Use the indirect method of cooking on the Egg that works best for you. Since I use a Weber for this, I place a row of coals on both sides of the kettle with the burgers down the middle of the cooking grate. The grate temperature runs anywhere from 275º-325ºF. You can turn these after at least 20 minutes cooking time. Depending on the size of the burgers and the cooking temperature, the burgers take between 30 to 40 minutes to cook to a minimal internal temperature of 160ºF degrees. Do not at any time use a spatula to flatten the burger out on the grill. All you are doing is squeezing the flavor and moisture out of the burger when you do this.[p]Because of the high fat content, the burgers will shrink in size quite a bit. That is why you want them flat as possible when they go on the grill as they will shrink in diameter and increase in thickness as they cook. [p]I don't let my kids do this in contests, but one thing I do at home, especially when the burger is leaner than I like is to add some good dark beer to the ground beef before I make patties. Don't use any light colored beer to burger as the beef will taste like beer. Use a good dark beer like Beck's Dark, St Pauli Girl Dark or Young's Chocolate Stout. Even Michelob's Amber Bock will do in a pinch, but don't use a light colored beer such as Budweiser or Miller Lite.[p]One other thing I will do from time to time when I make burgers is to add chopped bits of mushrooms, green/red peppers and yellow onions to the meat. These burgers are like mini meat loaves and taste pretty good. One other thing you can do when you go the route of the veggie burger is to mix ground pork in with the beef before making the patties. I use about a 2 to 1 ratio mix of beef to pork. I have found that adding some beer or water to the meat helps the ground meats mix easier. [p]This beef to pork mix works real good if you have ground venison to add to the mix. For my deer burgers (or even deer sausage), I use the 2:1 mix of beef to pork to add to an even amount or less of ground venison to make deer burgers that are cooked on the grill the same way as I cook my regular burgers. Most people that have had my deer burgers didn't know they were eating venison until I told them. I hope some of this helps and if you have any questions feel free to e-mail me or ask them here.[p]Lager,[p]Juggy

YB

Juggy D Beerman,
Thanks....That really sounds good.I will try your recipe this weekend.
Larry

Unknown

Yo Larry, One thing I forgot to mention is that these burgers won't have that fat in the fire taste that most people associate with burgers cooked on the grill. But after the latest cancer warning about meats cooked at higher temperatures over coals being a possible cause of cancer, maybe this is a good thing. :-)[p]If you do add beer into the mix, be aware that a little goes a long ways. A little less than an ounce of beer per pound of ground meat is usually more than enough.[p]Lager,[p]Juggy