Opinion: Burger Temp

briwald

In your grill master opinion, what is the best temperature to cook burgers? 

lousubcap

Are you asking the best temp at which to cook burgers or the best temp to declare victory and pull burgers? 

briwald

lousubcap said:

Are you asking the best temp at which to cook burgers or the best temp to declare victory and pull burgers? 

Cook temp.  I know what temp I want them to be when I pull them. 

Florida Grillin Girl

400 degrees

fishlessman

Toss the thermapens. Cook til the liquid rises to the top, flip until the liquid rises again

Grogu

Interested in others answers on this one as well. I’ve been experimenting around anywhere from raised as low as 375 to grate at the lower position at 600 and all sorts of in between. I’m not sure I’ve come to a conclusion yet though. I’ve found lower temp doesn’t require as big of a fire, so there’s a bit more potential for hot spot vs cold spots which can be a challenge if cooking a bunch and wanting to use more of the real estate. Running higher temp seems easier to get a consistent heat across the coals, but flipping a bunch of fatty burgers down in the belly of the egg at 600 has its own unique challenges.

ksmyrl

Weeknight...400+ top less direct. Till Medium

Weekend....400+ indirect to allow for more beverage tasting. 

But I've found when cooking more than a few burgers I pull them about 10 degrees shy. Put em on a pan. Cheese em. And put in a warm oven to melt the cheese. Way easier, all done at same time, and allows for another adult beverage. 

We almost exclusively use pimento cheese around these parts so by the time I've cheesed the 10th burger the first one is over done if left on the grill

Ozzie_Isaac

Smash burgers only in this house.  Screamin' hot flattop/cast iron/plancha/etc and smash those babies thin.

A particularly tasty audible to standard smash burger:

Thin slice a bunch of onions, put them on the flattop in a pile, set your 2oz meatball on top and smash that baby, let it cook for a bit ~1.5 minutes.  Then flip, add cheese if you are feeling froggy, cook for another 45 seconds to a minute. Remove and serve!

kl8ton

Ozzie_Isaac said:

Smash burgers only in this house.  Screamin' hot flattop/cast iron/plancha/etc and smash those babies thin.

A particularly tasty audible to standard smash burger:

Thin slice a bunch of onions, put them on the flattop in a pile, set your 2oz meatball on top and smash that baby, let it cook for a bit ~1.5 minutes.  Then flip, add cheese if you are feeling froggy, cook for another 45 seconds to a minute. Remove and serve!

Sounds crusty and delicious!

Grogu

Ozzie_Isaac said:

Smash burgers only in this house.  Screamin' hot flattop/cast iron/plancha/etc and smash those babies thin.

A particularly tasty audible to standard smash burger:

Thin slice a bunch of onions, put them on the flattop in a pile, set your 2oz meatball on top and smash that baby, let it cook for a bit ~1.5 minutes.  Then flip, add cheese if you are feeling froggy, cook for another 45 seconds to a minute. Remove and serve!

Adding this to my list of experiments to try!

YukonRon

By the time I put all the other stuff on it, taste has been minimized.

bbracey21

450°

Jstroke

I am lazy. Second use charcoal, no VOC’s.—-I light my egg with a weed burner, put on burgers, then wide open, race to finish. I get good sear and rare centers. 

buzd504

Ozzie_Isaac said:

Smash burgers only in this house.  Screamin' hot flattop/cast iron/plancha/etc and smash those babies thin.

A particularly tasty audible to standard smash burger:

Thin slice a bunch of onions, put them on the flattop in a pile, set your 2oz meatball on top and smash that baby, let it cook for a bit ~1.5 minutes.  Then flip, add cheese if you are feeling froggy, cook for another 45 seconds to a minute. Remove and serve!

Oklahoma style!

dmourati

400-450F for me. I use a pizza steel. I think if the temps gets too low, you lose some of the crust you want on a smashburger.

Here's one batch.

kl8ton

dmourati said:

400-450F for me. I use a pizza steel. I think if the temps gets too low, you lose some of the crust you want on a smashburger.

Here's one batch.

You best be putting watermarks on those pics - Raichlen be on the prowl.

Botch

dmourati said:
Here's one batch.

I just noticed that you live in Mountain View.  When I was a Lieutenant I did a bunch of TDYs to the Lockheed-Martin plant (in Sunnyvale), just SE of Moffett Field , where they had a couple of hangars for dirigibles.  Also fell in love with a small Irish pub in downtown Mountain View.  
All that was, what, 39 years ago?  I had to pull up a Googlez Map to re-familiarize myself; thanks for the memory!  

Teefus

Heresy I know, but I never cook burgers on my Egg. When it's burger time, the Weber kettle gets the nod. There was a time I believed the grille should mimic the surface of the sun. Those days are passed, as patties with charred exteriors and raw interiors got old quick. I like a bed of Kingsford Mesquite that is fully involved and coated white. I spread them so the heat is medium high and even. I create a safe zone to one side. Patties spend enough time to develop a nice crust prior to flipping. When they just start to sweat on top it's time to flip. If they're extra thick I'll pull them off to the side and let them bake a bit with the dome closed. I let them rest just like you would a steak. Always a juicy medium to medium rare. Never not tasty.

Mark_B_Good

Medium rare ... take off. By the time you eat, they're medium rare to medium, still lots of juice in them.

caliking

I'm sure some of you are waiting to pull the pin on the American cheese vs. others debate grenade, so I'll just make it easy for y'all... one slice each of American + sharp cheddar  is perfection.

Corv

Assuming the contact surface of the bun is toasted, I like to lay a slice of cheese on it. It'll partially melt. Naturally, the burger gets a slice on top. The result, if you like cheese, is delicious, with cheese on both side of the burger and both melted.

buzd504

I like shredded medium (for burgers - also a fan of sharp for other purposes) cheddar - I think it melts better, and I like to scrape up the crusty bits from the iron skillet.

ksmyrl

Pimento Cheese almost exclusively here. With jalapenos...even better.

Mark_B_Good

Cracker Barrel Medium Cheddar Cheese PLEASE.

kl8ton

caliking said:

I'm sure some of you are waiting to pull the pin on the American cheese vs. others debate grenade, so I'll just make it easy for y'all... one slice each of American + sharp cheddar  is perfection.

Have you even heard of pepper jack?!?!  

WeberWho

kl8ton said:

caliking said:

I'm sure some of you are waiting to pull the pin on the American cheese vs. others debate grenade, so I'll just make it easy for y'all... one slice each of American + sharp cheddar  is perfection.

Have you even heard of pepper jack?!?!  

In the burger patty of course 

caliking

kl8ton said:

caliking said:

I'm sure some of you are waiting to pull the pin on the American cheese vs. others debate grenade, so I'll just make it easy for y'all... one slice each of American + sharp cheddar  is perfection.

Have you even heard of pepper jack?!?!  

yes, I have. But what's your point? The Jack part of the cheese doesn't really add any flavor, and there are way better options for adding chile/pepper flavor to the burg.

caliking

ksmyrl said:

Pimento Cheese almost exclusively here. With jalapenos...even better.

Pimento is very good. Not my top fave, but a very close second on this side. 

Grogu

If mushrooms might end up on the burger I feel that Swiss has to enter the conversation here…

Dobie

500 degrees direct, the rest is up to you. 

caliking

Grogu said:

If mushrooms might end up on the burger I feel that Swiss has to enter the conversation here…

As caliprince would say... "Aw, c'mon!!"

 Swiss serves well as an adhesive, to stick the shrooms to the whole bidness. But, not adding much in terms of flavor. Swiss hits different in a cold sammich, though.