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Burger help

Kmooose
Kmooose Posts: 35
in EggHead Forum
Have had my BGE for a while now but have never done burgers. Having some ppl over so probably will be doing about 20 burgers and 15 hot dogs. Any suggestions on the best way to grill the burgers? Seems ppl have problems with them and flare ups. Any suggestions would be helpful!!
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Comments

  • jcaspary
    jcaspary Posts: 1,479
    Let them cook and keep the lid closed as much as possible. Turn only once.
    XL BGE, LG BGE, and a hunger to grill everything in sight!!!
    Joe- Strongsville, OH
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  • RRP
    RRP Posts: 26,453
    edited September 2014
    I prefer 350 direct for 4/4/2 with that last 2 to melt cheese, but even if no cheese wanted cook for the full 10 for medium. As many as you are doing you may have to move some around, but 10 minutes isn't that long to put down your adult beverage and pay attention! LOL BTW flare ups also are due to fat content of the burgers...I like 80/20, but some want them lean 90/10 or even 95/5 (yuck!) Edited to change "injuries" to minutes! Man I hate that auto correct thing!
    Re-gasketing the USA one yard at a time 
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  • EGGjlmh
    EGGjlmh Posts: 823
    Great advice from @RRP.  He mentions moving them around while they are cooking.  Something I like to do is use your grate gripper (I think that's what its called) and grab the center of the grate and rotate the grate 90 degrees about every 3 minutes or so.  That ensures they cook even, Good Luck!

    1MBGE 2006, 1LBGE 2010, 1 Mini Max, Fathers Day 2015

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  • Mattman3969
    Mattman3969 Posts: 10,458
    edited September 2014
    I do burgers at 350-375 direct. If you are using a store ground beef you will want to cook to 160. When I grind my own I will cook to about 140-145. I haven't noticed any major flare up when you keep the dome closed. Any that happen when you are flipping will go out quickly once you close the dome again. Like mentioned keep an eye out for hot spots and move burgers accordingly

    -----------------------------------------

    analyze adapt overcome

    2008 -Large BGE. 2013- Small BGE and 2015 - Mini. Henderson, Ky.
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  • Terrebandit
    Terrebandit Posts: 1,750
    RRP said:
    I prefer 350 direct for 4/4/2 with that last 2 to melt cheese, but even if no cheese wanted cook for the full 10 for medium. As many as you are doing you may have to move some around, but 10 minutes isn't that long to put down your adult beverage and pay attention! LOL BTW flare ups also are due to fat content of the burgers...I like 80/20, but some want them lean 90/10 or even 95/5 (yuck!) Edited to change "injuries" to minutes! Man I hate that auto correct thing!

    @RRP‌ how much do your patties weigh and how think are they?? That would certainly make a difference.
    Dave - Austin, TX
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  • Zarcon
    Zarcon Posts: 540
    I did burgers at 350ish, direct, flipped around the 5 minute mark. I also suggest moving them around since some hamburgers may start to cook faster than others. Also, as everyone else stated, keep the lid closed.

    FWIW- I had not problems with flare-ups.
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  • RRP
    RRP Posts: 26,453
    edited September 2014
    image


    @RRP‌ how much do your patties weigh and how think are they?? That would certainly make a difference.
    Mine weight 1/3 pound and raw they are 1" thick. I buy a big tube of ground 80/20 chuck from SAMS, put it in the freezer for say 90 minutes and then slice off my burgers.Then place them on a cookie sheet to freeze over night. Then I Food Saver the frozen patties until needed!
    image
    Re-gasketing the USA one yard at a time 
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  • stemc33
    stemc33 Posts: 3,567
    It's probably too late, but I like to go raised direct at 400°. 80/20 .
    Steven
    Mini Max with Woo stone combo, LBGE, iGrill 2, Plate Setter, 
    two cotton pot holders to handle PS
    Banner, Wyoming
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  • RRP
    RRP Posts: 26,453
    edited September 2014
    this editing feature is bass ackwards!
    image
    Re-gasketing the USA one yard at a time 
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  • apfroggy0408
    apfroggy0408 Posts: 99
    RRP said:
    image


    @RRP‌ how much do your patties weigh and how think are they?? That would certainly make a difference.
    Mine weight 1/3 pound and raw they are 1" thick. I buy a big tube of ground 80/20 chuck from SAMS, put it in the freezer for say 90 minutes and then slice off my burgers.Then place them on a cookie sheet to freeze over night. Then I Food Saver the frozen patties until needed!
    image

    oh em gee! brilliant!
    A zen powerlifter with a medium BGE.

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  • Ragtop99
    Ragtop99 Posts: 1,570
    Don't overload the egg. Do them in small batches. It's hard to get uniform heat on a charcoal grill, so I like having space to move them around and cook over the hotter parts of the grill. I like cooking at higher temps. At least 400 direct or 450+ raised direct. That gives a little bit of sear and the cooking time drops to about 3 minutes a side. Raised direct makes it easier to deal with flare-up. Do the dogs first. You can do them all at once and quickly feed the kids/ starving guests. The egg will also heat up over time from the burgers.
    Cooking on an XL and Medium in Bethesda, MD.
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  • Ladeback69
    Ladeback69 Posts: 4,484
    Ragtop99 said:
    Don't overload the egg. Do them in small batches. It's hard to get uniform heat on a charcoal grill, so I like having space to move them around and cook over the hotter parts of the grill. I like cooking at higher temps. At least 400 direct or 450+ raised direct. That gives a little bit of sear and the cooking time drops to about 3 minutes a side. Raised direct makes it easier to deal with flare-up. Do the dogs first. You can do them all at once and quickly feed the kids/ starving guests. The egg will also heat up over time from the burgers.

    I guess I'm kind of late on this one, but I agree on cooking the hotdogs first to feed kids. Now what those because they cook fast. I like what @EGGjlmh‌ said about using the grate gripper to move them all around without moving them indvidualy. I also found out you will have a lot of smoke from the fat and make sure you are up wind of the smoke. Your eyes will thank you, I learned this the hard way. I have an XL and have done close to 20 1/3 pound burgers at one time. I like 350-400 on the regular grate, but may have to try raised next time.
    XL, WSM, Coleman Road Trip Gas Grill

    Kansas City, Mo.
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  • jlsm
    jlsm Posts: 1,012
    I like to cook them even higher, at 500 to 550. I heat a CI grill for at least 10 minutes before putting the burgers on. My burgers are a third of a pound. I put them on for 2.5 minutes, flip them and cook another 2.5 minutes. I then start taking them off; occasionally, I will leave a few on for another minute or two if they don't feel done. 

    I get crusty burgers cooked medium with this method each time. 

    To avoid flare-ups, get in and get out fast while flipping. I use a second spatula positioned at the far side of the burger to stabilize it as I flip. 
    *******
    Owner of a large and a beloved mini in Philadelphia
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  • Phatchris
    Phatchris Posts: 1,726
    edited September 2014
    What @jlsm‌ saidimage
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  • Phatchris
    Phatchris Posts: 1,726
    image
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  • CarolinaCrazy
    CarolinaCrazy Posts: 585
    EGGjlmh said:
    Something I like to do is use your grate gripper (I think that's what its called) and grab the center of the grate and rotate the grate 90 degrees about every 3 minutes or so.  That ensures they cook even, Good Luck!
    @eggjlmh  - That is genius. Why I never thought of that for rotating them around the fire??? DUH!

    Thanks for the new trick!


    1 LBGE in Chapel Hill, NC
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  • EGGjlmh
    EGGjlmh Posts: 823
    CarolinaCrazy said:
    EGGjlmh said:
    Something I like to do is use your grate gripper (I think that's what its called) and grab the center of the grate and rotate the grate 90 degrees about every 3 minutes or so.  That ensures they cook even, Good Luck!
    @eggjlmh  - That is genius. Why I never thought of that for rotating them around the fire??? DUH!

    Thanks for the new trick!



    You are quite welcome even though I cannot take credit.  I read it here several years ago for cooking wings.  It comes in handy for wings, burgers, or really anything.

    1MBGE 2006, 1LBGE 2010, 1 Mini Max, Fathers Day 2015

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