How do I cook a good burger?

[ryesac]

Just got my Bull built and did the initial burn last night. I dont have a ton of time after work today so I wanted to just cook something "quick" like a burger. I have seen a ton of posts (mainly on Reddit) about how burgers dont come out great (dry) on their Rec Tecs and I would like to avoid this if possible. I do not have the Searing Kit (yet) but I have a feeling it is not required for a decent burger. This is the first grill I have ever owned and really this will be the first time I ever grill a meal in my life, so it would be nice to not screw it up. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

[au4stree]

Start with good meat, 80lean/20fat. I always go with ground chuck, but if you're so inclined, grinding your meat is best (from what i hear). I do not mix anything into the meat, just season with salt/pepper on the outside. Just cook until done and don't constantly move the meat, let it cook, they'll be fine. I only flip them once.

[smokin fool]

My way of doing burgers too.
Another thing I've learned is if your making you own patties tear off a junk and form your patty don't knead it and mash it into a patty.
To many cooks play with the meat for too long.
I may give it a shake of onion or garlic powder too.

[Huskee]

My preferred way is hot & fast at first (front sear). I don't smoke them, and I have learned that I don't even prefer reverse sear with burgers. I front sear, over the coals until the sear looks good on both sides, flip once or 5 times until the sear looks good to you. Never press them. Then remove them to the indirect side to finish up slowly, put therm probes in if you have the leave-ins. Take them no higher than 155, since some carryover will bring them up toward 160, but even at 155 they're safe since they come up slow enough to pasteurize at that temp. Put cheese on when they're near 155. Give just enough time for it to melt (2mins maybe). Use 80/20, nothing leaner, and they will be juicy! With a pellet cooker, I'd suggest go HOT then drop the temp to slightly less hot.

[Rod]

My first pellet grill was a Traeger and I followed one of their recipes (which is no longer on their recipe list). It was basically cook at 225 until done. I remember they turned out fantastic. However, it took about 2 hrs for 1/2lb burgers. The good thing is there was some real good smoke flavor and they didn't shrink up into a ball. Haven't done them like that in years as I now prefer smash burgers.

You also should know that high heat cooking in a pellet grill will not produce much smoke flavor. This can be remedied with a smoke tube.

[jfmorris]

Paging Potkettleblack - he has mentioned more than once that he has perfected the art of the "no flip no sear" burger on his Grilla pellet smoker. Any advice he has to offer should help ryesac out for his burger after work today.

While we wait to hear from him, if I had to guess, I would just set the temp on the Rectec Bull to 350F, go make my burger patties, season them with salt and pepper, then put on the preheated grill, and cook until they reach 160F internal temperature. You won't have the surface browning or crust you would get if searing on a gas or charcoal grill, or the sear kit for your Rectec (Grillgrates), but it should turn out a good burger in about 10 to 20 minutes at those temperatures.

Just be aware that a pellet smoker works like an oven. You really do need to follow that old adage "if you're looking, you're not cooking", as it is essentially a wood fired convection oven. The lid needs to be closed to keep the heat in, as you don't have direct radiant heat to cook your food as you would over charcoal, or gas.

[bardsleyque]

Am I crazy cause I like burgers med rare(130)?

[jfmorris]

Yes you are living dangerously bardsleyque unless you pasteurize the meat through sous vide or another method long enough to kill microbes. It is simply unsafe to eat any ground meat, even if you grind it yourself, without cooking to "safe" food temps. A medium rare steak is fine, as the surface sear kills the microbes. A medium rare burger is not, as those microbes got ground up into the meat, and are in the center of the burger now.

[bardsleyque]

dangerous it is then!

[CaptainMike]

All of the above is great advice. Here's what I do when using the pellet pooper, feel free to improvise as you see fit: 80/20 ground chuck, 6 - 8 oz burgers, smoke in PP at 250 until internal meat temp is 140, remove to wire rack and blot with paper towels, get a heavy pan (cast iron preferred) screaming hot (450 +), lightly oil burgers with avocado oil, sear to desired crustiness (IT 155-160). I did this a couple of nights ago (except I seared on my gasser) and they were delicious. Make sure to show us some pics if you can.

[MBMorgan]

bardsleyque - "Am I crazy cause I like burgers med rare(130)?"

Nope ... you're neither crazy nor alone. These days, I grind my own chuck-eye steak then (unless I'm doing smash burgers on the griddle), I gently bag and seal them and let them enjoy a couple or three hours in the SV bath at 131F (generally considered the lowest safe temperature for SV). I then pull them out of the SV and shock the ones I plan to refrigerate in a 50/50 water/ice bath.

Those that are intended to be served immediately are removed from the SV bag(s), thoroughly dried, seasoned with garlic salt, onion salt, and dried basil, then seared over (or under) warp 10 heat. Until recently, that would have been the sear station on my gasser but lately I've grown fond of my Searzall torch attachment. Either way, I get edge to edge medium/medium rare burgers with a nice crust ... oh, and that are safe to eat thanks to SV.

[MBMorgan]

RonB - "Should" being the operative word. Remember, just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they're not out to get you ... ...

Or, more helpfully, tossing a big hunk of cold meat into (barely) 200 degree water causes a rapid drop in temperature. That, and because the boiling water trick is just plain messy led me to seek alternative approaches.

[bardsleyque]

haven't taken the SV plunge(yet)

[jfmorris]

MBMorgan I use Starsan for my brewery sanitizer. It just drops the pH of the mixed solution to around 3, and contact for 30 seconds or so kills most microbes, with no rinse.

[Potkettleblack]

jfmorris I didn't mention the No Flip because I don't think it makes a particularly juicy burger. It's delicious, and the wife loves them, but it wouldn't feature in a 90's Hardy's "Doesn't Get All Over the Girl's Face" commercial.

The Grilla process is to go 250* for maybe 45 total minutes. You check after 30 minutes, this is a cold, but not frozen burger, generally thick... Season, with beef rub or AP rub (I use a Jack Stack Steak Rub that my wife picked up, but mostly because I'm trying to get through the three rubs she brought back from KC, as I would never have bought any of them)... 250, check after 30-45 minutes depending on the thickness of the patty, they suggest 155 for med rare. After 30-40 minutes, top with cheese, if you're into that. Or top with some BBQ sauce.

I should try it with my other pound of Texas Wagyu, because that legit produced the juiciest burger I've ever made, just going hard sear each side on the GrillGrates flat side, and then indirect to 140... I like to live dangerously... Else I'd sv to 130 to pasteurize before searing.