These are the best grilled burger recipes – juicy and delicious.
If you need a new way to “dress up a burger“ or to learn how to grill (or fry) a juicy burger every time, check this out now.
Old Fashioned Hamburger Seasoning Recipe
No wonder America has an ongoing love affair with the hamburger. Who doesn’t love sinking their teeth into a thick, juicy burger, hot off the grill? Here’s how to make yours the best of all — how to grill your burgers to absolute perfection.
BUYING HAMBURGER
When you go to the supermarket to buy ground beef, they usually offer you three choices. Ground chuck, ground sirloin and ground round. Ground round is too lean to make a perfect burger so I am going to talk about the other two.
Ground chuck has the most fat and produces a juicy burger. Ground sirloin has the best flavor. What I do is combine the two for the best of both worlds; a perfect hamburger.
Don’t be afraid of fat, because fat equals flavor. Look for 80% lean ground beef to make hamburgers; trust me, it makes a huge difference.
PREPPING GROUND BEEF
Get out a bowl and break the ground beef into pieces. HANDLE CAREFULLY. Working the ground beef too much will result in tough burgers and you do not want that.
Add the hamburger seasoning (the recipe is at the bottom of the page) and toss light to combine. Divide the ground beef into equal sized portions and form gently into 1″ to 2″ patties. Press the center of the burger with both thumbs to make an indentation because burgers tend to “puff up” when cooking.
GRILLING TIMES FOR BURGERS
Clean the grates well and spray with vegetable oil. Preheat and place the burgers on the grill and remove they are cooked to your taste.
Cook the burger for five to seven minutes per side for medium, less for rare or medium rare, and seven to nine minutes per side for burgers cooked all the way through. Now on to my burger recipes…
COOKING/GRILLING BURGER SECRETS
The first “secret” to my best burger recipes is searing the outside of the burger. This locks in the juice so it doesn’t dry out. Make certain that the grill or the skillet is hot. When both sides are seared, you may move the hamburgers to the outside of the grill or lower the temperature on the stove.
The second “secret” to my best burger recipes is not turning them several times. Many people think that cooking hamburgers is the same as steak, but it is not. Ground beef has bacteria, so you want to cook it as well-done as you can muster. Medium is healthier and still produces a juicy and tasty burger. Steak only has two sides for bacteria to harbor, so cooking it rare or medium-rare kills the bacteria on the surface of the steak.
The third “secret” to my best burger recipes is gauging when they are ready to flip. When you place a burger on the grill or in a skillet, look for blood to come to the surface and then turn them over. Blood will come to the surface again and when it does, it’s cooked to medium.
The final “secret” to a my best burger recipes – and the most important is simply DO NOT PRESS DOWN on the burger when cooking. This literally pushes all of the juice out of the burger and is a huge “No-No!” If you want to be known for your best burger recipes and to cook a juicy burger every time, please follow this tip.
GRILLING TIPS
Before you make one of my burger recipes, I have more advise and tips. You may be tempted to go cheap when buying meat. But for the very best burgers, you’ll want meat with a 15-20% fat content, usually ground chuck or ground sirloin (or you can even mix the two). If you use lean beef, you’re gonna get “meatloaf”, and you don’t want that.
When you’re making the patties, there are a few things to keep in mind. Rule #1: cold meat, cold hands – it’s the cardinal rule. Make sure your meat has been in the refrigerator until right before you’re ready to shape it, and chill your hands under cold running water first, or hold two handfuls of ice cubes until you can’t stand it any more.
Rule #2: handle the meat as delicately and quickly as you can. Form the meat into a flat, uniform patty that’s anywhere from 3/4″ to 1″ thick.
Using your thumbs, make an indentation in the center of the burger, so it doesn’t “puff up” and get round when cooking.
If you want the burgers to stay together better on the grill, cover them and allow them to chill in the refrigerator for an hour or so before cooking.
See if the butcher can mix the two types of burger together for you (if using both).
JUICIEST BURGER RECIPE
1 lb ground chuck (80/20)
1 lb ground sirloin
3 TBS heavy cream (1-1/2 tablespoons per pound)*
1 slice bread ripped in small pieces and soaked in 4 TBS milk for 5 minutes
Lightly mix the milk soaked bread together first and add to the ground beef. Drizzle in the ice water and hamburger seasoning (if using). Form into patties with an indentation in the middle of the burger. Place in the refrigerator for 1 hour. Prepare the grill (hot side/cool side) and cook burgers until they are done to your liking. Season with salt and pepper to taste after they are cooked.
MUSHROOM SWISS BURGER (photo above)
For the Burgers – use the ingredients/directions in the Juiciest Burger Recipe above.
1 small package of button mushrooms, cleaned and sliced
1 TBS butter
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp dried parsley
Swiss cheese slices
Melt the butter in a skillet on medium heat. Add the sliced mushrooms and sprinkle with the garlic powder and parsley. Sauté until tender and season with salt to taste. Place Swiss cheese slices on top of the burger immediately after removing from the grill and add equal parts of warm sautéed mushrooms over the cheese.
You may use one large burger or two thinner burgers for this sandwich. Just layer the cheese and mushrooms on the first burger, top with another burger and add another layer of cheese and mushrooms on top. I even place another slice of Swiss over the warm mushrooms.
TOASTED BURGER BUNS
Do this with the burger above. This takes any grilled sandwich – over the top.
2 or 4 soft bakery burger buns
unsalted butter, softened
garlic powder
Heat skillet on medium. Butter each bun and sprinkle lightly with garlic powder. Place burger buns cut-side down in the pan and check every couple minutes until golden brown. This, friend – is my hidden secret to taking sandwiches from good to great. Definitely a must try.
Delicious with any grilled sandwich or hot dog and makes an unforgettable grilled sizzler steak sandwich.
WINE BURGER
1 lb ground beef
1 onion, chopped
2 TBS butter
10 ounce can tomato soup
1/3 cup red wine (your favorite)
1 tsp homemade worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp homemade garlic powder
1 tsp homemade onion powder
salt and pepper to taste
toasted buns
Brown hamburger and onion in butter. Add remaining ingredients and simmer for 30 minutes. Serve on toasted buns. This can be made ahead and also freezes well. Serves 4 to 5. Recipe adapted from Cooks Exchange in the Wisconsin State Journal.
Burger Recipes
One of my best grilled burger recipes that I could eat every time. Amazing.
BLUE BURGER
1 lb ground beef
1 tsp hamburger seasoning
1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
4 slices provolone cheese
Toppings
6 slices of cooked bacon
blue cheese crumbles
homemade mayonnaise
grated sweet onion
lettuce
tomato
In a bowl, combine cream cheese and blue cheese; set aside. Gently mix the hamburger seasoning with with the ground beef and form into four patties. Grill to desired doneness.
Meanwhile, Grill buns until golden brown and spread all of them with homemade mayo; set aside.
When burgers are done, add the blue cheese mixture to the top of each burger and then top with a slice of provolone.
When the cheese is almost melted add the bacon and place on the prepared bun. Add the grated onion, lettuce and tomato. Use kosher salt and pepper and top with bun.
Dunk in blue cheese dressing.
Light up the grill, and make this now. So juicy and delicious.
RANCH BURGERS
2 lb ground beef
2 pkgs ranch dressing mix
1 package homemade dry onion soup mix
1/2 cup onion, finely chopped
Mix the ingredients together in a large bowl and patty out into burgers. Place in the refrigerator for one hour.
Clean the grates well and spray with vegetable oil. Preheat the grill and cook the burgers according to your taste.
Dunk in ranch dressing.
Another one of my grilled burger recipes…
JALAPENO-BLUE CHEESE BURGERS
2 lbs ground beef
6 jalapeno peppers, seeded and chopped
1 cup blue cheese, crumbled
2 TBS homemade garlic powder
2 TBS homemade onion powder
2 tsp homemade soy sauce
In a large bowl, combine the ground beef, jalapeno peppers, blue cheese, onion powder, garlic powder, soy sauce and salt. Mix well using your hands.
Pat lightly into 4 large fat patties and place in the refrigerator for one hour. Preheat the grill and cook the burgers according to your taste.
My burger recipes work beautifully on George Foreman style grills also. Note: If you are not a lover of spicy foods, here’s a tip: the heat of a jalapeno is within the membrane inside it, so if you remove that it won’t be as hot. Enjoy.
PEPPER JACK BURGERS
1/3 cup homemade mayonnaise
1 tsp homemade Cajun seasoning
1-1/3 lb ground beef
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped
1/2 cup onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1 TBS homemade Cajun seasoning
1 tsp homemade Worcestershire sauce
4 slices of pepper jack cheese
Frank’s hot sauce for garnish (optional)
Prepare the grill for cooking, and preheat on medium-high. In a small bowl, mix together the mayonnaise and 1 teaspoon of Cajun seasoning. Refrigerate.
In a large bowl, mix together the ground beef, jalapeno pepper, onion, garlic, 1 tablespoon Cajun seasoning, and Worcestershire sauce using your hands. Divide into 4 balls, and flatten into patties; refrigerate for one hour.
Using your thumbs, make an indentation in the center of the burger, so it doesn’t “puff up” and get round when cooking.
Preheat the grill and cook the burgers according to your taste.
My burger recipes for the grill would not be complete without this recipe. You may use all ground beef if you wish. Yum.
GYROS BURGERS
1/2 lb ground beef
1/2 lb ground lamb
1/2 onion, grated,
1/4 cup dry bread crumbs
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 tsp allspice
1/2 tsp coriander
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
dash of ground cumin
In large bowl, combine ground beef, ground lamb, onion, garlic and bread crumbs. Season with allspice, coriander, oregano, salt, pepper and cumin. Knead until mixture is stiff and shape into 4 very thin patties (1/8 inch to 1/4 inch thick). Place in the refrigerator for one hour.
Cook patties for 5 to 7 minutes on each side, or until cooked through. Serve on warm pita bread with tzatziki sauce, and thinly sliced onion, tomato and lettuce.
To make tzatziki sauce:
Mix some plain yogurt, light sour cream, fresh mint, garlic salt, chopped cucumber, scallions, and tomato together. Top the burger with this sauce and enjoy.
NOTE: For appetizers – put the mixture into a food processor/blender to get a firmer texture. Shape into a very thin loaf and broil in the oven. Slice very thinly and serve with pita, fried in olive oil, Greek olives, roasted garlic and tzatziki sauce. More burger recipes coming up…
This is a tasty burger recipe if I say so myself.
JUICY THANKSGIVING BURGER RECIPE
1 onion, chopped
2 TBS homemade unsalted butter
1 TBS canola oil
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 cup celery, chopped
3 lbs ground turkey (or ground beef)
6 ounce pkg chicken flavored stuffing
1/2 tsp homemade poultry seasoning
2 eggs
1 can cranberry sauce
whipped cream cheese, for serving
Preheat an outdoor grill for medium heat, and lightly oil the grate.
Heat the butter and oil in a skillet over medium heat, and cook the onion, garlic and celery until soft; about 5 minutes.
Place the cooked onion and celery in a large bowl with the ground turkey, stuffing mix, poultry seasoning and eggs; mix to thoroughly combine. Form the mixture into 16 patties. Unlike hamburger, these patties will not change shape while cooking, so make them even in size.
Grill the turkey burgers on the preheated grill until no longer pink in the center and the juices run clear, about 5 minutes per side. Place each patty on a hamburger bun, and top with cranberry sauce and a dollop of whipped cream cheese to serve.
Just a little twist on one of my burger recipes. Good isn’t it?