Hello fellow grillers and outdoor cooks. Today I am at my wits end. It’s been a tremendously long journey and I’m not sure I’ll ever reach my destination. Where am I going? See, I have been on this path of trying to do something so simple, yet nearly impossible. I cannot seem to grille a great burger. I can find truly great burgers everywhere I go but I can never recreate one on my own grill. I’m looking for that wonderful char grilled burger that just burst with flavor, like a juicy prime steak. My favorite burger joints have this flavor but I have no idea how they do it. I’ve been trying to do this for years and the best I can come up with is just “okay”. I’ve never made a bad burger but I’ve never made a great one. I’ve tried every trick in the book and still, I fail. My burgers just don’t have that wonderful backyard grilled flavor. I’ve spent big dollars at boutique butchers for prime meat (chuck, brisket, short rib, sirloin) but I stopped doing that because I can get the same results with Publix ground chuck for a lot less money. I bought a meat grinder to see if that would help but it didn’t.
So far, here’s where I’m at:
I’ve tried gas and charcoal, no difference.
Rare, to burnt to a crisp
Slow cooked 45 minutes to on and off a blazing hot grill in 4 minutes
Lid up, lid down
Fresh ground chuck, brisket, sirloin, short rib
I don’t smash the burgers on the grill
I don’t overwork the meat
I only flip once
Here’s what gets me so perturbed; I go over to a friend’s house for burger night and he’s throwing plain Publix ground chuck onto a cheap, $119 charbroil grille and the results were mind boggling. I had to find out what his secret was. What secret? He does absolutely nothing to the grille or the meat. Basically, it’s ground chuck on a grill, nothing else. What on earth is he doing so right that I’ve never been able to accomplish?
I’ve had a revelation lately about salt. Salt is key. I can greatly improve the grilled flavor using salt. Again, they’re good, just not great. I can tell that without salt, they’d be very bland. I’ve also discovered that the best burgers I’ve had have a very dark brown charred crust, which I think is the secret. I cannot get a good crust on my burgers. I’ve been told that burgers should be grilled with the lid up. This makes sense because lid down just cooks way too fast and leaves the exterior black and the center undercooked. If I turn the heat down, the center always get done before there’s a good char. I cannot seem to find a good middle ground. I like my burgers medium/well.
The other day, I decided to leave the lid up and just let the grill do its magic and slowly char the underside of the burger. I preheated the grill to melting hot, opened the lid and tossed on a couple of fresh ground chuck patties. Lots of smoke, lots of sizzle. 20 seconds later it just died. I checked the burgers after 10 minutes and they were basically raw wet meat on a cold sidewalk, nothing was happening. I decided that patients is a virtue and waited for the grill to char the burgers. Another ten minutes, nothing. I’m not going to give up. I let them sit there another 20 minutes. These things are still raw but I was getting impatient. I flipped them. Nothing. No sizzle. No smoke. No cooking. They we barely tan on the bottom. Before you ask, yes, all three burners are on high. My grill clearly does not cook with the lid up. I placed my hand a couple of millimeters above the grate and held it there for 7 seconds. Upset, I pulled the burgers off the grill and closed the lid. When the grill was hot again, I opened the lid and tossed the burgers back on and closed the lid. All three burners were still on high. 2 minutes on one side, 2 minutes on the other. A little burnt on the char and a little overdone in the middle but they were probably some of the best burgers I’ve done, although, nothing award winning.
I’ve checked my grill, a Weber S-310, and everything is working properly. Beautiful, full blue flame from all burners.
Sorry for the long winded post but this is important to me. What am I missing?
So far, here’s where I’m at:
I’ve tried gas and charcoal, no difference.
Rare, to burnt to a crisp
Slow cooked 45 minutes to on and off a blazing hot grill in 4 minutes
Lid up, lid down
Fresh ground chuck, brisket, sirloin, short rib
I don’t smash the burgers on the grill
I don’t overwork the meat
I only flip once
Here’s what gets me so perturbed; I go over to a friend’s house for burger night and he’s throwing plain Publix ground chuck onto a cheap, $119 charbroil grille and the results were mind boggling. I had to find out what his secret was. What secret? He does absolutely nothing to the grille or the meat. Basically, it’s ground chuck on a grill, nothing else. What on earth is he doing so right that I’ve never been able to accomplish?
I’ve had a revelation lately about salt. Salt is key. I can greatly improve the grilled flavor using salt. Again, they’re good, just not great. I can tell that without salt, they’d be very bland. I’ve also discovered that the best burgers I’ve had have a very dark brown charred crust, which I think is the secret. I cannot get a good crust on my burgers. I’ve been told that burgers should be grilled with the lid up. This makes sense because lid down just cooks way too fast and leaves the exterior black and the center undercooked. If I turn the heat down, the center always get done before there’s a good char. I cannot seem to find a good middle ground. I like my burgers medium/well.
The other day, I decided to leave the lid up and just let the grill do its magic and slowly char the underside of the burger. I preheated the grill to melting hot, opened the lid and tossed on a couple of fresh ground chuck patties. Lots of smoke, lots of sizzle. 20 seconds later it just died. I checked the burgers after 10 minutes and they were basically raw wet meat on a cold sidewalk, nothing was happening. I decided that patients is a virtue and waited for the grill to char the burgers. Another ten minutes, nothing. I’m not going to give up. I let them sit there another 20 minutes. These things are still raw but I was getting impatient. I flipped them. Nothing. No sizzle. No smoke. No cooking. They we barely tan on the bottom. Before you ask, yes, all three burners are on high. My grill clearly does not cook with the lid up. I placed my hand a couple of millimeters above the grate and held it there for 7 seconds. Upset, I pulled the burgers off the grill and closed the lid. When the grill was hot again, I opened the lid and tossed the burgers back on and closed the lid. All three burners were still on high. 2 minutes on one side, 2 minutes on the other. A little burnt on the char and a little overdone in the middle but they were probably some of the best burgers I’ve done, although, nothing award winning.
I’ve checked my grill, a Weber S-310, and everything is working properly. Beautiful, full blue flame from all burners.
Sorry for the long winded post but this is important to me. What am I missing?