Burger Recipes, Grilling Tips

Dont Bungle Your Burger!

Everyone wants to build a better burger, but many folks end up serving dried-up pucks or sloppy piles of meat mush all season long. Follow our simple tips and rockin' recipes and you'll never make a bum burger again.

It all starts with the right fat ratio. Read on.


BUYING

As must as we'd all love to stay lean, burger meat is not the place to skimp on juicy, flavorful fat. Go for 80/20 or 70/30 (that's the lean/fat ratio) beef rather than 90/10, and don't fret too much; most of the excess fat drains off during cooking.


HANDLING

You're not making a meatloaf, so you don't need to over-form your patties. Handle the meat as little as possible -- just loosely forming patties, and not compressing the meat. They'll cook more evenly and allow juices to flow.

And when you are handling the goods, do so with wet hands. Water and grease repel, so the beef won't stick to your skin and tear off the patty.


COOKING

While it's wonderful to have a nice sear on the outside, a too-hot grill will char the outside of the patty while leaving the inside uncooked. Start with a medium flame.

For killer grill marks and a juicy patty, let the meat sit on the medium-hot grill for at least a few minutes, and then flip just once.


OUR TOP TIP

If you follow only one of our tips, let it be this -- do NOT press down on your burger with a spatula. Yup, it's fun to hear the hiss as the juices hit the fire, but really, that's just the sound of juicy flavor dripping out and leaving you with a lump of dried-out yuck. Try making a thumb indentation in the center of the raw patty so it doesn't swell into a sphere. It will re-form into a proper patty, but the flatter the burger is while on the grate, the less you'll be tempted to squash it down.

All-American Burger

The burger goes up a couple of extra notches with cheese and bacon, while maintaining its classic flavor with Worcestershire sauce and ketchup. This recipe is sure to please any meat lover.

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Inside-Out Cheeseburger

What's not to love about cheeseburgers? Well, they're messy, for one. This recipe puts a new spin on the classic burger -- the cheese is on the inside, letting you cook the outside to perfection.

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Mom's Big Burger

This half-pound burger isn't for light eaters, that's for sure! With loads of ground beef, pepper jack cheese and avocado, your guests might be too full for dessert, but they'll sure be happy. Hot pepper sauce and chili powder give this dish an extra kick as well.

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Crab Cake Burger

A seafood lover's backyard barbeque dream! This recipe doesn't rely on heavy seasoning or filler to give it flavor -- it just sits back and lets the crab's flavor shine through with a dab of tartar sauce and some raw onion.

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Cranberry & Herb Turkey Burger

This burger is like a warm-weather Thanksgiving dinner! The onion, couscous and dried cranberries ensure that this turkey burger won't fall prey to the usual pitfall -- a dry, chewy texture once it's been cooked.

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