Outdoor grilling brings forth memories of long summer nights at the beach or pool. As the sun goes down, the smell of charcoal or propane fills the air. It’s mingled with the tantalizing aroma of a burger being seared and smoked. Then, the smell becomes taste as you bite into the best hamburger that came from the grill.
Setting Things Up for the Best Burger
To get to this stage, you need to do some prep work on your gas or charcoal grill. Without it, the burger you crave can be undercooked, too dry, or lacking flavor. To get it right the first time, here are three steps to grilling the perfect burger.
1. Purchase patties made of all-natural beef. Burgers made with fillers don’t do anything for flavor or consistency. They simply make you fuller than you should be. In addition, many of the chemicals can burn away and leave an arid, flavorless mess.
You want to purchase all natural burger patties from companies like Bubba Foods. They don’t contain any fillers or artificial colors and have not been treated with antibiotics or growth hormones.
2. Prep the cooking surface. Regardless if it’s a new grill or one that you’ve used for years, it needs to be prepped. Spraying down the cooking surfaces and getting it to the right temperature helps to remove unwanted odors from production or previous meals. In addition, it helps to cure the painted areas to protect them from the elements.
3. Go low and slow. Yes, turning up the flames make the burger cook faster. However, it also transforms a rare burger with a crunchy exterior to a very well done burger burned throughout. Plus, since cooking areas may not be even, you can get burgers that are half cooked and half raw.
Follow the cooking directions from the grill or the burger package to determine the best cooking temperatures and time. Then, leave the patties alone until they need to be turned. Finally, give the finished burgers time to cool before you dress it up and get ready to eat.
