Burger Grilling Tips and Roasted Green Chile Cheeseburger
It’s summer time and that means gathering together outside around the grill and feasting on some great food. What’s a more classic summer grilling dish than a good ol’ fashioned burger? For those of you who may be a little intimidated by grilling a burger- have no fear ’cause I’ve put together some of my favorite easy tips for grilling up a juicy burger. And after you study up you can get the fire ready and put your skills to the grill with our Green Chile Cheeseburger recipe.
Get outside and share some good food and stories from the grill…
Burger Grilling Tips:
80/20 Blend: The beef you choose is important. It has to have the correct blend of fat to lean for great flavor but also to help keep the burger together. 80% lean to 20% fat is a perfect burger blend. In any situation when you’re not sure of a meat choice ask your butcher. They’re there to help and can point you in the right direction.
Chill and Season: After you get your beef and make it into patties- chill the burgers. Chilling will help them stay together on the grill. You should also season right before you put the burgers on the grill, this will prevent them from drying out and give you better flavor. Also don’t store the meat in tinfoil because it can discolor meat- use wax paper instead.
Start the Fire: NEVER, EVER, use lighter fluid. It’s bad for you. It makes your food taste bad. It’ll even make me sick, so I won’t be able to come over and eat with you! Use a chimney, a torch, newspaper or another method to get the fire going naturally. You can also check out our fire starting video here for more tips: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MlQ79DCBc7A
Don’t Mash the Burger: As it’s grilling, you’ll have the urge to mash the burger to move the cooking along. This will just release the juices and you’re left with a dry burger. You’ll notice a liquid releasing as it cooks which will start red and then run clear. When it’s clear, it’s pretty close to being done. You can take the very tip of your spatula and lightly press the middle of the burger to see what the liquid looks like.
Cook to Medium-Medium/Well: Y’all know that I like my steaks cooked no more than medium-rare for the most flavor and juiciness. However, because hamburger is a processed meat and handled more I recommend cooking hamburger medium to medium-well for safety.
Check out our video for all our tips...
Roasted Green Chile Cheese Burger
Ingredients
- 1 pound hamburger meat preferably 20% fat
- salt and black pepper or Red River Ranch Original Seasoning
- 1 cup milk
- 4 teaspoons all-purpose flour
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon chile powder
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
- Green chiles, Anaheim peppers or Poblano peppers, roasted
- 4 hamburger buns
- Additional toppings: onion tomato, etc. (optional)
Instructions
- Form the hamburger into 4 patties and season both sides with salt and pepper or Red River Ranch Original Seasoning. Cover and refrigerate for about 1 hour. This helps the burgers stay together better when grilling.
- Remove the patties from the refrigerator to warm just slightly before grilling.
- Meanwhile, in a saucepan, heat the milk and flour over medium-low heat, stirring constantly until it thickens just slightly, about 3-4 minutes.
- Reduce the heat to low and stir in the cheddar cheese until smooth. Stir in the spices until combined. Keep warm until ready to serve.
- Place the burgers on a medium-high heat greased grill. Grill about 6 to 8 minutes per side or until there is no pink in the middle. Unlike a steak, hamburger meat should be cooked medium-well to well done because it is a processed meat. Let it rest a few minutes before serving.
- Place the burgers on buns and top with roasted chiles, cheese and any additional toppings.