How Long Do You Grill,…

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Grilling Hamburgers for most people is the number one choice for grill food. Hamburger is fairly cheap to buy and easy to cook. The choices of seasoning and toppings is endless, so we are just going to discuss grilling a basic unseasoned or lightly seasoned hamburger.

Directions:

1. To make patties the size of the average hamburger bun, you need to select about a tennis ball size of meat.  Flatten the hamburger into a patty about 3/4 inch thick. If you are using 70% beef you may want to flatten the center of the patty to about 1/2 inch graduating out to 3/4 at the edges.  This will keep the hamburger from cooking into a round ball.
2. Season the hamburger as you wish.
3. Pre-heat the grill from med-high to high and make sure the grill is clean.  You may want to lightly oil the grill grates to reduce sticking.
4. Place the patty on the grill.
5. When to flip the burger is the tricky part for some people.  If you wait to long it will cook too much and dry out the burger.  If you flip the burger too soon it may crumble. Unless the hamburger is on fire you should wait until the underside is cooked enough to slide a spatula underneath and move the hamburger on the grill without the meat changing shape.  The edges will be starting to turn just slightly gray, but the top should still be very pink. This should take about 3-5 minutes. If the hamburger is taking on the shape of a ball this would be the only time to press down on the hamburger with the spatula.  Before flipping firmly press the raw topside to reduce the thickness.  Do NOT press down on the hamburger again as this will remove the juices and dry the hamburger.
6. The hamburger may start leaking red juice and as the burger cooks it will turn to a clear liquid. When the juice turns clear the burger is cooked well done completely through and leaving it on the grill any longer will make it very dry.  Never cut open the hamburger.  Use a meat thermometer to determine if it is cooked enough.  You can also press on the top of the burger with your finger.  The finger test isn’t foolproof, but with practice you will get pretty good at determining if the meat is done.  When you press the top the burger should feel firm, but give a little.  It may even force juice out.  If it is soft and squishy the inside may still be too rare.  If it feels hard with no give, then it is already overcooked.
7. Remove the hamburger from the grill and serve.

Safe Internal Temperature: 160%

Tips:

• If the hamburger is cooked medium with a slight pink inside it will continue cooking even when removed from the grill.  If it is removed with a cool red soft center it will not cook much more and you should put it back on the grill.  I strongly recommend a meat thermometer rather than cutting open the hamburger.  When you cut open the hamburger it will dry out.
• Consideration needs to be taken as to the fat content of the hamburger. Most grocery stores offer 70% (ground beef), 80% (ground chuck), and some 90% lean choices. The leaner the beef the less shrinkage you will get while grilling. The fattier the beef the more shrinkage, but also more flavor. Leaner meat is easy to overcook and be very dry.