Hamburger Recipe

Our favorite Hamburger Recipe, complete with toasted buns, offers a perfect cheese-stuffed burger, all the veggies and the best burger sauce!

We love pairing this burger with this Fruit Salad, Macaroni Salad, or this Mexican Street Corn Pasta Salad.

The Best Hamburger Recipe

I attended BUSH’S BBQ Bootcamp with master griller Steven Raichlen, author of 28 grilling books and a Harvard instructor.

I was so excited to learn from the best and now I can’t wait to share the experience I had and everything I learned about crafting the perfect burger.  This hamburger recipe is our absolute favorite and best of all, it’s easy to make. I’m also sharing a simple corn salsa recipe alongside the burger and the best sauce recipe. Let’s get started! 

What To Serve With Hamburgers

• Fries: Classic and always a hit.
• Coleslaw: A refreshing contrast.
• Potato Salad: Creamy and satisfying.
• Baked Beans: These are the absolute best!
• Pasta Salad: Throw in your fave veggies!

Hamburger Recipe Ingredients

• Ground Beef: Provides a juicy, flavorful meat-fat balance.
• Minced Garlic: Adds robust flavor.
• Green Onions: Contribute mild, fresh flavor.
• Worcestershire Sauce: Enhances savoriness.
• Cheddar Cheese: Richness and flavor!
• Sea Salt and Black Pepper: Essential for seasoning.
• Brioche Buns: Sweet and buttery complement.

How To Make Hamburger Patties Recipe

1. Mix: Combine beef, garlic, onions, and Worcestershire sauce.
2. Form Patties: Shape into six with cheese in the middle.
3. Butter Buns: Brush with melted butter.
4. Grill Patties: Cook, flip, and season.
5. Toast Buns: Briefly grill.
6. Assemble: Stack with sauce and toppings.

Expert Tips

Hamburger Recipe Sides

• Cucumber Salad
• Elote
• Italian Salad
• Caprese Salad
• Broccoli Salad

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5 from 14 votes

Hamburger Recipe

By Chelsea Lords

Our favorite Hamburger Recipe, complete with toasted and buttered buns, offers a perfect cheese-stuffed burger, all the veggies and the best burger sauce!

Prep Time: 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 5 minutes minutes

Resting Time: 3 minutes minutes

Total Time: 28 minutes minutes

Servings: 6 large burgers

Ingredients 

USMetric

 

1x2x3x

Burgers

• ▢ 2 pounds 80/20 ground beef very cold
• ▢ 4 cloves minced garlic
• ▢ 2 green onions (scallions) thinly sliced (about 3 tablespoons)
• ▢ 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• ▢ 3/4 cup extra-sharp Cheddar cheese freshly grated
• ▢ Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper (about 1 and 1/2 teaspoons total for all the burgers)
• ▢ 6 brioche buns
• ▢ 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
• ▢ Burger sauce (Note 1)
• ▢ Burger toppings such as: lettuce, tomatoes, red onion, pickles, etc.

OPTIONAL Corn Salsa

• ▢ 4 ears sweet corn shucked
• ▢ 1 green bell pepper
• ▢ 2 tablespoons olive oil (plus some for corn and pepper)
• ▢ 1 cup canned baked beans
• ▢ 1 cup cherry tomatoes diced
• ▢ 2 green onions (scallions) thinly sliced
• ▢ 1 jalapeño seeded and finely diced
• ▢ ¼ cup fresh cilantro finely chopped
• ▢ 3 tablespoons fresh lime juice

Instructions 

Burgers

• PREHEAT THE GRILL: Heat the grill 450 to 500 degrees F.
• BURGERS: In a large mixing bowl, add the beef straight from the fridge, the minced garlic, green onions, and Worcestershire sauce. Fold the meat just a few times (no longer than for 30-40 seconds) until ingredients are incorporated. Be careful to not overwork or overhandle the meat.
• SHAPE: Line a large sheet pan with two layers of parchment paper. Shape the burger patties on the tray instead of with your hands (this helps keep them from being over handled while also providing leverage to get the patties firm). Divide all the meat into six equal parts and then separate each part into two parts (with 1 part larger than the other). Gently form each large portion into a patty that is about 4 to 4 and 1/2 inches across and with 1-inch sides. Make a shallow depression in the middle. Add 2 tablespoons grated cheese into each depression. Cover the cheese with the smaller patty, connecting the beef together and forming into a patty with 1 inch thick sides. Again, depress the center of the patty (see pictures in the post). The depression keeps the patty from shrinking too much and puffing up too much. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge until the grill is completely heated.
• BUNS: Melt the butter and then brush (with a pastry brush) over both sides of all the buns. Set aside.
• GRILL BURGERS: Prepare the fully preheated grill by cleaning with a grill brush. Generously oil the grill (I drench a rolled-up paper towel in vegetable oil and, holding it with tongs, rubbing it over the grill grates). Remove burgers from the fridge and generously salt and pepper both sides of the patties. Hold your hand 6-7 inches above the meat and sprinkle the seasoning liberally or to taste. In total, I use about 1 and 1/2 teaspoons each of salt and pepper to all the patties.

  Place patties INDENT SIDE DOWN on the grill. Cook to desired doneness:

  Rare burgers: 125 degrees F (about 4 minutes total) Medium-rare burgers: 135 degrees F (about 5 minutes total) Medium burgers: 145 degrees F (about 6-7 minutes total) Well-done burgers: 160 degrees F (about 8 minutes total)  (We like medium rare best) Flip the burgers once during cooking, at the halfway mark. Never press down on the patties (this will make fat and flavor escape). Use a wide metal spatula for best results in flipping and removing patties.
• GRILL BUNS: When you have about 1 minute left of the cooking time for the patties, add the buttered buns to the grill (over indirect heat, alongside the edges of the grill). Watch carefully; they are toasted in about 30 seconds to a 1 minute.
• SERVE: Remove burgers and buns from grill and transfer to a clean platter. Let the burgers rest for 1-2 minute before serving. Assemble by adding burger sauce (See Note 1) and your favorite veggies such as lettuce, tomatoes, pickles, red onion, etc.

Corn Salsa

• GRILL: Brush corn and green pepper with olive oil and season (to taste) with salt and pepper. Grill corn (400-450 degrees F) until browned on all sides, 8-12 minutes, (flipping every 2-3 minutes) and transfer to cutting board to cool. Grill green pepper until browned on all sides, 2-3 minutes per side and transfer to cutting board.
• While veggies are grilling prepare the rest of the salad: chop the cherry tomatoes, thinly slice green onions, dice jalapeno and cilantro, and juice a lime. Add to a large mixing bowl with baked beans and olive oil. Toss. Once veggies have been grilled and cooled, slice kernels off the cob and dice the pepper. Toss all the ingredients to combine and season with salt and pepper to taste. Enjoy alongside the burgers!

Recipe Notes

Note 1: For the sauce, combine: 1/2 cup good quality full-fat mayonnaise, 2 tablespoons ketchup, 1 tablespoon finely grated onion, 1 tablespoon sweet pickle relish, 1 teaspoon adobo sauce from canned chipotle chiles in adobo (increase for spicier), and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Stir until combined and smooth. Taste and adjust seasonings to personal preference. Feel free to add a teaspoon or more of the sauce from the chipotles to increase the heat.

Nutrition facts do not include the burger sauce, but do include the corn salsa.

Nutrition

Calories: 959kcal | Carbohydrates: 62g | Protein: 44g | Fat: 61g | Saturated Fat: 27g | Cholesterol: 270mg | Sodium: 794mg | Potassium: 847mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 1226IU | Vitamin C: 30mg | Calcium: 211mg | Iron: 5mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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