Hamburgers How To Cook Stovetop Grill Oven

Want to try a different type of burger next? Go for my Turkey Burgers or Black Bean Burgers to switch things up sometimes.

An Easy Classic Burger Recipe

Burgers have long been a staple food in our family. So I guess you can say we are a typical American family. Growing up we had them cooked to that hockey puck doneness, overly well, but as a kid I didn’t care it was a burger. One thing my mom never got wrong though was that she never used the pre-formed patties. That’s burger mistake number one in my mind. Shaping your own burgers from fresh ground beef will give you a fair superior result.

Helpful Tips

After 20 years of experience making hamburgers I’ve learned several other things along the way to create the perfect burger:

Use a high quality bun for the base as this makes up a huge portion of the completed burger. Homemade or bakery fresh is best. Go for a good fat ratio within the beef for tenderness (personally I prefer 85%). Adequately season the meat with salt, this is a big one people often miss. Careful not to overwork the beef as you shape the patties so it’s not tough. Use a food thermometer to cook to the right temp so it’s not undercooked and dangerously rare, or over-cooked and dry and rubbery. Preheat pan/grill and maintain that proper temp. Otherwise you’ll end up with a pale steamed-like patty or overly charred burger. Cook at a fairly high temp without disturbing as it cooks, this helps create a beautifully brown crust. The only way I could achieve this in the oven was to start that pan out super hot and not turn the burger until the end, for one nicely browned side at least. Slice toppings fairly thin. For texture and this allows the flavor of the beef shine if we don’t go overboard on toppings. Toast the buns so they don’t get soggy and they hold up better. If grilling burgers don’t leave them unattended. Grills can have dangerous flare ups if you don’t keep an eye on things. You should also be cleaning the fat from the grill regularly.

Over the years I’ve also tried different things like seasoning the beef to build in other flavors, creating various sizes of burgers, and trying various toppings. I’ve settled on simple, and freshest is best but you are always welcome to change things up and go more bold (unique toppings, hot sauce/ peppers, blue cheese, etc). And of course if you are a cheeseburger fan don’t forget to add the cheese after turning the burger (during cooking) for perfectly melty cheesy goodness. If you are wondering what my personal favorite method of cooking is here it’s easily the cast iron stovetop method. But the others are nice for convenience as well and I use all three.

Hamburger Topping Ideas

Sauce: Ketchup, mustard, mayo, guacamole, creamy homemade spread, or bbq sauce Vegetables: Lettuce, tomatoes, sauteed mushrooms, avocado, pickles, pickled jalapeno peppers, onions (fresh, sauteed, or grilled) Meat: Cooked bacon Cheeses: Sliced cheddar cheese, American cheese (deli fresh is better), PepperJack, Colby, Provolone or Muenster

Ingredients to Make Homemade Burgers

Homemade hamburger buns or bakery buns Ground beef, 80 to 85% lean Salt and black pepper Vegetable oil, for cooking Sauce for bun (ketchup, mustard, etc)

How to Shape Hamburger Patties

How to Cook Hamburgers on the Stovetop

How to Grill Burgers

How to Bake Hamburgers

Burger Doneness Temperatures

Note that FDA recommends cooking to a temperature of 160 to kill of any potentially harmful bacteria. I personally prefer a fairly well done burger at about 155. Temperature should be taken internally in center of burger on an instant read food thermometer.

Medium rare: 130° to 135°F Medium: 140° to 145°F Medium well: 150° to 155°F Well done: 160°F

Possible Variations

Make a lettuce wrap hamburger: Skip the bun and use whole romaine lettuce leaves in it’s place. Use a base of two medium leaves layered together, build burger over one side and fold over the top to finish it. Try a double patty burger: If you are going for a mile high burger you can do two 3 oz. portions each per hamburger. I’d recommend the stovetop cooking method, and cut back cook time slightly. Scrape pan clean between the two batches of four each. For the creamy spread sauce: In a small bowl mix together 1/3 cup mayonnaise, 2 1/2 Tbsp ketchup, 1/2 tsp vinegar, 1/4 tsp paprika, 1/8 tsp onion powder, 1/8 tsp garlic powder, 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper and season with salt and pepper to taste.