Some people think that grilling burgers with charcoal is not a good idea. Others say that cooking with the use of a gas grill is quite more convenient than cooking with charcoal.
But when you try to ponder if using charcoal can make your burgers tastier, then grilling it with charcoal might change the thought you once have.
What charcoal makes it better to use in grilling is that it brings a healthy heaping aroma and flavors to your food.
Grilling burgers with charcoal may always be the least option for others. Even so, have you not thought of eating a juicy burger by trying to grill one with charcoal?
It might be nice to have those if you know the best way to grill burgers with charcoal, but if you still don’t, well, I am much willing to share this little secret with you.
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Tips To Perfectly Grill Your Burger With Charcoal
1. Prepare the Right Ground Beef
A 20 percent fat and 80 percent lean is the best mix for grilled burgers. You can easily find it most in the supermarkets because they typically sell this ground chuck, which is great for burgers.
2. Shape Your Burger Patties and Keep Them Cold After
The usual size for a burger patty is about six ounces – between the size of a softball or baseball. Once you form a ball, flatten it out with the use of your own hands or on a cutting board until you decide on how thick you want it to be.
Slightly press your thumb on its central part, for it will keep the patty from becoming too round and swelling up during grilling. Thereafter, refrigerate your patties first until it’s ready to cook.
3. Ready and Heat Up Your Coals
Using a chimney, put some pile of briquettes or wood chips or charcoal on its top and a crumpled paper on its bottom part and light it off. Set it up into two-zone before you begin to grill.
If you want it at a medium-high temperature, try to hold your hands above them for five to ten seconds before pulling away. If you want to increase its temperature, add the grate above it so you can let it heat up more.
If you’re done setting everything up, you can now start grilling your burger. When you begin grilling the burgers, you should bring a lot of patience with you.
Grilling is not that easy to start with, but when you try to master all the techniques involved in grilling burgers with charcoal, it will be easier for you at the end of the day.
Learning the best way to grill your burgers with charcoal will help you with it.
4. Start Grilling Your Burgers
Place the burger patties you made on top of the grill over direct heat. Season it with salt and pepper prior to grilling. You can hear some sizzling sound from them, which is an indicator that it’s starting to be grilled.
When it becomes brown and crispy on each side for about four to five minutes, you can add some cheese on its top and put some buns to the part of the grill over indirect heat a minute before the burger patty cooks and if you find that some are charred, pull it to the cooler side and switch the ones that are less done to the hot part.
You will have your burger in just a minute. Check its doneness with an instant-read thermometer. Make sure you enter it through the side, take a quick reading, and when it reaches 160 degrees, your burgers are done!
5. Set Aside the Burgers First and Polish it Well with Your Final Touch
Remove the buns and burgers out from the grill and arrange it on a clean plate or container.
You can put some mayonnaise, tomato jam, tomatoes, red onion, pickles, garlic aioli, bacon jam, sautéed mushrooms, lettuce, and cheese sauce. Let it rest first for a minute before serving.
Once you’re done, you can now have and enjoy your own burger! Following the given tips above about the best way to grill your burgers with charcoal is just a piece of cake.
Always remember to clean your grill before and after using it so it won’t affect the food you’ll cook the next time you will use it.
Why Use Charcoal in Grilling Your Burgers
Charcoal grilling is the best choice you can have for broiling your burgers. With the use of smoke from either vaporized dripping on the hot charcoals or wood chips you have, which eventually be added to its coal bed, it will definitely add flavors to your burger and enhance its taste that will give you a better sear!
I’ll give you some ultimate reasons why you should grill your burgers with charcoal.
1. You have greater control
Unlike gas grills, charcoal grills need some sort of skills in controlling its temperature.
But when you learn the right set of strategies and techniques in grilling, with lots of practice to be done, of course, you can get the hang of temperature control.
Charcoal pits do not have a maximum temperature setting. Thus, you can control how hot you want it to be.
2. Multipurpose Cooking
Charcoal can bring out indirect and direct infrared heat. Depending on your grill’s design, you can smoke, grill, bake, sear, and more.
You can perfectly broil your burgers when you know the best way to grill burgers with charcoal if you just let yourself indulge and enjoy the thought of doing so.
3. Two-Zone Grilling
On your grill, this set-up is perfect because it can give you better control over its temperature.
In this set-up, you can bank some or all coals on one side of the grill, which will produce direct heat after a while on the other side, which produces no heat, and the food you might put on that side will be cooked by indirect heat eventually.
4. Luscious Flavor
When grilling, adding a few wood chips on the top of your coal will make your pit filled with wood-fired flavor. Charcoal instantly evaporates food drippings into an aromatic flavor, which also adds a delightful taste to your burger.
5. Less Pricey
Since it does not have burners and valves, charcoal pits usually cost less than gas grills at the point of purchase. Aside from it is more portable than gas grills, charcoal as it is—burns hotter than gas.
Hamburgers today can be bought anywhere. But, isn’t it nice if you can make your own version of the burger? The one that you can assure its delectable taste and will appease your cravings?
Well, I also thought it would be good to have one. Knowing the best way to grill burgers with charcoal will certainly help you have your own delicious burger!
