While there’s something exciting about breaking out the grill in summer, cooking some burgers, and having a couple of drinks with friends and family…
It is even more exciting when you can recreate delectable burger recipes on your indoor grill at any time of the year.
Many people still believe that the best burgers are cooked on outdoor grills, but with the right recipe, ingredients, and attention to detail, you can make a great burger indoors.
Ensuring the right cooking duration is essential to getting favorable results when cooking burgers on indoor grills.
You don’t want your burger overcooked, or worse still, undercooked.
In this article, we will discuss important things you need to know about how long you need to cook your burger and get them to come out nicely, and some things to pay attention to when cooking burgers on an indoor grill.
We will also discuss a quick and delicious burger recipe that’s very straightforward to prepare.
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How Long Does a Burger Take to Cook?
Burgers can take any amount of time from 5 to 15 minutes on a grill to be fully cooked.
There are a couple of factors that affect the cooking time of burgers.
That’s why you’ll see varying estimates of the recommended cooking time for burgers.
Three factors will determine how long your burger takes to cook:
- The temperature of the grill
- The thickness of the burger
- Whether you want it rare, medium, medium-rare, or well done.
As a general rule, the thicker the burger, the longer it will take to cook.
The temperature of the grill will also influence how long it takes for your burger to cook. At a lower temperature, burgers will take much longer to cook and get crispy on the outside.
However, they run the risk of getting dried out when they stay on the grill for long.
We recommend that you cook your burger at a relatively high temperature of around 375°F -400°F. This way, cooking time is reduced and you are more assured of a juicier and more flavor-filled result.
How to Tell if a Burger Is Done?
To avoid getting sick, one of the things to steer clear of when making burgers is uncooked beef.
Ground beef, in particular, is more prone to bacteria that can cause food poisoning when not cooked well.
There are quite a number of ways to know when your burger is done.
However, the most accurate and straightforward way is to use a meat thermometer to check the internal temperature. Let’s break down the different ways you can tell when your burger is done when cooking it on an indoor grill.
Temperature
A meat thermometer will give you an instant read on the internal temperature of your burger, letting you know if it’s cooked or not.
Interestingly, meat thermometers are affordable and easy to use.
When you plunge the thermometer into the center, you want to look out for a temperature of 160°F and above if you want your ground beef well done.
At around 150°F, the ground beef is medium-well. At 140°F, the ground beef is medium, while 130°F indicates a medium-rare level. The safest temperature, however, is
Color
The next best way to check if your burger is done, if you don’t have a meat thermometer, is to check the color of the middle.
The downside to this method is that you’ll have to sacrifice one of the burgers as the test burger.
Take the burger off the grill, put it on a plate, and cut through it. The pinker the middle of the meat is, the rarer it is. A light brown color in the middle will usually indicate that the burger is done.
Touch
This is not the most accurate method, nor is it the most recommended, but it is a pretty neat way to estimate whether or not your burger is done, straight off the grill.
Press down on the patty with a spatula.
If the juices run clear, it’s an indication that your burger is likely done.
Tips for Cooking Burgers on an Indoor Grill
1. Preparation
Attention to detail is very important if you hope for your burger to come out as delicious as you want, and to ensure that nothing is left out proper preparation is essential.
The first step is to choose your burger recipe and get your ingredients together. For your ground meat into patties and press wells into the center with your thumb to ensure that they cook evenly. It would also help if you could get a meat thermometer, so you can closely monitor the internal temperature of your burger.
2. Choosing the Right Cooking Temperature
One of the exciting things about cooking burgers on an indoor grill is that you have more control over the temperature.
Before the cooking process starts, preheat your grill on a medium/high setting, or at a temperature of 375°F – 400°F. It is advised that you cook your burgers to an internal temperature of 155°F – 160°F to ensure that any harmful bacteria are killed.
3. Cook for the Right Duration
Your cooking duration will be significantly affected by how thick your burger is and how cooked you want it. For an averagely sized burger, cook for about 5 – 6 minutes if you want your burger well-done.
For a medium patty, you’ll have to cook for around 4 minutes on each side.
However, there are indoor grills that can cook both sides of the burger at the same time. On such grills, you won’t need to flip your burgers and both sides are cooked in the same duration.
Easy Indoor Grill Burger Recipe
Ingredients
- 1.5 pounds of ground beef
- 1-egg (lightly beaten)
- Cheese slices (optional)
- 2 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 4 hamburger buns
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- Vegetables and other serving ingredients
Cooking Steps
- Put the ground meat, lightly beaten egg, garlic powder, salt, pepper, molasses, and Worcestershire sauce into a bowl and into a mixing bowl and mix.
- Divide the mixture into equal parts of about 6 ounces each
- Form each part into a ball and lightly press into each with your thumb
- Preheat your grill to around 375°F or medium-high heat
- Place the meatballs on the grill, and grill for 4 – 6 minutes
- Flip over and cook for another 4 – 6 minutes
- Optionally, you can top the burgers with cheese
- Next, place your buns on the hot grill, with the cut side down, and press them lightly against the grill
- Toast them lightly until they become golden
- Serve the burger sandwiched in between your buns with vegetables and other ingredients of your choice
Conclusion
Cooking burgers on a grill should not only be reserved for when you’re having an outdoor BBQ.
You can as well make delicious burgers on your indoor grill for yourself and family, or for when you have friends over.
Without sufficient experience or if you’ve been out of practice for a while, it can be quite confusing to figure out when your burger is done and how long you need to cook your burgers.
Hempen Hill BBQ have also included a simple burger recipe you can easily prepare in your kitchen using your indoor grill.
Happy Grilling!