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I dare you to show me one American person, who is not a practicing vegetarian, who doesn't love a cheeseburger, cooked on an outdoor grill? Show me? But how many people actually know how to properly cook a cheeseburger on their outdoor grill? I lived for nearly 30 years before my father-in-law taught me how to grill a cheeseburger. I'll not only give you the recipe of how to grill a cheeseburger, I'll give you the ingredients, how to prepare your grill and step-by-step instructions. So take the cover off the grill, get some wood chips soaking and let's grill cheeseburgers!
Left: Here's where it all begins, as the grill is at 500 degrees and the wood chips are smoking, everything is ready to start cooking the meat patties. Right: Ground beef patties being seared. Note the attractive grill marks. Special
Tools: Outdoor grill; I own a Weber "Genesis"
gas grill 2-lbs
20% ground beef Other
items: The night before you plan to grill your cheeseburgers, grab a handful of wood chips and put them a bucket of water to soak. I use mesquite, hickory or oak chips. Soak the chips in water for at least 12 hours, as they will produce more smoke when they are waterlogged.
Left: Well, while I'm slaving away in the kitchen and at the outdoor grill, my wife has to do something. Perhaps, like relax in her recliner, read a book, and enjoy the company of her cat. Right: Guacamole dip, chips and red wine, DVD remote, what could be better while hubby slaves in the kitchen and at the grill? With a grill brush, thoroughly clean the surface of your outdoor grill. Add soaked wood chips to the smoker box in your grill. Bring grill up to high heat. Carefully spray non-stick cooking spray on grill surface, taking care to avoid flare-ups. Light all burners and bring grill up to "high" heat setting. Meanwhile, have helper peel off lettuce leaves off the head to form leaves slightly larger than the buns. Thinly slice the onion and tomato into slices about 1/8" thick so they can be layered on the burger. Divide the ground beef into quarters and form each quarter into a patty, about 1/2" thick. The patties will be much larger than the bun, but this is normal. For even cooking, endure all patties are nearly identical in size.
Left: About 5 minutes before the meat is done, return to heat and add BBQ sauce. We prefer Kansas City style, but that's an individual thing. Right: I've applied provolone cheese to the patties, on top of the BBQ sauce, and they're ready to take off the grill, after cooking for about 2 minutes. When grill reaches high temperature, about 450 carefully place patties on grill. Cook the patties, about three minutes and turn over with a large spatchula and allow to cook about two minutes. The idea is to sear the burgers to seal in the juices and produce attractive grill marks. Remove meat from grill. Wrap ground beef patties in aluminum foil. When the soaked wood in grill starts to smoke, reduce heat to medium; about 350 degrees. Using the "indirect" cooking method, place wrapped meat above and away from the grill. Bake ground beef patties for about 15 minutes. Place ground beef patties on grill. Using a brush, apply barbecue sauce of your choice liberally on the burger. Cook over indirect, medium heat for about 5 minutes. Add 3 slices of provolone cheese and allow to cook for an extra 2 minutes, until the cheese starts to bubble. Remove from grill.
Left: Cookout-style buns grilling. Careful, the difference between beautiful grill marks and burnt buns can be a matter of seconds. I find about 30 seconds on each side works if the grill is around 350 degrees. Right: Buns, grilled to perfection. Separate top and bottom halves of "cookout" buns. Place bun sections on grill, face down, and allow to toast for about a minute. Remove from grill. Apply garnishes of choice, mustard, mayonnaise and whatever else you desire on your burger and serve immediately, while still hot from the grill. This will be the best cheeseburger that you've ever tasted. As with any hamburger or cheeseburger, the variations are endless. The careful observer will notice from the photos that a couple of our ground beef patties have processed American cheese on them, rather than provolone. The truth is that I vary the garnishes every time I grill these burgers. I vary my garnishes by sometimes including jalapeno peppers, avacado slices, cabbage, or whatever I have on hand. You can elevate your burger to the next level by adding a couple of slices of cooked bacon and some guacamole. The possibilities are, literally, endless.
Left: Sharlene is assembling her perfect cheeseburger. Note the cheese-covered patties in the foreground, framed by glasses of wine and beer. Oh yes, the beer is mine; note the lime and salt, truly in the style of Mexico. Truly a feast! Right: Here's what you need to make the perfict cheeseburger, posistioned on the island in the kitchen. Sometimes I'll add ketchup, or even Mexican picante sauce that I've purchased during one of my many trips to Mexico. What you put on your cheeseburger is up to you, but there are a couple of things that you need to know about grilling cheeseburgers that will make a HUGE difference, the cardinal rule being, DO NOT apply barbecue sauce until the last five minutes.
Left: Yeah baby! Here it is, with all of the garnishes. Question: Rock 'n roll or eat? Eat!!! This burger is good! Right: Sharlene enjoys the best cheeseburger that she has ever eaten. Why? Barbecue sauce contains sugar, and sugar burns and burned barbecue sauce makes for a nasty burger. Adding the cheese at the last minute and allowing it to start to bubble not only looks nice, but it makes for a great-tasting burger. The toasting of the buns will separate your burger from an excellent burger to a burger to-die-for.
Photo: Here's the finished product of the best cheeseburger that you'll ever taste. Golly, you can't even see the cheese! I have written this article for those who posess a gas-fired grill, but the recipe can easily be adapted for those who prefer charcoal. You can even cook delicious cheeseburgers on an indoor grill by eliminating the soaked wood chips, and you'll get everything but the smoky taste. Or you could mix a few drops of liquid smoke into the ground beef in the forming-the-patty stage and you'd have a smoked burger. The possiblities are endless... Now you know how to make the perfect cheeseburger on your outdoor grill.
Copyright(c) 2008 eRench Productions, Inc. All rights reserved. This site has been on the web since December 19, 2002. Web page design has been created by eRench Productions, Inc., custom photography for any occasion...
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