Hamburger is a very popular choice for cooking outdoors or for a delicious dinner. You can make simple and plain hamburger more mouthwatering by adding some tasty ingredients. One thing about burgers is that everyone loves them, making them an ideal option for the whole family.
How can you cook this tasty meal option easily and quickly? Easy! You just need to use a griddle.
Cooking hamburgers on a griddle comes in handy, especially when you’ve limited time. This is because the meats cook in a matter of minutes and the cooking process requires minimal preparation.
So, whether you’re a beginner or not, cooking hamburgers on a griddle is a simple and tasty option. Even better, the cooking process doesn’t matter whether you’re using an electric griddle or a simple griddle. Continue reading this practical guide and learn how to cook scrumptious hamburgers with your griddle!
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What is a hamburger anyway?
A burger is simply a sandwich that has 2 buns and a patty topped with sauces. There are various types of burgers to choose from, including hamburgers, chicken, fish, double patty burgers, veggie burgers, and cheeseburgers.
But, what differentiates these burgers? That would be the patty which usually contains ground meat. It is the patty ingredients that matter in a burger!
For hamburgers, the main ingredient of the patty is a round beef fillet topped with breadcrumbs and onions. It was named after the Hamburg steak that was prepared in Germany in the 19th Century.
Benefits of cooking your hamburgers on a griddle
You can cook a burger through various techniques. Some of them include; steaming, baking, searing and grilling. But the best way of cooking burgers is by using an electric griddle as it gives you that meaty tasty. That technique has other benefits like;
- Locked-in juices since griddles don’t have grates. Cooking on a flat surface allows the fat juices to sizzle in your burger. This results in juicier burgers than the ones you cook on a grill.
- Once you place the plat of the griddle, proteins from the surface create a delicious crust. It’s because of this searing capacity that most steakhouses use griddles instead of grills.
- Another benefit of using a griddle is that you can also use it to smoke up your burger. Thus giving you the smoky taste, as well as lock-in juices. You just need a torch, foil pan, and wooden chips to smoke your meats with a griddle.
- You can also use the griddle to steam up the patty toppings. Even, you only need a basting cover to steam veggies and melt the cheese. Steaming your burger with a griddle enhances flavor and adds moisture to the burger.
- Most griddles have temperature control settings. This enables you to control the temperature at which you’re heating the patties. Moreover, their cooking surfaces heat up evenly and retain consistent heat. Therefore, there will be no flare-ups and your entire burger will a consistent taste and flavor!
How to Cook Hamburgers on a Griddle?
Preparation process!
- The best thing about cooking burgers on electric griddle is that you don’t need many tools. You just need; a griddle and a spatula.
- While for the ingredients, you need; ground chuck, ground Italian sausage, oil and seasonings like salt, garlic powder, or pepper.
- Now, combine ground Italian sausage and ground beef. Italian sausage adds texture and flavor to your burger. You will also need seasonings like Season the combo with garlic powder, salt, or pepper.
- Put the ground meats in a mixing bowl and mix them with your seasonings. Use a large bowl since it allows you to mix the meats with the seasonings easily and quickly.
- Weigh out your burgers to ensure that they’ve got the same size. For 1 pound of ground meats, you can make four ¼ pound hamburgers.
- Heat the griddle up to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. That’s the ideal temperature for cooking hamburgers without burning them up.
- Once the griddle has heated up well, spread oil on the hot griddle surface with a pastry brush. You can also dip a paper towel into some oil and spread it over the surface with tongs.
The Cooking Process!
- Put your patties on the hot griddle surface and space them accordingly.
- Space them uniformly and look out for hot spots to ensure that they’re cooked evenly.
- Let the first side cook for about 4 to 5 minutes before you flip them over.
- Once the first side has cooked well, flip it over and let the 2nd side cook for the same amount of time.
- When the patties are fully cooked, serve them on a toasted burger bun.
- You can also add some extras like chopped chilies, cheese, salad, and relish.
- After you’re done cooking your burgers, let the griddle cool down.
- Then use a paper towel to wipe it down and remove any excess oil.
- When you’ve removed all excess oils, use a sponge or a soft brush to clean the griddle surface with some soapy water.
Hamburger Safety Tips and Warnings
Ever heard of hamburger disease? Well, it’s a certain kind of food poisoning that is caused by eating under-cooked ground beef. To minimize your chances of getting that disease, you’ve to ensure that you cook and handle ground beef accordingly! Also, there certain safety tips you should observe from the moment you buy the ground beef until you cook and eat it. Some of the tips that will help with that include:
- Always by frozen meat as the last item on your shopping list.
- Put the ground beef in a different bag from the other items.
- It’s always good that you keep the cold ground beef cold. This protects it from getting to a temperature that encourage bacteria growth, resulting in food-related diseases. So, when you get home, freeze or refrigerate the frozen ground beef immediately.
- Set the freezer at a temperature lower than 0 degrees F. for a refrigerator, set the temperature to be lower than 40 degrees F.
- Keep the ground beef in a clean waterproof plastic bag or container.
- Don’t store the fresh raw beef for more than 2 days after purchasing. If you’re not planning to use it to cook hamburger within this period, freeze it!
- Always wash your hands with soapy water after and before you touch the raw ground beef.
- Don’t re-use a plate that handled raw beef before. Instead, clean it thoroughly first or use another clean one.
- Use 2 different cutting boards, one for the beef, and another one for the other ingredients
- Wipe the kitchen surfaces with clean paper towels.
- Sanitize the cutting boards, utensils and counter-tops after and before cooking hamburgers.
- Don’t defrost frozen beef at ambient temperature. Instead, use a microwave or a refrigerator. After defrosting, cook the ground meat immediately!
- Prepare thin hamburger patties to ensure that they cook properly.
- Ensure the ground meats are cooked thoroughly. If you’re using a griddle, make sure the internal temperature of the ground meat reach 160 degrees F.
- If there are leftovers, freeze or refrigerate them within 2 hours to reduce chances of bacteria growth. Don’t store the refrigerated leftovers for more than 2 days.
- To reheat the hamburgers, set the griddle temperature at 165 degrees F. Only reheat the leftovers once!
How to cook turkey burgers on a Blackstone griddle
Blackstone griddles can be used to cook almost any type of food, including turkey burgers. One of the best product you should check out is the Blackstone 1554 Outdoor Gas Grill Griddle Station. With that in mind, use the flowing steps to cook turkey burgers:
- Gather the following ingredients; ground turkey breast, olive oil, cheese, chopped red onion, salt, hamburger buns and dried oregano.
- Put the ground turkey, cheese, dried oregano, salt and chopped red onion in a medium bowl and mix them together.
- Shape the mixture into ½” thick patties.
- Heat up your Blackstone griddle to 400 degrees F.
- Spread some olive oil on the hot griddle surface .
- Carefully place the shaped patties on the hot oiled griddle surface.
- Let the first side cook for 4 to 5 minutes, flip them and let the other side cook for that period as well.
- When your patties are completely cooked, remove them from the griddle.
- Serve them on the hamburger buns and add your favorite toppings.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
How long do you cook hamburgers on a griddle?
Each side of the hamburger patties should be allowed to cook on the hot griddle surface for about 4 minutes.
Can you cook hamburgers on an electric griddle?
Yes, you can cook hamburgers on a griddle. Besides, you can also use a griddle to cook other food items like eggs, bacon, steak and pancakes.
How to cook hamburgers on electric griddle
- Ingredients: ground beef, seasonings and beaten egg
- Mix the ingredients in a bowl and use the mixture to create patties.
- Put the patties in a wax paper and place them in a refrigerator for about one hour or leave them overnight. This helps them to become firm.
- When the patties are firm enough, preheat your electric griddle to 375°F. If you’ve a good modern electric, you’ll easily know when it is properly heated. If not, drop some water drops on the griddle surface to know if it’s hot enough.
- Now, put the patties on the hot griddle surface and let the first side cook for about 4 minutes.
- Use a spatula to flip the patties and let the other side cook for another 4 minutes.
- Remove your hamburgers from the electric griddle and unplug it.
- Leave the hamburgers to rest for about five minutes before you serve them.
How do you cook hamburgers on a cast iron griddle?
Heat your cast iron griddle over medium to high temperature for about 2-3 minutes. Put your patties on the hot cast iron cooking surface. If you want medium-rare hamburgers, let each side of the patties cook for four minutes. But for medium hamburgers, cook each side for 5 minutes.
Conclusion:
After reading this article, I hope you can now prepare mouthwatering hamburgers for your family or friends on a griddle. It’s one of the simplest and quickest ways of making a tasty meal, regardless of whichever meat you use to make your burger, the cooking process is the same!
