Forget Regular Grilling: This Method Makes Burgers Taste So Much Better

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Does any food characterize a proper cookout quite like a burger? Burgers sing the song of summer: long afternoons scented with chlorine from the pool, citronella candles, and smoke from the grill. Speaking of smoke from the grill — did you know that smoking might just be the perfect way to make the best burgers of your life? Allow us to elaborate.

While it can be easy to dry out burgers on a regular grill, proper smoking technique allows the meat to stay perfectly juicy, inside and out. If you smoke your burgers and then finish them off with a reverse sear, you still get the prized crispy char on the exterior, along with gorgeous grill marks from the smoker. Best of all, you get the characteristic smoky flavor that can only come from a fire fueled by wood. It's neither difficult nor time-intensive to smoke burgers, meaning that there's little reason why you shouldn't start doing so right away!

The pros suggest smoking your burgers over a strong wood like hickory. The patties won't be smoking for very long, so you want the most pungent smoke possible to really permeate the beef. If your temperature holds steady at 225 degrees Fahrenheit, it will take half-inch patties around an hour to cook through. Interestingly, smoked patties will always be pink inside, no matter how thoroughly they are cooked. Once the burgers are around 15 degrees from your preferred level of doneness (a meat thermometer is crucial for this technique; we like the good reviews on the budget-conscious ANDAXIN waterproof digital model), give them a good finishing sear, either by jacking up your grill to 400 degrees or getting a ripping-hot cast iron going on your stovetop.

Perhaps the most important variable when it comes to smoking burgers successfully is the fat ratio of your beef. We previously discussed the best meat-to-fat ratio for burgers being 80/20, and that's no different here. Too little fat, and the meat will dry out irredeemably. Celeb chef Alton Brown swears by grinding his own meat for homemade burgers, and amateur smokers will see real benefits from doing so: the meat will be as fresh as possible (not always true about supermarket beef), and you can control the fat content by grinding in bacon, lard, or butter.

Most sources will tell you to only season the outside of the patty when smoking burgers. Technically, all you need are the basics: salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Feel free to whip out your favorite BBQ rub and really go for the gusto! We've heard of folks making some simply amazing Juicy Lucy burgers on the smoker by stuffing the patties with cubed cheese. Keep in mind that, while we love them, this is not the moment for smash burgers, which can too easily become beef jerky when being smoked for a long time. 

Smoked burgers are large and in charge, the kind of thick patty that drips down your chin when you take a bite. The flavor should be big and bold, requiring little more than crispy lettuce and fresh tomato to gussy up ... although we'll never turn down a burger with plenty of toppings! A very important note: cleanliness is flavor when it comes to using your smoker over the course of the summer, so bone up on the best way to clean your smoker and how often to do so.