Your Burgers Can Taste So Much Better If You Cook Them This Way

Can we even call it summer without firing up the grill and slapping some burgers on it? We don't think so, but there is a downside, particularly for new or inexperienced practitioners of this culinary method. We've all eaten burgers that were burned (kinder folks might call them "charred") on the outside and stomach-flippingly raw inside. That's the result of being plopped onto a single zone of direct heat and left there.

Flavor is everything when it comes to burgers, and having two heat zones on your grill will ensure you serve up nothing else every single time. The two-zone method puts a crispy crust on your burger and ensures the interior is edible. You can either sear your burgers first, then move them to indirect heat so the insides catch up, or cook the burger more slowly on the indirect side, before a quick sear over direct heat.

If you're working with charcoal, heat the grill to around 400 degrees Fahrenheit, then push the coals over to one side or section of the grill to create a source of direct heat. The space you've just cleared will provide the indirect heat. You can easily replicate this in a gas grill by having one side at high heat and other on low. Just remember when the burger is in the indirect zone to close the lid so it can cook thoroughly.

Make sure you keep your patties in the fridge until they're ready to go on the grill, then season them right before cooking. The USDA recommends burgers be cooked to an internal temperature of 160 degrees Fahrenheit, but it's wicked easy to shoot past it when two-zone grilling. Cooking them on indirect heat first does give you more time to sear without overcooking, just move your burgers to the direct heat when they're about 20 degrees Fahrenheit below your ideal cooked temperature, stick 'em with a meat thermometer and watch those numbers like a hawk! 

The two-zone grilling method is just one of our 15 essential tips for grilling the perfect burger. Another is ensuring that your home-made burgers have the right meat-to-fat ratio. Looking for a new burger technique? Make this summer the time you try adding sour cream to your meat for the hands-down juiciest burgers.