Reverse Seared Smoked Hamburgers

If you’ve only ever grilled your burgers, you should try this way.

I’ll demonstrate how to smoke burgers using the reverse sear technique.

Cooking your burgers slowly and finishing them with a nice sear adds plenty of flavor while keeping them juicy!

Smoked hamburgers

While this recipe is for smoked hamburgers, they are more accurately described as reverse seared.

Reverse searing works well with bigger burger patties because it allows you to obtain some fantastic smoky flavor while avoiding overcooking and finishing with a lovely sear for the ultimate crust.

I suggest the smash burger approach if you want thin patties.

Smoking the burgers over low heat greatly improves moisture retention. When the temperature of your heat source rises, the fat from the protein tends to leave quicker. When cooking burgers on high heat and turning them back and forth, you may rapidly dry them out.

They may quickly overcook this manner, and prolonged handling encourages more juice to escape.

I start by smoking the burgers at around 225 degrees Fahrenheit until the internal temperature reaches 130 degrees Fahrenheit, then sear over high heat to finish.

This gives the burgers a lovely crust while still keeping the juices in.

What type of ground beef is best

Most individuals, like myself, will purchase their meat already ground at the shop. Of course, if you have a meat grinder at home, you may make your own burger mixes with wonderful results.

20 mixture. The key here is to get the correct fat-to-meat ratio. An 80 is ideal for me.

That indicates the ground combination has 80% meat and 20% fat. This ratio provides enough fat for taste while preserving enough moisture in the burger during the cooking process to make it juicy.

If you choose a 30 mix, your burger may be much too oily.If you use a 10 mix, you may get a dry burger; similarly, if you use a greater fat content, such as a 70 blend, you may get a moist burger.If you go over a 90,

Not to mention the grease fire possibilities!

Obviously, the higher the fat content of the ground beef, the higher the calorie count, and vice versa. All things to think about if you’re aware of them.

Forming the patties

There are a few strategies to making burger patties.

You don’t want to touch the meat too much since it will overwork the proteins and cause your patties to come apart on the grill.

I season my patties simply with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Don’t bother about incorporating the spice into the burgers; just season them after the patties have been made.

Burger patties should be roughly 6 ounces in size. If the ground beef seems a little loose after I form my patties, I put them back in the fridge for approximately 30 minutes to firm up before cooking them on the grill or smoker.

What type of wood to use for smoked burgers

Because burgers don’t take long to smoke, I’d choose hickory or pecan. These two kinds of wood pair well with beef and will enhance the taste of the burger.

Try cherry if you want something a bit more off the usual path. Cherry smoke not only gives meat a fantastic color, but it also provides a hint of sweetness that mixes surprisingly well with ground beef.

These burgers were smoked on my pellet BBQ using Bear Mountain pellets.

What can I put on my burger? 

You can put anything on a hamburger and create your own taste combos.

Traditional ingredients include lettuce, tomato, onion, cheese, and bacon (which we suggest). However, don’t be scared to experiment with diverse taste profiles. I’ve seen jalapeos and onion rings, as well as french fries, noodles, and even kimchi. My particular favorite is an egg with a large, thick yolk on top.

In terms of condiments, the basics include mayonnaise, ketchup, and mustard, but I’ve also seen BBQ sauce, spicy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, horseradish, jams, and relishes.

How to make smoked hamburgers 

Begin by preheating your smoker to 225°F. I utilized my Pit Boss 1600 Pro with Bear Mountain BBQ hickory pellets for this cook. Meanwhile, shape your ground beef into 6 ounce patties and season on both sides with salt, pepper, and garlic powder.

You may add extra spices if you like, but with burgers, I prefer to keep it simple.

Once the burgers are on the smoker, you don’t need to do anything to them. It should take around an hour for the meat to come to temperature.

I cook my burgers to 130°F before removing them to sear. Because my heat source is from beneath, I ended up turning my burgers about halfway through cooking to ensure they were uniformly cooked on both sides.

At this point, you can either continue to smoke the burgers until they reach your preferred temperature, or you may sear them on both sides on a hot gas grill to attempt to produce a little crust and seal in all the flavors.

While the burgers are smoking, crisp the bacon and put it away for later. Nobody wants a burger with floppy bacon.

When the burgers were almost done, I put them on the top rack of my gas grill and topped each with a piece of cheddar cheese, then closed the lid and let the cheese melt for a minute or two. I also toasted the hamburger buns before bringing them inside to assemble.

For the assembly, I spread mayo on the bottom bun, then placed lettuce, a slice of tomato, the burger, and some crispy bacon on top.

I add additional mayo, ketchup, and mustard to the top bun.

Side dishes that go well with burgers

What goes wrong with a tasty smoked burger? That list, I believe, would be considerably shorter! Serve your burgers alongside:

• classic french fries
• potato salad
• macaroni and cheese
• baked beans
• coleslaw
• grilled asparagus

More smoked burger recipes to try

• Smoked Burgers With Fennel and Pear Slaw
• Big Mac Copycat Smash Burgers With Crispy Bacon
• Grilled Mediterranean Lamb Burgers
• Homemade Smoked Smash Burger