The Temperature Your Grill Should Be When Cooking Burgers

You wouldn't throw beef in the oven without knowing what temperature it needed to be to cook it properly, and knowing how hot your grill should be when making burgers outdoors is equally important. Set too high, and you could end up with charred hockey pucks, and setting the temperature too low can result in a meal that lacks the signature barbecued flavor and look. While there isn't a one-size-fits-all number for every patty, there is a range you want to shoot for.

When preparing things for a burger cookout, you should aim for the grill to be between 375 to 450 degrees Fahrenheit, a medium to medium-high setting on most units. You want to hear that magic sizzle when the meat makes contact with the grates, so preheating it for 10 to 15 minutes and ensuring the grill is cleaned beforehand are essential preparation tasks. There is an ideal temperature range for cooking burgers on the grill instead of an exact number because not every patty is the same, and the temperature you want to cook your beef at depends on its overall size.

A temperature range between 375 and 450 degrees Fahrenheit is a good start, but you can narrow this spectrum down once your burger patties are assembled and you can assess their size. Cook smaller, thinner patties closer to 375 degrees because they will cook faster than thicker ones, whereas larger ones will cook best at the higher end of the range. This span also applies to frozen burgers, though you may want to side with caution and go toward the lower side of the spectrum since the meat will have to cook for about 10 minutes more than a thawed patty.

Achieving a delectable crust on a grilled burger doesn't just affect the texture, it creates distinctive new flavors and aromas that give the meat an  undeniably special taste. The browning that occurs when grilling a burger is called the Maillard reaction – a chemical response that happens when proteins and amino acids interact with carbohydrates from reducing sugars. This process can create hundreds of flavorful compounds in the beef, transforming a hum-drum meat patty into a meal that has folks coming back for a second helping, and a proper temperature is crucial to facilitate the reaction. The correct temperature setting is also critical when attempting to attain specific degrees of doneness.

Getting everyone's burger cooked how they like it can be challenging, but if your grill is set to the appropriate level of heat, it is easier to estimate the correct cooking times for various preferences. The USDA recommends cooking ground beef to an internal temperature of 160 degrees to ensure it is free from potentially harmful bacteria, which would classify as well-done and should cook in roughly 10 minutes, depending on the size of the patty. For folks seeking a juicier piece of meat without using the ice cube trick, a medium burger at 140 degrees Fahrenheit will take seven to eight minutes on the grill. If you go bold with your burger temps, six minutes will be the time to aim for when trying to make one medium-rare. The less time it takes to cook, the higher you will want your temperature to be so you can get a good sear quickly.

Whichever degree of doneness you prefer, setting your grill to the correct temperature is the first step. If you don't get that delicious crust on the outside, you may as well have baked burgers in the oven. Plenty of additional tricks can help you grill the perfect burgers, but they won't do much good if your grill is set too high or too low.