My favorite Hamburger Recipe, complete with toasted buns, offers a perfect cheese-stuffed burger, all the veggies, and the best burger sauce!
I love pairing this burger with this Fruit Salad, Macaroni Salad, or Mexican Street Corn Pasta Salad.
The Best Hamburger Recipe
I attended BUSH’S BBQ Bootcamp with master griller Steven Raichlen, author of 28 grilling books and a Harvard instructor.
Excitement filled me as I learned from the best, and now I can’t wait to share the experience and everything I learned about crafting the perfect burger.
This hamburger recipe is my absolute favorite, and best of all, it’s easy to make. I’m also sharing a simple corn salsa recipe alongside the burger and the best sauce recipe. Let’s get started!
What To Serve With Hamburgers
- Fries: Classic and always a hit.
- Coleslaw: A refreshing contrast.
- Potato Salad: Creamy and satisfying.
- Baked Beans: These are the absolute best!
- Pasta Salad: Throw in your fave veggies!
Hamburger Recipe Ingredients
- Ground Beef: Keep the beef cold to help shape the patties and avoid overmixing the meat.
- Minced Garlic: Use fresh garlic for the best flavor.
- Green Onions: Slice them thin so the flavor spreads evenly in the patties.
- Worcestershire Sauce: Use just a little to add extra flavor without making it too strong.
- Cheddar Cheese: Shred the cheese yourself so it melts better and doesn’t clump.
- Salt and Pepper: Season both sides of the patties generously for great flavor.
- Brioche Buns: Brush with butter and toast them on the grill.
- Burger Sauce: Adjust the sauce’s heat by adding more or less chipotle sauce.
How To Make Hamburger Patties Recipe
- Mix: Combine beef, garlic, onions, and Worcestershire sauce.
- Form Patties: Shape into six with cheese in the middle.
- Butter Buns: Brush with melted butter.
- Grill Patties: Cook, flip, and season.
- Toast Buns: Briefly grill.
- Assemble: Stack with sauce and toppings.
Expert Tips
- Grill Prep: Clean grill, then oil with a paper towel and tongs.
- Meat Temperature: Keep meat cold and handle minimally.
- Mixing Beef: Mix lightly to avoid crumbly patties.
- Flipping Burgers: Flip without pressing to retain juices.
- Spatula Choice: Use a wide metal spatula for easier handling.
- Resting: Rest burgers post-grilling for 1-2 minutes for juices to re-distribute.
Quick Tip
We like to have our grill temperature at: 400-450 degrees F.
- Rare: 125°F, 4 minutes.
- Medium-rare: 135°F, 5 minutes.
- Medium: 145°F, 6-7 minutes.
- Well-done: 160-165°F, 8 minutes.
Hamburger Recipe Sides
- Cucumber Salad super easy to make
- Elote Mexican street corn
- Italian Salad with an herb dressing
- Caprese Salad simple and delicious
- Broccoli Salad fresh and flavorful
Hamburger Recipe
This favorite Hamburger Recipe has juicy cheese-stuffed patties, butter-toasted buns, fresh veggies, and the ultimate burger sauce!
Equipment
- Large sheet pan (15″ x 21″)
Ingredients
Burgers
- 2 pounds ground beef very cold, 80/20
- 4 cloves minced garlic
- 2 green onions (scallions), thinly sliced (about 3 tablespoons)
- 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 3/4 cup extra sharp Cheddar cheese freshly shredded
- Salt and pepper about 1 and 1/2 teaspoons total for all the burgers
- 6 brioche buns
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- Burger sauce see note 1
- Toppings as desired such as lettuce, tomatoes, red onion, pickles, etc.
Optional Corn Salsa
- 4 ears sweet corn shucked
- 1 green bell pepper
- 2 tablespoons olive oil plus some for corn and pepper
- 1 cup canned baked beans
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes diced
- 2 green onions (scallions), thinly sliced
- 1 jalapeño seeded and finely diced
- 1/4 cup fresh cilantro finely chopped
- 1 to 2 limes
Instructions
Burgers
- Preheat the grill to 450–500°F.
- In a large mixing bowl, add the beef straight from the fridge, minced garlic, green onions, and Worcestershire sauce. Fold the meat just a few times (no longer than for 30–40 seconds) until ingredients are incorporated. Be careful to not overwork or overhandle the meat.
- Line a large sheet pan with 2 layers of parchment paper. Shape the burger patties on the tray instead of with your hands (this helps keep them from being over-handled while also providing leverage to get the patties firm). Divide all the meat into 6 equal parts and separate each part into 2 parts (with 1 part larger than the other). Gently form each large portion into a patty that is about 4 to 4 and 1/2 inches across with 1-inch sides.
- Make a shallow depression in the middle. Add 2 tablespoons grated cheese into each depression. Cover the cheese with the smaller patty, connecting the beef together and forming into a patty with 1 inch thick sides. Again, depress the center of the patty (see pictures in the post). The depression keeps the patty from shrinking too much and puffing up too much. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge until grill is completely heated.
- Melt the butter and then brush (with a pastry brush) over both sides of all the buns. Set aside.
- Prepare the fully preheated grill by cleaning with a grill brush. Generously oil the grill (I drench a rolled-up paper towel in vegetable oil and, holding it with tongs, rub it over the grill grates). Remove burgers from the fridge. Hold your hand 6–7 inches above the meat and sprinkle salt and pepper liberally on both sides of the patties. In total, I use about 1 and 1/2 teaspoons each of salt and pepper to all the patties.
- Place patties indent-side-down on the grill. Cook to desired doneness: Rare burgers: 125°F (about 4 minutes total) Medium-rare burgers: 135°F (about 5 minutes total) Medium burgers: 145°F (about 6–7 minutes total) Well-done burgers: 160°F (about 8 minutes total) Flip the burgers once halfway during cooking. Never press down the patties (this will make fat and flavor escape). Use a wide metal spatula for best results in flipping and removing patties.
- When you have about 1 minute left of cooking time for the patties, add the buttered buns to the grill (over indirect heat, along the edges of the grill). Watch carefully; they toast in about 30 seconds to a 1 minute.
- Remove burgers and buns from grill and transfer to a clean platter. Let the burgers rest for 1–2 minute before serving. Assemble by adding burger sauce (see note 1) and your favorite veggies such as lettuce, tomatoes, pickles, red onion, etc.
Corn Salsa
- Brush corn and green pepper with olive oil and season (to taste) with salt and pepper. Grill corn (400–450°F) until browned on all sides, 8–12 minutes, (flipping every 2–3 minutes) and transfer to cutting board to cool. Grill green pepper until browned on all sides, 2–3 minutes per side and transfer to cutting board.
- While veggies are grilling, prepare the rest of the salsa: chop the cherry tomatoes, thinly slice green onions, dice jalapeno and cilantro, and juice a lime to get 3 tbsp juice. Add to a large mixing bowl with baked beans and olive oil. Toss. Once veggies have been grilled and cooled, slice kernels off the cob and dice the pepper. Toss all the ingredients to combine and season with salt and pepper to taste. Enjoy alongside the burgers!
Recipe Notes
Note 1: For the burger sauce, combine: 1/2 cup good quality full-fat mayo, 2 tbsp ketchup, 1 tbsp finely grated onion, 1 tbsp sweet pickle relish, 1 tsp adobo sauce from canned chipotle chiles in adobo (increase for spicier), and 1/4 tsp salt. Stir until combined and smooth. Taste and adjust seasonings to preference. Feel free to add a teaspoon or more of the sauce from the chipotles to increase the heat.
Nutrition Note: Nutrition facts do not include the burger sauce, but do include the corn salsa.
Storage: Store cooked patties in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days or freeze individually wrapped for up to 3 months. Keep toppings and bread stored separately to maintain freshness.
Nutrition
Serving: 1serving | Calories: 959kcal | Carbohydrates: 62g | Protein: 44g | Fat: 61g | Saturated Fat: 27g | Cholesterol: 270mg | Sodium: 794mg | Potassium: 847mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 1226IU | Vitamin C: 30mg | Calcium: 211mg | Iron: 5mg
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
One of my favs on the grill❤️
I am so happy to hear this! Thanks so much Carole! 🙂
Best burger and directions ty!
YAY! So happy to hear this! Thanks Aaron! 🙂
So amazing! Great work Chelsea Lords.
Thank you!
Chicken Ramen became a new favorite tonight! Sauce has just the right amount of zing. The chicken is tender because of the small pieces and baking soda trick. Be sure to try this one!
So happy you enjoyed!! Thanks so much for the comment Chelsea 🙂
I had to save this recipe as soon as I saw a photo of that juicy burger. I can’t wait to use your helpful tips next time we are grilling burgers! Love all the side suggestions too!
Thanks so much!! I’m sooo excited for you to try! 🙂
Worcestershire is always so good with beef. I’ll have to try this out!