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A closeup of a beef burger with cheese on a white plate.
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5 from 3 votes

Classic Beef Burgers

Create flavorful steakhouse-style burgers at home with this recipe for Classic Beef Burgers. These juicy burgers have plenty of smoky BBQ flavor.
Prep Time20 minutes
Cook Time8 minutes
Total Time28 minutes
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: American
Servings: 6
Calories: 588kcal

Ingredients

  • 1 piece white sandwich bread crust removed and cut into ¼-inch pieces
  • ¼ cup milk 2% or whole
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 teaspoon minced garlic
  • 2 tablespoons BBQ sauce plus additional for basting
  • 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
  • 2 pounds 80% to 85% lean ground beef
  • 6 good quality hamburger buns
  • 6 slices cheese

Optional Toppings

Instructions

  • Prepare the coals in your BBQ or preheat the grill to MEDIUM-HIGH heat if using a gas BBQ.
  • In a large bowl, mash the bread and milk together with a fork until it forms a chunky paste. Add the salt, pepper, garlic, BBQ sauce, and Worcestershire sauce and mix well.
  • Add the ground beef. breaking the meat up with your hands as you add it. Mix everything together until just combined. Divide the mixture into 6 equal portions and form balls. Flatten the balls into ¾-inch patties. Use your fingers to form a slight depression in the center of each patty.
  • Coat both sides of the patties with nonstick cooking spray (I used avocado oil spray) or alternately, oil the grates on your grill.
  • Grill the burgers, covered, until nicely browned on the first side, 2 to 4 minutes. Flip burgers and continue cooking for a few minutes more until the internal temperature reads at least 160 degrees F. Brush with additional BBQ sauce towards the end of the grilling time, if desired, and top with cheese. Cover and continue to cook until the cheese melts.
  • Before serving, toast the buns on the cooler side of the grill or under your oven’s broiler, if desired.
  • Serve on the burgers on buns with desired toppings.

Notes

Nutrition information was calculated with 85% lean ground beef and 1 ounce of cheese, per burger. Additional toppings will change values.
Make Ahead Instructions
  • To save time, place formed raw burger patties on a foil lined baking sheet, separating the layers with parchment paper. Cover tightly with additional foil, refrigerate promptly and cook the same day.
  • Unlike other cuts of beef, you don't want to allow ground beef to come to room temperature before cooking. Keep the patties chilled and transfer them directly from the refrigerator to the grill. Chilled burgers will stay together better and retain more juices.
  • Cooked, reheated burgers will not be as juicy as freshly cooked burgers so I don't recommend cooking them in advance.
Freezing Burger Patties
  • To retain quality you should not re-freeze meat that has already been frozen. Use freshly bought ground beef to make freezer burger patties.
  • Follow the make-ahead instructions above and then transfer the baking sheet with the raw burger patties to the freezer. When the the patties are frozen solid, transfer them to a freezer-safe plastic storage bag with a small piece of parchment paper between each patty. Press out as much air as possible, seal and label the bag with the date, and freeze.
  • Use frozen hamburger patties within 3 months.
  • Cook frozen burger patties right from the freezer or thaw safely in the refrigerator before cooking. Frozen patties will take about twice as long to cook to a safe temperature of 160 degrees F.

Nutrition

Serving: 1burger | Calories: 588kcal | Carbohydrates: 28g | Protein: 40g | Fat: 34g | Saturated Fat: 15g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 13g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 133mg | Sodium: 991mg | Potassium: 587mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 311IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 331mg | Iron: 5mg