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The hamburger represents one of the easiest forms of meat to cook, as well as foul up on when cooking. It can be prepared to different degrees and finishes, but it can also taste absolutely horrible when cooked wrong.
The surface and cooking environment is just as important as the meat and the time it takes to cook, and understanding the interplay of all four regularly produces a better hamburger again and again.
How to Cook Frozen Hamburgers on a Blackstone Griddle
The first step is to always heat up the griddle. Never start cooking cold, expecting the meat to heat up with the surface warming. Then, take a small amount of oil and coat the griddle so that the surface is clean and easy to cook on without sticking.
This avoids charring. Don’t use a lot; barely any oil can go very far in prepping the cooking surface. Once the griddle is at the right heat, put the hamburger on the griddle and brown each side. Then cook to a desired internal heat and finish.
Here’s a quick video showcasing how to cook burgers on a Blackstone Griddle:
Are Burgers Better on Grill or Griddle?
For most folks, cooking a hamburger on a griddle tastes better. However, many folks actually eat hamburgers from a flat grill when ordering at a fast food restaurant. This is one of the most common ways to cook a hamburger if not on a flame-broiled grille.
What Temperature do You Cook Frozen Burgers on the Griddle?
400 degrees Fahrenheit for a cooking setting is a good start, but expect to lower it a bit as things heat up.
At a minimum, meat needs to reach an internal temperature of 150 degrees Fahrenheit to be safe to eat. You could go as low as 140 degrees, but that’s really pushing the safety risk.
Ideally, the meat should be cooked through so that none of it is raw, including the middle. When the internal temperature is reached, the inner meat is changing from a pink to a brown for well done.
Why Do Burgers Taste Better on a Griddle?
Generally, the taste difference from a flat grill to a griddle is, as mentioned above, avoiding cooking the meat in its own fat. The lardy, heavy taste comes from too much fat in the meat, taking away from the meat juices that give it taste.
The same thing happens when one eats very fatty bacon. It tastes more like fat than anything else, even with the salt. With a griddle, the fat can drain off, especially when cooking on a raised griddle. Less fat when the hamburger is finished, the better it will taste when eating on its own or combined with other toppings.
Should I Thaw Frozen Burgers Before Grilling?
Ideally, cooking hamburger patties should be fresh, but that’s not realistic as most people aren’t going to take the time to mash hamburger lumps into a perfect, round patty. Instead, they are going to grab a frozen one and just throw it on the grill or griddle.
This increases the risk of part of the meat not cooking thoroughly all the way through if taken off too early.
Thawing the patties out is the best method as it cuts down the time the heating process needs to work, and the hamburger cooks faster. It’s easy to do. All one has to do is take out the requisite patties the day before from the freezer and put them in the fridge before cooking.
They will be thawed out from full frozen to a cold meat and easier to cook correctly. Plus, if you want to marinade them with flavors, sitting in the fridge overnight is a perfect opportunity.
Final Thoughts
Hamburger cooking of any form is one of the easiest ways to cook beef (or turkey or tofu for that matter), but a lot depends on what the meat is cooked in for the best taste.
Allowing draining is key; fat is good for the initial taste, but the excess in cooking needs to go somewhere other than a person’s stomach at the end when finished.
How long you cook a hamburger will often be a matter of taste, ranging from rare to very well done.
However, the safety and quality of the meat cooked is directly affected by the equipment used. Flat should be avoided as much as possible. Ideally, hamburgers cook best with gravity as their friend, drawing away the excess and leaving a tasty meal when it’s time to serve and eat.
Robert is a certified Pitmaster, with over a decade of experience in smoking the best meats you’ll ever feast upon. He also has a Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of Texas at San Antonio. When he’s not researching technical topics, he’s most likely barbecuing in his backyard.