How to Make The Best Grilled BBQ Burgers

48 Comments / By Stephanie / May 24, 2019

A regular hamburger is great, but add some BBQ flavor for an amazing burger! BBQ Burgers are better than you can get at a restaurant!

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I don’t even remember where we got the idea for this BBQ burger recipe, but one night we decided we wanted to try to do something different with our burgers to give them more flavor. We took a look in our pantry to see what we had and found some barbecue seasoning and sauce leftover from other meals. So we started mixing things and came up with this recipe for BBQ burgers, and they are ah-maz-ing!

We grill almost year-round here since it’s always so warm in SE Texas.

Serving Suggestions & Tips

During the summer, we love traditional southern BBQ sides such as coleslaw, potato salad, onion rings, sweet potato fries, or french fries.
You need to do a little bit of math here to figure out what size burgers you want. We usually make 1/3 pound burgers for the adults, and 1/4 pounders for the kids.
Serve your barbecue burgers with your favorite toppings such as red onions, lettuce, tomato, white onion, pickles, smoky bacon, ketchup, mustard, mayo, etc.
Add other seasonings to your BBQ sauce for an extra flavorful burger. Try Worcestershire sauce, balsamic vinegar, or tomato paste with your BBQ sauce.
Mix more flavors into the bread crumbs like brown sugar, chili powder, black pepper, or dried parsley.
We prefer lean ground beef for our burgers, but you can also try ground chuck or make these with ground turkey or ground pork.
Make sure you don’t form thick patties or they won’t grill properly. You’ll have dry burgers that are charred on the outside.
For those who like a toasted fresh hamburger bun, butter the inside of the buns and place them on direct heat for 1-2 minutes until they are golden brown.
We use a gas grill for our burgers, but you can also cook them over a charcoal grill. The cook time may vary based on the heat of the charcoal.
The best cheese options for a great burger include cheddar cheese, American cheese, pepper jack cheese, muenster cheese, provolone cheese, and swiss cheese.
Use your favorite BBQ sauce from the grocery store or make homemade BBQ sauce for the best burgers.

What Internal Temperature Should the BBQ Burgers Be Cooked to?

When preparing your juicy burgers, make sure to use an instant-read meat thermometer to check the internal temperature of the burgers. Use the following chart, in degrees Fahrenheit, to make the best BBQ burgers for your family.

Rare Burger: 120–125 degrees F
Medium-Rare Burger: 130–135 degrees F
Medium Burger: 140–145 degrees F
Medium-Well Burger: 150–155 degrees F
Well-Done Burger: 160–165 degrees F

BBQ Burgers Step by Step

Ingredients

2 lbs ground beef
2 cups bread crumbs
2 tbsp bbq seasoning
1 tbsp onion powder
2 tsp garlic powder
1 cup bbq sauce
6 hamburger buns
Desired toppings

Preparation

Start by dividing up your ground beef for the hamburger patties.

In one small bowl, combine the bread crumbs, BBQ seasoning, onion powder, and garlic powder. Add the BBQ sauce to a separate small bowl. Roll each piece of ground beef into a ball, then coat with breadcrumb mixture and work that into the meat.

Young boy rolling burger meat in bread crumbs

Next, roll the meat into the bbq sauce and work that into the meat as well. Then flatten the beef out into the shape of a hamburger patty.

Young boy rolling burger meat in a bowl of bbq sauce

Justin’s expert advice: Once you shape the hamburgers, use your thumb to make in intend in the center of the patty to help them keep a better size while they are grilling. If we forget to do this, they end up more like a hockey puck than a hamburger!

Young boy pressing a dimple into bbq burger patties

Repeat this with each piece of ground beef. Then cook burgers over medium heat on the grill until they reach your desired doneness, making sure to flip at least once. If you want a cheeseburger, add a slice of cheese in the last minute of cooking, just enough so that the cheese melts.

BBQ burgers topped with slices of cheese on the grill

Serve on a hamburger bun with your favorite hamburger toppings. There’s no wrong way to eat a hamburger, just pile on what you like and go for it!

BBQ burger on a white plate next to coleslaw on a wooden background (vertical)

BBQ Burger Leftovers

Storage: Place leftover hamburger patties in an airtight container and refrigerate for 2-3 days. Ideally, save the hamburger patties before adding anything to the top of the burger other than the cheese. Store the buns in a separate airtight container at room temperature.

Reheating: The best way to reheat the burger patty is on a large skillet over medium-high heat until warmed through. Just remember that this will cook the burger further, increasing the “doneness” of the burger. Warm the buns on the same skillet once the meat is done cooking.

Recipe

Originally Published On: August 21, 2016

Last Updated On: October 17, 2024

BBQ burger on a white plate next to coleslaw on a wooden background

Justin’s Famous BBQ Burgers

A regular hamburger is great, but add some BBQ flavor and you have an amazing burger! This is better than you can get at a restaurant!

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 20

Total Time 40

Course:

Main Dish

Cuisine:

American

Keyword:

bbq

ground beef

sandwich

Servings:

5 from 9 votes