What if it rains this weekend, and I can’t make burgers on the grill? Don’t worry; I found just the trick. Making burgers in the oven means you can cook them rain or shine.
When you cook your burgers on a rack in the oven, you don’t have to turn your food. The air circulates under the food and cooks the food from above and below. Cooking times are reduced. Without turning, your burgers are incredibly juicy. There is no searing of the meat to try to hold the juices in but that doesn’t matter because the burgers aren’t turned and the juices are not lost.
Here’s how to make quick, easy burgers in the oven with little cleanup.
- Line a baking sheet with foil. Set an oven-safe rack on the foil. You should have at least an inch of air space between the rack and pan for circulation.
- Set the oven shelf to the upper third of the oven.
- Preheat the oven to 400°F.
- Form burger patties, include seasonings, as you normally would. (We used a burger press and made 1/3 pound burgers.)
- Set the burgers on the rack and place the pan with rack in the oven.
- Bake for eight to ten minutes or until as done as you like them. Use a meat thermometer to get it just right.
That’s all there is to it. Once you know your cooking times, you can just set the timer and walk away. There is no cooking over a hot stove, no grease splatter, and little clean up. (Throw the foil away and brush and wash the rack before any food particles dry on the rack.)
These will the easiest burgers you have ever cooked.
Making the Perfect Burger Patty
On top of giving you the secrets to making burgers in the oven, you can even have the keys to making the perfect burger patty: using the right kind of beef, getting the size right, using the best seasoning, and cooking it right. Obviously, we’ve already gone over how to cook the burger just right in the oven, and the rest will all be a breeze.
Using the Right Kind of Beef
The fresher the beef, the better the patty. Get the best beef you can find, and don’t be afraid of a little fat content. The fat will make the burger juicier. When making my own burger patties, I like to use 85% lean ground beef, so it’s lean, but not super lean. Using 100% lean beef will lead to a dryer burger.
Seasoning Your Burger
It’s important to add the seasoning before cooking the burger in order for the salt and seasonings to melt into the meat as it cooks, melding with the entire burger. Kneading the seasoning into the meat before forming the patty works well. If you like simplicity, you can just season with salt and pepper, or you can spice it up with some of my favorite grill seasonings.
Getting the Sizing Right
As explained before, we like to use a burger press to get just the right size for the burger. Using a burger press gives the perfect size, uniform thickness, and compresses all of the juice and flavors inside, so it holds together without turning into a hockey puck.
