All-American Grilled Hamburgers

May 4, 2024 by Jackie Garvin 23 Comments

All-American Grilled Hamburgers are iconic American sandwiches. The best burger patties are made simply with good ground beef, salt and pepper.

Plain ol’ hamburgers. What’s so good about them? Everything. Identified as decidedly All-American, hamburgers are a connectional food within our culinary melting pot. They’re eaten in every culture and cuisine that consumes beef. Backyard cookouts will feature hamburgers and hotdogs more often than anything else. When we had out-of-town company at our house, one meal was sure to be grilled hamburgers. They were quick, easy and crowd pleasing. My mother didn’t enjoy cooking and she found preparing large meals stressful. Hamburgers filled the bill for a stress-free meal that everyone enjoyed.

My grandparents loved homemade hamburgers. They loved hamburgers in general, but homemade hamburgers were a special treat for them. They looked forward to those with the same anticipation as I do Thanksgiving Day. Beef wasn’t a staple for them in their earlier years. If they had meat at all, more than likely it would be chicken or pork. Perhaps that contributed to part of their excitement over hamburgers. And you can’t escape the fact that grilled hamburgers just flat-out taste good. The lilt of Granddaddy’s diction resulted in hamburger being pronounced as ham – BUR – ger. He placed the emphasis on the second syllable instead of the first. It wasn’t done to call attention to the word or himself, that was simply his pronunciation. I loved it when it talked about homemade ham – BUR – gers. The music still rings in my ears and I consider that a blessing. May I remember that the longest day I live.

After I was grown and returned to visit my grandparents, I would always suggest that we take a drive around. As I child, they would take us on drives frequently. We would drive around town and out in the country with Granny narrating the trip and pointing out the high points such as who lives in which house and who had recently died. A drive was entertainment to them. Granddaddy had stopped driving anymore than was necessary and Granny never learned to drive. I was sure they were missing their drive times. So, off in the car we would go with me asking them to tell me what they wanted to see. It wound up being the same thing every single time. ‘Let’s go on the highway t’wards Samson.” Lest you be under the delusion that the Sampson highway was scenic, let me reassure you there was nothing to see. Well, almost nothing. There was a grain silo. Granddaddy would tell me each time, “You see that grain silo, Jack? I delivered either the first or second load of peanuts they ever was delivered to that sil0. I delivered ’em with a mule and wagon.” We talked about that and how he waited in line to deliver his load and how he always wondered how many acres he could plow if he’d ever had a tractor instead of mule and plow. Then, they would suggest that we go to the first fast food restaurant that came to their town of Geneva: Hardee’s. Granddaddy would say, “They make good little ham – BUR -gers. I would have taken them anyplace they wanted to go. They always wanted to see the grain silo and get a Hardee’s hamburger. While that might seem boring and uninspired to some, to my grandparents it was Disney World. I was happy being the engineer driving the monorail.

When you get right down to it, is there anything better than a decked out, juicy, homemade burger? If Blackstone cooking is your thing, checkout this Blackstone Smash Burgers recipe.

ground beef patties for all American grilled hamburger

Can I use ground turkey or ground chicken for All American Grilled Hamburgers?

I haven’t tested this recipe with those two ingredients so I can’t give you much guidance. Both ground turkey and ground chicken don’t contain much fat and could become dry during the cooking process.

What if I like my hamburger cooked to medium temperature?

You can cook your hamburger to the internal temperature of your choice. USDA recommends ground beef cooked to an internal temperature of 160 degrees.

Instructions for All-American Grilled Hamburgers

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Choose 80/20 ground beef. Good hamburgers need fat to keep them from getting dry while cooking.
Divide ground beef into fourths.
Shape into patties about 1/2 inches thick. For good bun coverage, make the patties slightly wider than the hamburger buns, if possible.
Make a slight indentation in the center of each patty to prevent a bubble from forming.
Sprinkle salt and pepper on each side of the patties.
Place indented side up on a grill preheated to medium high. Do not press down on the burgers while they’re cooking. Let them cook for at least four minutes UNDISTURBED. This means don’t mess with them. Leave them alone for four minutes. The only exception to this rule is if your grill catches on fire. You will need to spring into action to save more than your burgers. Cook on first side about 4 minutes or until juices start to accumulate on the top surface.
Flip and cook an additional 4 minutes or until internal temperature reaches 160 degrees. After the burgers are flipped, do not press down with that dadgum spatula. The thing is for flipping and not pressing – at least in the burger world.

If you like a hamburger that’s more jazzed up, check out this burger patty recipe .

Suggested toppings and condiments for All American Grilled Hamburgers

lettuce
tomato
onion
jalapeno peppers
pickled onions
bacon
Cajun Crispy Fried Onions
mayonnaise
ketchup
Comeback Sauce
mustard

all American grilled hamburger on a plate

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