Griddles are great equipment to use for cooking burgers. The heat evenly spreads out on the entire surface, making everything heat up and sizzle at the exact same time and with the same level of heat.
Of course, burgers are not the only food dishes you can prepare on the griddle. But right now, we will stick to talking about how to cook burgers on a griddle so that you can easily cook some fresh batches of burgers for you and your family to enjoy as a snack.
So, let’s get started.
How to Cook Burgers on a Griddle
Cooking burgers in general with ovens or stoves is pretty tricky. And very specific measurements and techniques are needed to perfectly nail the making of burgers. But if you own a griddle, the entire process of making burgers becomes easier.
And you save up on time and energy when using a griddle. Below the steps for making burgers on a griddle are given:
Step 1: Collect the Right Ingredients, Equipment and Tools
When making an ordinary burger, there are some common ingredients of food products that you will need to buy. Depending on your choice, you can add any extra ingredients as well. Any kind of meat applies, and vegetarian burgers are also applicable here. But for now, we will stick to talking about a simple beef burger.
For beef burgers, the ingredients you will need are ground beef, mayonnaise, ketchup, pickles, chili powder, salt, pepper, butter, burger buns, cheese, tomatoes, lettuce, onions, etc. Alternative ingredients to these can also be used depending on your liking.
And when it comes to equipment and tools, the main equipment will be your griddle equipment. The tools on the side would most likely be electric mixers, electric beaters, measuring and mixing bowls, measuring and mixing utensils, knives, chopping boards, etc.
Step 2: Mixing Ingredients
Take a large mixing bowl and add in 1 pound of the ground beef. On that ground beef, add 1/4th of a cup of mayonnaise, 2 tablespoons of ketchup, 1/4th of a teaspoon of chili powder, half a teaspoon of salt, and a tablespoon of dill pickle relish if you have any.
Use an electric mixer for a more efficient mixing of ingredients. Cover up the bowl and put it in the fridge.
After you take the marinated ground beef out, you need to divide it into equal proportions. You can make them whatever size you want. After that, you need to pat the meat lightly till they look like disk-shaped patties. Season both sides with some salt and black pepper and set them on a plate.
Step 3: Preparing the Griddle
Now let us move on to using the griddle. Before using the griddle, you must prepare the griddle first. Get some cooking oil, butter, or beef fat and pour about 2 teaspoons of it on the area you will use. Make sure the oil is layered on evenly on the griddle surface.
Depending on what kind of oil you want, either of those 3 is applicable for frying on the griddle. They can be applied on the griddle the same way. Leave the griddle to heat up for a while. Make sure the setting of the heat is set to medium level.
Some griddles come with patterns on the surface meant, especially for printing grill marks on the burger patties. It is not necessary for your griddle to have it, but if you do, you need to make sure the oil has been well-layered everywhere on and around the patterns too.
Step 4: Frying or Cooking the Patties
When you notice the oil starts to sizzle a bit and smoke coming out of the oil on the griddle, that is when the griddle is ready to be used. Take your beef patties on your palm and gently slap it on to that oiled surface on the griddle.
There will be louder sizzling and hissing sounds because of the reaction of something moist to hot oil on an iron griddle. Leave it to cook through for about 3 minutes more or less before you flip it onto its other side, which will also cook for 3 minutes.
And there are some meat thermometers you can stick inside the patties to see the temperature they are at as they are frying away. When it reaches 160 degrees Fahrenheit, that is the right temperature for it to be cooked thoroughly.
The color of the patty should be a caramelized brown color on both sides as you are cooking it. Use a large flat spatula to pat the patty down on the griddle for quicker cooking and flipping. Once it is done, you can scrape the patty off and place it on a plate.
Continue this same process for all the raw beef patties. If your griddle is big enough, you can oil the whole area up and add all the patties on it together. But you need to be careful and keep an eye on each patty for the time it has been cooked.
You also need to make sure there are fairly one or two inches of gap between each patty so that the oil can sizzle around the sides of the patties.
Step 5: Preparing the Rest of the Burger Components
If there are any open spaces on the griddle, then cut up your burger buns into top and bottom slices and toast them slightly on the griddle. Oiling the griddle is not necessary for toasting bread buns.
On top of the well-cooked meat patties that are still frying on the griddle, you can add a slice of cheese on each patty and let it melt over the patties. Take the buns off the griddle and add the ketchup, mayonnaise, and other condiments you want on the inner sides of the buns.
Place the cooked cheesy patty on the bottom bun and then top it with thin slices of tomato, onions, pickles, lettuce, and anything else you want on your burger. Add ketchup and mayonnaise on top again and then close with the top bun side.
And if you want to get rid of any excess oil on the beef patty, you could set it on paper towels before placing it on the bun. The paper towels will soak up all that unnecessary oil.
Depending on vegetarian burgers, the patty might be made up of different ingredients and might require different time and heat settings, but it can still be fried on the griddle as long as you use vegetarian cooking oil. The time may also change depending on the thickness of the patty.
Final Words
The advantage of cooking on griddles is that you can do it indoors with your indoor gas line. Cooking burgers does not always have to be done outdoors with barbeque grilling equipment.
You can casually do it in your own kitchen while having the freedom to walk around the kitchen for all your necessary ingredients and tools for cooking.
Knowing how to cook burgers on a griddle is the easiest way, especially if you are making a lot of burgers. Having a comfortable griddle to cook them on makes it easier for you.