Culinary Corner: Hickory Smoked Burgers

Culinary Corner: Hickory Smoked Burgers

Mr. Hartman, Adviser

Disclaimer:
All of my BBQ recipes are done on a charcoal grill. However, any technique done over charcoal can be accomplished on a gas grill; for things like smoking meats, you may need some extra devices. If you have any questions about any of our recipes you can email me at:

Hickory smoked burgers

These burgers are a favorite in my home. Many folks think that the BBQ season ends with daylight savings, but I will continue to fire up the coals pretty much year round. This particular recipe will cook the burgers to a medium/medium rare, if your tastes vary from there, adjust your timing plus or minus 4-5 minutes total cook time.

2lbs ground beef
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp dried rosemary (crushed)
1 tbsp black pepper
1 tbsp salt
1 2″ block of dried hickory (or a cup of chips)

Soak hickory in water (about 30 min)

Mix herbs and spices in with ground beef and patty out the burgers. Six burgers would be typical but I like my burgers larger than ‘typical’.
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 Set up the grill for two zone cooking.

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Place hickory on coals and allow to flame up briefly. Place burger patties on ‘cool’ side of the grill and cover the grill.
 

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 Allow the smoke to do its thing for about 10 minutes. The burgers will be cooking during this time albeit slowly. After ten minutes remove burgers from the grill and allow the coals to come up in temperature.
After about five minutes of allowing coals to heat up test the temp by grilling the buns. Each bun should be done in about 30 seconds if the grill temp is correct.
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Place the burgers back onto the hot coals for about 2-3 minutes to get carmalizing on the surface.
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 Remove burgers, cover and allow to rest for about five minutes. Dress burgers to your own tastes (my wife made guacamole so that was my go to this time) and enjoy.
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