Summer is the season of barbecues and grilling, and there is nothing more popular than grilling burgers. But when it comes to grilling, the work itself can be tricky. You need to consider different factors like what temperature to grill burgers on with a propane grill? How big should it be? How done should it be? And more.
Grilling with propane is not necessarily easy since it can get a bit out of control if you’ve never grilled with it before. Knowing what temperature to start at is also a concern.
What Temperature Should My Burgers Be?
The temperature you want your burger to be at will depend on how done you want it to be at the end. Of course, since higher temperatures result in more cooking, you want to make sure you don’t end up overcooking. At the same time, higher temperatures in less time can also result in the meat being cooked from the outside only while the inside remains pink and soft.
Before you start grilling, you should know what you want your burger to look like (and taste like!) at the end of it, and start accordingly.
For a medium burger, for example, the internal temperature should be somewhere around 155-degrees Fahrenheit in the middle, while a well-done burger would be hotter. On top of just cooking the meat, you have to make sure that you’re killing all of the bacteria inside the meat itself so that it becomes safe for consumption.
For all meat, you should make sure that the meat reaches a specific minimum internal temperature before you take it off the heat. For larger or thicker cuts, you’ll likely have to let it stay for longer.
What Temperature Should I Grill My Burgers On a Propane Grill?
The best temperature to grill your burgers on a propane grill is somewhere between 300-350-degrees Fahrenheit.
Because a propane grill has a cooking grate that you can adjust the height for, you can easily move it up and down to put some distance between the grill and the meat. With this, you can control how much heat the meat is exposed to.
Of course, every grill cooks differently, so first it’s best to gauge the way your grill works and how hot it is. If your grill does not have adjustable temperature, then it’s likely that it is set around the ideal temperature for cooking your burgers, which makes your job a lot easier.
It becomes slightly complicated when your grill has customizable temperature. You’ll likely have to use an infrared thermometer to get the food readings while it’s on the grill.
The problem with propane grills – or any grills, really – is that to get the right outcome, you have to spread the heat over a large surface, which is a bit tricky. You can never be sure if one part of the grill is at the same temperature as another part, particularly because of things like ambient heat and so on.
The best way to deal with this issue is to keep your burgers over indirect heat over a longer period of time. With direct heat, you do get faster cooking and a nice crust, but there is also the likelihood of burns. In fact, since the meat cooks from the outside in, direct heat also has the risk of your burger looking nice and brown on the outside, while the inside remains raw and uncooked.
It may also help to reduce the amount of charcoal you use, and turn down the propane tank. Then, using the infrared thermometer, you can check the temperature on all parts of the grill.
So, the best temperature to cook your burgers on, if you’re using a propane grill, is around 300-350 degrees Fahrenheit if you’re going for a well done burger, or about 225-275 degrees if you’re going for a medium one.
It’s a good idea to preheat the grill for about half an hour with the lid closed too, so that the heat spreads through the whole grill.
How Long Should You Cook The Burgers At This Temperature?
Now that you know what temperature to cook your burgers at, we come to the next question: how long should you cook at this temperature?
Of course, there is no set time for how long to cook anything – you have to keep cooking until it is done cooking, and this will depend greatly on the type of grill you’re using and what you’re cooking as well.
Sometimes, depending on the temperature, you may even end up with ruined burgers. If your propane grill is simply not heating up enough, you’d end up with a charred burger that is undercooked on the inside, so make sure you’re measuring temperature before you start cooking.
But if your grill is working fine otherwise, you’d most likely want to grill your burger for about 5 minutes on either side. This, of course, also depends on how thick the patty actually is, but for an average burger patty, about 5 minutes is enough. Make sure you check the temperature, since the color of the patty is not reliable enough on its own. The patties should have reached a minimum of 155 degrees Fahrenheit before they are cooked enough and safe to consume.
Once you’ve reached this temperature, transfer them to a plate and cover them with foil for a few minutes. The foil will keep the heat in. The meat will still cook for a while after you’ve taken it off the heat, so you want to take it off at a slightly lower temperature. Otherwise, you’d find that the burger is overcooked, tough and difficult to eat.
Knowing what temperature to grill your burgers at and how long to do it is necessary – not just to have some great burgers, but also to have burgers that are free of bacteria and pathogens.
