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Your Guide to Broiling Hamburgers in the Oven

Your Guide to Broiling Hamburgers in the Oven

Last Updated on 20th August 2021 by

Out of all famous cooking methods, broiling is the closest to grilling. There’s one significant difference, though. While grilling is done using the lower heat, broiling uses the top heat of the oven. That said, both methods include direct heat.

Broiling burgers in the oven makes them juicy, well-cooked, and evenly grilled. There are some key steps to take care of, though!

Read on to find out how to broil hamburgers in the oven.

How to Broil Hamburgers in Oven in 4 Steps

Broiling burgers in the oven is easy, but if you don’t carry out the steps as you should, you may end up with dry burgers. We wouldn’t want that! Here are detailed steps for the process.

Step 1: Shape the Meat

The first thing you should do before shaping the meat is preheating the broiler to high heat. Then, turn your focus to the meat while letting the oven gain its heat.

Divide your meat of choice into four equal portions. Each portion should weigh around seven ounces, so you should divide according to the overall weight you have. On top of that, each patty should have a width of 4–5 inches and a thickness of three quarters an inch.

Step 2: Season the Hamburgers

After dividing the meat into patties, place them on a flat surface for seasoning. Before adding the pepper and salt, use your fingers to lightly push down on the patty’s centre. You’ll want to create a mere dimple, not poke a hole through the burger, so make sure to be gentle.

Afterward, add a lot of salt and pepper to the patties.

You can use a lot of other spices, such as oregano, chilli powder, onion powder, basil, or mustard powder. If you prefer a spicy flavour, we recommend adding one of those to the patties along with the salt and pepper.

You can also cook hamburgers with liquid flavours. If you have a bottle of hot sauce lying around, you can include it in the recipe. Worcestershire sauce and steak sauce will also work perfectly well. These sauces will make your hamburgers juicy, and they’ll be moist after broiling, which some chefs specifically aim for.

Lastly, you can add some onion, minced garlic, and bell pepper to the recipe if you like the tangy veggie addition to the burgers. Just make sure to saute them for a bit before adding them to the meat, so they gain their flavours. Afterward, leave them to cool for a bit and add them right onto the ground beef.

Step 3: Broil Hamburgers in the Oven

The process of broiling the hamburgers in the oven depends on your broiler’s style. Some people broil hamburgers in toaster ovens, while others do it in regular ones.

If your broiler is placed in a compartment underneath the oven, you’ll want to use foil to cover the rack. Then, grease it lightly before leaving it to heat.

On the other hand, if your broiler is inside the oven, just grab the oven rack and position it underneath the broiler. You can use any surface for the hamburgers, including skillets and baking trays—whatever you have available.

When placing the hamburger patties on the broiler pan, make sure that they’re positioned 2.5–3 inches below the broiler’s intense direct heat. The heat should already be high and ready since you turned it on earlier.

Broil the hamburger patties for around three minutes before flipping them. You’ll want to make sure first that they’re well-broiled. Their tops should be well-browned, and they should be on the verge of charring. If their colour is still light, leave them for a couple more minutes.

Afterward, flip the patties and leave them to broil. If you like your meat medium-rare, wait until the meat thermometer reads 130 degrees and remove the patties. The hamburger should take around three minutes to reach that phase. If you want it to be more or less cooked, adjust the timing accordingly.

Step 4: Serve the Hamburger

A lot of people like to serve their hamburger patties with a slice of melted cheese on top. To do that, put the cheese slices on the burger before you remove it from heat. You won’t leave the cheese for long; only 25–30 seconds will be enough to make the desired effect.

Next, remove the hamburger patties and place them right onto your bread buns. Add your ingredients and sauce of choice, and bon appetit!

How Long to Broil Hamburgers in the Oven

Most people who didn’t broil burgers before ask the same question: how long do you broil hamburgers in the oven?

Broiling includes placing the hamburger patties right under intense direct heat. So, they won’t take long to broil and become ready. You should only leave them for around 3 minutes on each side. The process should take 6–7 minutes as a total.

However, the time needed differs according to your preferred degree of doneness. If you like your burgers well-done, you may need to leave each side for 4–5 minutes. The same goes if you want them rare, but you’ll reduce the time instead of increasing it.

What’s important is to check the hamburgers to make sure they’re not getting burned or too broiled for your liking.

Adjusting the Hamburger Temperature

Adjusting the cooking temperature for hamburgers is essential for preserving meat’s taste and health benefits. For ground meat to be safe to eat, it needs to be cooked at 160 F degrees.

The thing about ground meat is it has a larger surface area than solid meat. When it comes to solid cuts, you only need to cook the surface well. However, ground meat gets chopped, so the bacteria finds its way inside. Therefore, make sure your temperature is sufficient to cook the meat well.

Closing Thoughts

Broiling hamburgers in the oven is a piece of cake. As long as you have the right ingredients and you adjust your timing, you can guarantee a tasty result! Just make sure to heat your broiler beforehand and to let your hamburgers broil for as long as they need.

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Pauline Loughlin

I'm Pauline, a mother of four grown children, my passion for cooking stemmed from the joy i get cooking for my family. I love to try new dishes, especially when dining out but creating and sharing my own recipes is my favourite thing to do!

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