We’ve all been there. We’ve all been to a cookout and waited for what seemed like hours. Only to be served burgers that were either burnt-rubbery-hockey pucks, or, charred-on-the-outside and raw-on-the-inside balls of meat. And what do we all do? We blame it on the grill, or, whatever method was used to cook the burgers. And while, yes, the cooking method really affects how burgers turn out, so do a couple of other things.
That’s right. Before you even cook those burgers there are a couple of things you can do to make really good, juicy, tender, delicious burgers.
First off, how you season the burgers matters. You don’t just dump a bunch of salt on a pile of ground beef and cross your fingers that the grill is going to make them taste great. You add the fab five— sea salt, pink or black pepper, onion powder, onion flakes, and garlic powder. These spices make everything taste better. Then you add a good amount of coconut aminos. The coconut aminos add depth of flavor, tenderness, and help the burgers stay juicy. Because coconut aminos are amino acids. And amino acids help you digest protein (less burger bloat!) and turn the protein into muscle.
Second, how you shape the burgers REALLY matters. I was making burgers with my husband the other day. I looked over as he pounded out oddly shaped burger patties and I asked, “do you know how to shape a burger patty?” The deer-in-the-headlights stare let me know his answer was a big “NO”. I showed him that to make good burger patties, you start with even portions of meat. Then, roll them into nice round balls. Next, flatten them into evenly shaped patties that are about 3/4 inch thick. Finally, put a small dent in the middle of each burger patty using your thumb. Evenly shaped patties with a small dent = evenly cooked burgers.
Now it’s time to fire up the grill and make some burgers! But, wait! You don’t actually need a grill to make burgers. (I mean, you can grill them if you want to.) But, you can make juicy, flavorful, ”grilled” burgers in your oven! Just cook them in the oven using a baking rack set on top of a foil-lined baking sheet. They cook evenly into juicy, tender, and flavorful burgers! Not to mention clean up is a breeze!
Now it’s really time to go make some burgers!
Oven “Grilled” Burgers
- 2 lbs. grass fed ground beef
- 6 Tbsp coconut aminos
- 1 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1/2 tsp black or pink pepper
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp dried onion flakes
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- large Portabella caps, or, Bibb lettuce for the “buns”
Topping suggestions:
- Mustard
- Pickles
- Tomatoes
- Grilled onions
- Avocado
- Bacon
- Lettuce
- Mayo
- Ketchup
- Heat the oven to 400F. Line a large baking sheet with aluminum foil and place a baking rack on top of the baking sheet.
- Place the ground beef in a large mixing bowl and sprinkle the coconut aminos, sea salt, black or pink pepper, onion powder, dried onion flakes, and garlic powder on top. Use your hands and thoroughly mix the seasonings into the meat. (But, don’t over mix the meat; this will cause it to become sticky, gooey, and tough.)
- Divide the meat into 6 balls for 1/3 lb burgers, or, into 8 balls for 1/4 lb burgers. Use your hands to flatten the balls into burger patties that are even all the way around and about 3/4 inch thick. Press a small dent into the middle of the burger to ensure even cooking.
- Put the burger patties on the baking rack, evenly spaced apart. Bake at 400F for 10 minutes.
- Flip the burgers and turn the oven to a high broil. Broil for 5-8 minutes (depending on how well done you like them). If you like your burgers pink, only cook the burgers for 5 minutes at 400F, then broil for an additional 3-5 minutes.
- Put cooked burger patties on Bibb lettuce, or, roasted porttabella caps and top with your favorite toppings.