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Grilled Smokehouse Barbecue Burgers

Source of Recipe

From "The Ultimate Burger" by America's Test Kitchen


Recipe Introduction

"For burgers infused with the flavor of wood smoke, we added a generous 2 cups of wood chips to our grill for an unmistakable smokiness that thoroughly permeates the meat. Our grilling method uses soaked wood chips to let the smoky flavor infuse the meat without becoming too harsh. Making our patties slightly larger than usual allowed them to absorb more smoke, and incorporating a few tablespoons of bottled barbecue sauce into the ground beef added an extra blast of flavor. Topping the burgers with a sweet and tangy coleslaw combined all the flavors of a smokehouse in one bite. Bull's-Eye is our preferred brand of barbecue sauce, but feel free to use your favorite."

List of Ingredients

Coleslaw:
â—¦ 3 cups shredded green cabbage
â—¦ 2 tablespoons sugar, plus extra for seasoning
â—¦ 1 teaspoon salt
â—¦ 1 carrot, peeled and shredded
â—¦ 2 tablespoons cider vinegar, plus extra for seasoning
â—¦ 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
â—¦ â…› teaspoon celery seeds
â—¦ â…› teaspoon pepper

Burgers:
â—¦ 2 pounds 85 percent lean ground beef
â—¦ 2 teaspoons garlic powder
â—¦ 2 teaspoons onion powder
â—¦ 3 tablespoons barbecue sauce, plus extra for serving
â—¦ 2 cups wood chips, soaked in water for 15 minutes and drained
â—¦ ½ teaspoon salt
â—¦ ¼ teaspoon pepper
â—¦ 4 large hamburger buns, toasted if desired


Recipe

For the coleslaw: Toss cabbage with sugar and salt in large bowl. Cover and microwave, stirring occasionally, until cabbage is partially wilted and has reduced in volume by about one-third, about 2 minutes. Transfer cabbage to salad spinner and spin until excess liquid has been removed. Return cabbage to now-empty bowl, add carrot, vinegar, oil, celery seeds, and pepper, and toss to combine. Season with salt and sugar to taste. Refrigerate until well chilled, at least 30 minutes or up to 4 hours.

For the burgers: Break ground beef into small pieces and spread into even layer on rimmed baking sheet. Sprinkle with garlic powder and onion powder and drizzle with barbecue sauce. Using two forks, gently toss beef mixture to combine. Divide beef mixture into four equal portions, then gently shape each portion into 1-inch-thick patty. Using your fingertips, press center of each patty down until about ½ inch thick, creating slight divot.

Using large piece of heavy-duty aluminum foil, wrap soaked chips in 8-by-4 ½-inch foil packet. (Make sure chips do not poke holes in sides or bottom of packet.) Cut two evenly spaced 2-inch slits in top of packet.

For a charcoal grill: Open bottom vent halfway. Light large chimney starter filled with charcoal briquettes (6 quarts). When top coals are partially covered with ash, pour evenly over grill. Place wood chip packet on coals. Set cooking grate in place, cover, and open lid vent halfway. Heat grill until hot and wood chips are smoking, about 5 minutes.

For a gas grill: Remove cooking grate and place wood chip packet directly on primary burner. Set grate in place, turn all burners to high, cover, and heat grill until hot and wood chips are smoking, about 15 minutes. Leave all burners on high.

Clean and oil cooking grate. Season patties with salt and pepper. Place patties on grill, divot side up, and cook until well browned on first side, 2 to 4 minutes. Flip patties and continue to cook until browned on second side and meat registers 120° to 125° F (for medium-rare) or 130° to 135° F (for medium), 3 to 5 minutes per side. Transfer burgers to platter and let rest for 5 minutes. Toss coleslaw to recombine. Serve burgers on buns, topped with coleslaw, passing extra barbecue sauce separately.

Serves 4