There’s nothing quite like taking the first bite out of a juicy, delectable burger. Some people may think it is okay to eat medium-rare burgers because steaks can be medium-rare too. But are both recipes guided by the same rules?
Even though burgers and steaks come from the same cut of beef, their food safety regulations are vastly different. It is essential to understand these principles, as they could mean the difference in whether or not you’ll get food poisoning from eating medium-rare burgers. Therefore, pay attention to all the tips and timing guidelines outlined in this article.
Burger Nutrition Facts
Tips for Cooking Medium Rare Burger
The following tips and guidelines will help you get the best results with medium-rare burger recipes:
Choose safe internal temperatures – A medium-rare steak cooked adequately isn’t a problem; on the other hand, medium-rare ground beef might be. When entire beef pieces are crushed together, any germs on the surface of the beef are integrated into the ground beef combination, which means that germs could be present all through a burger patty, from the exterior to the insides.
As a result, the safest approach for consuming ground meat is to let it get fully cooked and reach its safe minimum internal cooking temperature. In restaurants, this usually refers to a well-done burger rather than a medium-rare burger.
It’s not only ground beef that requires this safe method of cooking. Ground meat, poultry, and fish are all covered, including turkey, chicken, pork, lamb, and salmon.
Always make sure to use a food thermometer to ensure that ground meat is cooked to a suitable internal temperature, whether it’s for burgers, meatballs, or meatloaf:
- 160°F for ground beef, pig, and lamb
- 165°F for ground turkey or chicken
- 145°F for groundfish
Different ways to retain moisture and juiciness in well-done burgers – When working with beef, a pink core is commonly thought to be synonymous with juiciness. However, cooking a burger thoroughly does not necessarily mean eating a dehydrated one.
Below are some suggestions for keeping burgers juicy while still grilling to a safe temperature:
- Make a dimple in the middle of each patty: When burgers puff up in the middle while cooking, the thinner sides of the burger get more cooking time than necessary, increasing the risk of the burger drying up. You can simply prevent this by imprinting the center of the patty with your thumb.
- Put an ice chip at the patties’ center: Placing an ice chip at the center of a patty, especially for larger parties, is an easy method to keep a well-done burger juicy, according to food experts. The ice melts as the meat heats, preventing the burger from drying out by creating steam, which cooks the inside of the burger.
- Add some yogurt to the patty mix: Starting with fattier ground beef or adding fatty ingredients like mayo or butter to your patty combination can help keep a burger moist. However, if you eat burgers frequently, this may not be the healthiest option. Instead, try mixing in one or two tablespoons of low-fat Greek yogurt. Full-fat Greek yogurt can also provide even more hydration, but it also adds a significant amount of saturated fat, which you should watch out for.
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Cooking Time for Medium Rare Burger
The cooking time for burgers, in general, tends to vary, mainly depending on the level of your desired doneness. You can follow the timing guidelines in the table below for the best results:
| Cooking procedure | Cooking time |
| Cooking burgers on a charcoal or gas grill at 450°F to 500°F | 5 minutes; the patties should reach an internal temperature of 135°F |
Grilled Medium Rare Burgers (6 Servings)
Ingredients
- 2 pounds of 80/20 ground beef, 32 ounces each, kept cold
- 4 cloves of garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoons of minced onion
- 1 tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce
- 1¾ teaspoons of freshly ground pepper
- 1½ teaspoons of salt
- 6 hamburger buns
- Butter for buns
Instructions
- In a mixing dish, put in the cooled ground beef. Over the top of the ground beef, equally, distribute the remaining ingredients. To include all the ingredients, roll the meat over a couple times. Doing this should take no more than 30 to 45 seconds. Don’t handle the meat too much.
- Instead of assembling the patties by hand, place them on a tray. This makes shaping the patties simpler without overworking or warming up the meat.
- Split the meat into 6 equal portions on the tray (roughly 5¼ ounces each). Gently shape each part into a 4-inch-wide patty with 1-inch sides and a slight indentation in the center. The outside ½-inch of the patty should be slightly higher than the inside ½-inch. This prevents the patty from over shrinking during grilling and ballooning up in the center.
While heating up your grill and buttering the buns, cover the patties in plastic wrap and place them in the fridge.
- Preheat a charcoal or gas grill to 450°F to 500°F, or until your hand can only be held above the grates for 1 second.
- Brush the insides of all buns with butter and place them close to the grill.
- Preheat the grill and place the patties directly on the hot grill. Cook until the meat is done to your liking. Cook for 5 minutes total (135°F) for medium-rare burgers.
- Turn the burgers over at least once or as often as you like during the cooking process. At no point should you apply pressure on the patties?
- Put the cheese on the burgers and on the buttered buns, then place them on the grill over indirect heat with about 1 minute left on the cooking time.
- Take the buns and burgers off the grill and place them on a plate. Allow 1 minute for the burgers to rest before serving them.
This recipe delivers deliciously grilled medium-rare burgers onto your plate. The entire cooking time for the recipe is 15 minutes, including a prep time of 10 minutes and a cook time of 5 minutes. If you’d like to see more ways to grill medium-rare burgers, then we suggest this video recipe for valuable ideas.