Some home cooks take a long time to master grilling a hamburger to everyone’s liking. If you prefer your hamburgers medium rare with a hint of pink in the center, it’s critical to follow the proper cooking guidelines.
In this article, you’ll learn how to properly cook a medium burger and achieve perfect results. It is essential to note appropriate timing guidelines and the ideal internal temperature to work towards, as these are the best guarantees that you’ll achieve the desired results.
Burgers Nutrition Facts
Tips for Cooking Medium Burgers
It is essential to pay close attention to the tips, guidelines, and cooking instructions that have been discussed below:
The best way to season burgers – Just before cooking, season the burgers with salt and pepper. All you’ll need is salt, pepper, and possibly some spices. Season one side of the meat and sear that side on the grill first to seal in the seasoning. To get a good sear on the outside, only flip your burgers once during cooking.
Ideal cooking duration – The amount of time it takes for a hamburger to achieve the desired internal temperature is affected by the burger patty’s size, as well as the grill’s temperature, so bear in mind that the times provided below are simply estimations.
The timeframes listed below are for a one-inch thick, four-inch diameter burger grilled at 450° to 500°F.
- Cook for 2 minutes and 30 seconds per side for 5 minutes if cooking a medium-rare burger.
- Cook for approximately 3 to 3½ minutes on each side for 6 to 7 minutes for a medium burger.
Determining doneness – Inserting an instant-read thermometer into the side of the patties being cooked is the most precise and reliable way to check a burger’s doneness. It is difficult to verify that the sensor is checking the coldest part (the center) of the patty when the thermometer is inserted into the top of the patty. As a result, the reading will not be accurate. Inserting the thermometer directly into the patty’s side eliminates the guesswork.
Another way to check if your burgers are done is to use the finger test. This involves pressing against the patty; a medium-done patty will have some resistance, but a well-done patty will be firm.
Ideal internal temperature – Keep the following internal temperature estimations in mind for medium burgers:
- The interior temperature of a medium-rare burger is 135°F, and the inside is just slightly brown towards the crust.
- The internal temperature of a medium burger is 145°F, with a bit of pink center and brown meat throughout.
Food safety tips – To avoid food-borne diseases, ground beef needs to be cooked very carefully. Ground beef might turn brown before reaching a safe temperature, or it can remain pink until it is safe to consume but also beginning to lose all its moisture and dry up.
Except you grind the beef yourself, hamburgers at rare or medium-rare doneness levels are best avoided. On the other hand, well-done is too done unless you want dry burgers. Without sacrificing safety, medium-cooked burgers preserve flavor and juiciness.
Medium burgers should ideally be cooked to a precise internal temperature, not just until the meat looks done, to ensure maximum safety.
In addition to ensuring a safe internal temperature during cooking, also take note of the following:
- Keep already cooked burgers far from any utensils or plates that have come into contact with raw meat during the preparation/cooking process. Mixing already cooked and uncooked meat raises the risk of E. coli or other forms of bacteria contamination.
- Clean the grill after you’ve finished cooking. Scrub away any leftover meat bits to help eliminate any microorganisms lurking.
Rest the burgers – Don’t forget to set the burgers aside to rest after cooking. After removing the burgers from the grill, place them on a platter and leave them aside for a minute or two; this will allow the interior juices in the patties to be redistributed.
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Cooking Time for Medium Burger
The ideal timing guidelines to follow when cooking medium burgers have been described in the table below:
| Cooking procedure | Cooking time |
| Cooking medium burgers on a skillet | 6 to 7 minutes |
Hamburgers (Tavern Style) (4 Servings)
Ingredients
- ½ teaspoon of any neutral oil, like canola, or a pat of unsalted butter
- 2 pounds of ground chuck, at least 20 percent fat
- Kosher salt and black pepper to taste
- 4 slices of cheese (optional)
- 4 soft hamburger buns
- Lettuce leaves, sliced tomatoes, and condiments, as desired
Instructions
- Place a big stainless-steel or cast-iron skillet over medium heat and add oil or butter.
- Gently divide the ground beef into four little piles, each weighing about 8 ounces, and form them into thick patties, each about 3½ inches in diameter, similar to flattened meatballs. Season the formed patties with a lot of salt and pepper.
- Raise the heat in the skillet to high. Place the hamburgers in the skillet, leaving plenty of space between them, then cook for about 3 minutes without moving them.
- To flip hamburgers, use a spatula. Place slices of cheese on top of the meat if you decide to use them in your recipe.
- Continue to heat the patties until the meat is fully cooked, about 3 to 4 minutes more for medium-rare.
- Remove the hamburgers from the skillet and set them aside to rest for 5 minutes; in the meantime, toast the buns.
- Arrange the hamburgers between buns and top them with any toppings of your choice.
As you can see, cooking medium burgers is really quick and easy, as long as you know the proper cooking steps to follow. Also, keep the timing guidelines in mind; this recipe was completed in entire duration of 11 minutes, including a 6-minute cooking time and a 5-minute resting time.
If you’re interested in more recipe ideas for medium burgers, we’ve included this video recipe that you can check out for some inspiration.