When it comes to the best backyard BBQ food, a good old-fashioned hamburger takes some beating. They’re quick and easy to prepare, juicy, tasty, and loved by almost everyone. However, cooking the perfect hamburger on your Traeger grill still requires you to master several tricks to attain perfection.
One of the most important things to consider when cooking Traeger hamburgers is the grill’s temperature. If your grill isn’t at the perfect temperature, your burger won’t be as good. You will struggle to get that perfect sear. On the flip side, you may burn your burger if you let it cook for too long.
To ensure you get it right, today, I’m going to show you the best temperature to cook your hamburgers on a Traeger grill. That’s not all, though! I’ll also show you how to cook burgers on a Traeger, how long to cook them, and what it takes to build the best burger.
If you want to learn more, make sure you keep reading!
Table of Contents
- How To Cook A Hamburger On A Traeger Grill [Wood Pellet Grill]?
- How To Make The Perfect Traeger Grill Hamburger [Method & Ingredients]
- Best Temperature For Cooking Hamburgers On Your Traeger Grill
- How Long Should You Cook Hamburgers On Your Traeger Grill?
- What Are The Main Benefits Of Using A Traeger Grill To Cook Burgers?
- My Thoughts
How To Cook A Hamburger On A Traeger Grill [Wood Pellet Grill]?
If you’ve never cooked a hamburger on a Traeger grill before or want to learn the best way to do so, follow the simple instructions I’ve set out below.
Step 1: Bang In The Pellets!
Add your favorite wood pellets to your wood pellet grill.
Step 2: The Heat Is On!
Switch on the grill and crank it to its highest temperature (400 – 500°).
Step 3: Slap On Those Patties!
Place the patties on the grill. Close the lid. Cook for 4 to 8 minutes on one side. Open your grill and flip each patty before leaving them to cook for another 4 to 8 minutes or until your desired internal temperature has been reached.
Step 4: Melt On The Goodness
Add your cheese to your burgers while they’re still on the grill, and leave it to melt.
Step 5: Let’s Get Stacking
Stack your burger together (see below) and enjoy.
How To Make The Perfect Traeger Grill Hamburger [Method & Ingredients]
Making the perfect burger isn’t just about grilling your meat patty to perfection. Whilst this helps massively, it’s phase one of the operation!
There are several other things you have to do to make the best burger. If you want to impress your friends and family, get the following things right too!
As you’ll see below, I believe in keeping things simple in terms of ingredients to showcase the deliciously smoked patty as the star of the show.
Melt Your Cheese
Simply put, melted cheese on top of your burger is the grand finale. Without it, your burger won’t be the same. Make sure you let your cheese lie on the burger for 2 to 3 minutes for the perfect melt.
Toast Your Buns
Using toasted buns to build your burgers is an excellent idea for many reasons. Aside from giving the burger a new element and a delicious crunch, toasting your buns prevents the bun from becoming too soggy due to the patties’ juices.
Prepare a Selection Of Sauces
Everyone likes different sauces with their burgers, so make sure everyone has something they like. Having a selection of sauces, such as the classic ketchup and mayonnaise, as well as BBQ sauce and tomato relish, is a good start.
Add Other Ingredients
No burger is complete without extra ingredients or toppings.
Whether it be a few leaves of lettuce to add freshness; sliced tomato for a touch of color; a crispy strip of bacon to add some saltiness and crunch; or a sprinkling of chopped onion to provide some lift; don’t forget to top off that burger!
You should also season your burger with salt & pepper or even get creative with various spices to add flavor.
Best Temperature For Cooking Hamburgers On Your Traeger Grill
Before we look at anything else, let’s see what the best temperature is for cooking hamburgers on your Traeger. There are several different temperatures required to cook the perfect burger on a Traeger. The temperature you require will depend on how you plan on cooking the burger, i.e., grilling or smoking.
However, your grill will have to be up to temperature either way, so before you get started, make sure your grill is preheated at the right setting.
Best Temperature For Grilling Hamburgers On Traeger Grill
If you want to grill your hamburgers, I recommend setting the grill to its highest grill setting. This will vary depending on the grill model you use, but more often than not, a Traeger’s “High” setting sits at temperatures between 400° and 500°.
A huge benefit to grilling your burgers on a wood pellet grill is that your burgers are imparted with a beautiful wood-fired flavor.
Best Temperature For Smoking Hamburgers On Traeger Grill
If you plan on smoking your burgers, you should set the temperature to 225° or to the grill’s Super Smoke setting, smoking the burger for up to 30 minutes.
How Long Should You Cook Hamburgers On Your Traeger Grill?
Now you know what temperature to cook your burgers at; it’s probably a good idea to learn how long to cook them. You’ve two options for this. You can either cook your burgers for a set period of time or you can measure their internal temperature.
Cooking for A Set Period of Time
Only by grilling your burger for the perfect amount of time can you cook the perfect burger. Once your grill is preheated to its highest setting, you’re ready to sear your patties.
The best cook time for the perfectly sized burger (1 ½-inches thick) is four to eight minutes per side or 8 to 16 minutes. The length you leave your burger on the grill will determine how well done it is. The times below are approximate and shouldn’t just be blindly followed. Each grill is different, and several factors can influence the total cooking time (thickness and temperature of the patty, the temperature of the grill, weather conditions, etc.). Use your common sense.
- Well-done burger: 5 to 8 minutes on each side.
- Medium burger: 4 to 5 minutes on each side.
- Medium-rare burger: 3 to 4 minutes on each side.
- Rare burger: 2 to 3 minutes on each side.
You should only flip your burger once. This should be done halfway through your overall cooking time.
Cooking by Measuring Internal Temperature
Cooking time varies depending on the size of your hamburger patties. As a result, following cooking time guidelines doesn’t always guarantee the best results. You can see this above, as it can take 8 to 16 minutes to achieve the perfect finish.
With this in mind, cooking your burgers by using the internal temperature as a guideline instead is often the better option. If you have an instant-read thermometer, you can easily ensure your burger is under or overcooked, removing the guesswork from the situation. If your Traeger grill model is equipped with a meat probe (some even have two), stick those into the center of your patties when you kick off the cooking.
So you know what internal temperature to look for, I’ve checked the US FDA website. They recommend the following minimal internal temperatures for safe consumption:
- Ground Beef Burgers: 160 °F
- Ground Turkey Burgers: 165 °F
Internal meat temperatures of over 160 °F will kill off harmful bacteria, such as E. Coli. Using a meat thermometer or Traeger’s heat probe will give you much more accuracy when cooking your burgers and the peace of mind that your meat is cooked to safe temperatures.
Also, remember:
- Never partially grill meat or poultry to finish cooking them later. Increasing the temperature of the meat to anything below the 160 °F threshold is likely to promote bacteria growth instead of killing it, which could make you very sick.
- Never plate the cooked burgers on the same plate the raw meat was on previously unless it has been properly washed since the raw meat was on it.
What Are The Main Benefits Of Using A Traeger Grill To Cook Burgers?
Traeger’s grills are, in my 100% heavily -biased opinion, THE BEST AND ONLY way to cook juicy, flavor-packed, deliciously smokey burgers. Here are some of the main benefits of cooking burgers on a Trager grill.
Unique Smoky Flavors
Because these grills use wood pellets as a fuel source instead of gas or charcoal, they add a powerful smoky punch to your burger – which other grills can’t replicate.
Precise Control Over the Cooking Process
Traeger grills offer unrivaled control over the cooking process. This is due to their digital display screen, built-in digital thermostat, food probe(s) (selected models), and timer.
These features allow you to easily set the precise temperature you wish to cook your burgers at; monitor the actual temperature of the grill vs. this setpoint; check the temperature inside your burgers; and make sure that the grill switches off before your burgers end up looking like the sole of a sherpa’s boot!
Certain Traeger grills can even be operated over Wi-Fi using an app on your phone. You can monitor the status of your grill and how your burgers are cooking…all from the comfort of your lounger, one cold one at a time. Now that’s what I call grilling!
Exciting & Easy To Use
For the reasons highlighted above, Traeger grills are the easiest and most exciting way to cook a burger without a shadow of a doubt.
My Thoughts
To cook the best hamburger on your Traeger grill, you need to consider several things. One of the most important factors to consider is the temperature of your grill.
While temperatures vary from grill to grill, the best temperature to use when grilling a hamburger is the highest your grill offers. This will normally be between 400° and 500°. If you plan on smoking a hamburger, a temperature of 225° for 30 minutes will do the trick.
In this post, I’ve also shown you how long to cook your burger, how to check its readiness, and given you the tips you need to make the perfect hamburger.
