These smoked burgers have become my absolute new obsession. In fact, I may even like them more than smash burgers—which is saying a lot. Topped with gooey American cheese, burger sauce, and your favorite veggies, this is one of the best burgers you'll ever have.
The best smoked burgers start with one thing: Exceptional meat.
I went over to my local butcher and picked up their custom dry-aged blend patties, which is an 80/20 mix. And it was out of this world. Then we're going to hit it with a little seasoning, toss it on the Traeger for about 45 minutes to let it smoke, and then sear it off on the griddle to get a nice crust.
WHAT YOU'LL NEED TO MAKE THIS RECIPE
- Ground beef — 80/20 blend. Go for a high-quality ground beef, it's totally worth it.
- American cheese — The best cheese for burgers, hands down.
- Hamburger buns — We're toasting our buns to get a nice crunch. I used Martin's Potato buns.
- Burger sauce — I whipped up my house-made smash burger sauce.
- Pickle slices — You can use other toppings, but I love a couple of pickle slices on my smoked burger.
- Beef tallow — Optional. I use this to toast the buns on the griddle.
- Seasoning. — I used Lawry's Seasoned Salt, but use whatever you like—just salt & pepper works too.
HOW TO MAKE SMOKED BURGERS
@grillfrenzy Search “grill frenzy smoked burgers” on Google for the full recipe. STOP scrolling if you're ready for the BEST burger of your life 🍔 These smoked beauties will make you forget all about smash burgers (yeah, I said it 😱) The secret? We're combining the magic of smoke with a perfect sear for a burger that's absolutely mind-blowing. Plus that gooey American cheese melt... just wait for it 🧀 Here's what makes these incredible: • Premium 80/20 ground beef • Low & slow smoke at 225°F • Final sear for that perfect crust • Martin's Potato Buns toasted in beef tallow 🤤 • House-made burger sauce that'll blow your mind Pro tip: Smoke until 10°F BELOW your target temp, then sear for that steakhouse-worthy crust 🔥 Save this recipe - your weekend cookout needs these burgers. Comment "RECIPE" below and I'll send you my exact method + sauce recipe 👊 #burgerrecipe #smokedburgers #grillmaster #burgers #foodie #grilling #bbqrecipes #cookingvideo #homechef #traegergrills ♬ original sound - Mike Futia
1. Prepare the Ground Beef
If your beef isn't already formed into patties, make them about 6 ounces each. Then season on both sides.
2. Smoke the Burgers
Smoke the burgers at 225F. You want to cook the burgers to 10 degrees less than your ideal temperature, because we're going to sear them later on. So if you want a medium rare burger (135F internal), smoke it to 125F. This should take about 45 minutes.
3. Toast the Buns
When the temperature of the meat hits about 110F, it's time prepare your buns. Fire up a cast iron skillet or a griddle. Lay down your beef tallow, and let it melt. Then toast your buns until they're nice and golden brown, about 1 minute.
4. Sear the Burgers
It started raining *right* when I went to sear these burgers on the griddle
When your burger comes to an internal temperature 10 degrees lower than your desired temperature, move it over to the hot skillet or cast iron pan, and sear on each side for about one minute to develop a nice crust. Remember to immediately add your cheese when you flip to the second side.
5. Serve & Enjoy
Pull your burger off the griddle and allow it to rest for a few minutes. Assemble your burger with the toasted bun, burger sauce, burger with melted cheese, and pickles. ENJOY.
Cooking Temperature & Time
- Cooking Temperature. I smoked these burgers at 225F until they hit an internal temperature of 125F. Then, I transferred them to a ripping hot griddle for the final two minutes in order to get to 135F internal.
- Cooking Time. These smoked burgers took about 45 minutes to cook on the smoker, and then an extra minute or two on the griddle.
PRO TIPS FOR MAKING THIS RECIPE
- Cook to temperature here, not time. For a medium rare burger, that means a finished temperature of 135F. Which means you need to pull the burger off the smoker at 125F before searing it on the griddle.
- Be warned: even if you cook your meat to medium-rare, or warmer, your meat is still going to look pink. Here's why: "In meat patties, the reduced thickness and fragmented texture frequently allows smoke to penetrate deeper, even to the point of penetrating all the way through the patty, creating pink colored lean throughout the meat." [source]
- Use a stronger pellet flavor, like mesquite, oak or hickory. I made the mistake of using cherry pellets, which are not as strong. And because the burger is ont on the smoker that long, you'll want to use a stronger flavor that penetrates the meat better.
- Ground beef selection. For this cook, I picked up a pound of 80/20 dry-aged beef from my local butcher. If you don't have a butcher, or just want to go to the grocery store, then be sure to get an 80/20 blend of ground chuck or ground beef.
OTHER BURGER RECIPES
Be sure to check out some of my other burger recipes as well, including my Copycat Shake Shack Burger, Copycat In-N-Out Burger, and Smash Burger Tacos.
Smoked Burgers
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground beef 80/20
- 4 slices American cheese
- 2 hamburger buns
- 2 tbsp burger sauce
- 2 tbsp pickles slices
- 1 tbsp beef tallow sub butter
- 1 tbsp seasoning
Instructions
- Preheat your smoker to 225F degrees.
- Form your ground beef into hamburger pucks. For this cook, I did each patty at 6 ounces.
- Season your meat with salt and pepper, or burger seasoning.
- Place your burgers on the smoker, and insert a digital meat thermometer to monitor the internal temperature. You want to cook the burgers on the smoker to 10 degrees less than your ideal temperature, because you're going to sear them later on. So if you want a medium rare burger (135F internal), smoke it to 125F.
- When the temperature of the meat hits about 110F, it's time prepare your buns. Fire up a cast iron skillet, or a griddle on top of a gas grill. Lay down your beef tallow, and let it melt. Then toast your buns until they're nice and golden brown, about 1 minute.
- When your burger comes to an internal temperature 10 degrees lower than your desired temperature, move it over to the hot skillet, and sear on each side for about one minute to develop a nice crust. Remember to immediately add your cheese when you flip to the second side.
- Pull your burger off the griddle and allow it to rest for five minutes. Assemble your burger and bun with your favorite toppings and burger sauce, serve, and ENJOY!
Notes
- Cook to temperature here, not time. For a medium rare burger, that means a finished temperature of 135F. Which means you need to pull the burger off the smoker at 125F before searing it on the griddle.
- Be warned: even if you cook your meat to medium-rare, or warmer, your meat is still going to look pink. Here's why: "In meat patties, the reduced thickness and fragmented texture frequently allows smoke to penetrate deeper, even to the point of penetrating all the way through the patty, creating pink colored lean throughout the meat." [source]
- Use a stronger pellet flavor, like mesquite, oak or hickory. I made the mistake of using cherry pellets, which are not as strong. And because the burger is ont on the smoker that long, you'll want to use a stronger flavor that penetrates the meat better.
- Ground beef selection. For this cook, I picked up a pound of 80/20 dry-aged beef from my local butcher. If you don't have a butcher, or just want to go to the grocery store, then be sure to get an 80/20 blend of ground chuck or ground beef.
