You can never go wrong with burgers! Burgers are loved everywhere for their delicious flavors and satisfying tastes. Traditionally, burgers are grilled, however, there is a more healthier and convinient option: baking your burgers in the oven. With this alternative, the cooking process becomes easier and the flavors and juiciness of the burgers enhance. Burgers are classic and with baking, it becomes easier to do. Many more cooking techniques can be easily learned with this. So, let’s dive into some recipes and tips to make baking burgers in your oven even better.
Baking burgers eliminates most of the hassle and mess associated with the other methods of cooking burgers such as frying and grilling. When cooking with the oven, all of the burgers can be cooked at the same time, and each one receives the same amount and even cooking. Each patty turns out with a perfect level of juiciness and no one is overcooked. It’s perfect for large set of burgers, and if you have an event, you can even start preparing side dishes and desserts while the burgers finish cooking. It’s nearly effortless.
Baking a set of burgers also helps make them a bit healthier than the other cooking methods. Unlike frying, baking causes the paying, excess fat to drip off the meat to create a leaner burger. This also helps maintain other healthy attributes like nutrients unlike frying. For a meal that can truly be nutritious, oven baking is a great way to create burgers that preserve healthy nutrients while also providing a great flavor that is often sacrificed for a healthier meal.
The oven provides a uniform heat source, meaning there is no need for flipping or adjusting, as every part of every burger will be cooked evenly. If you’re cooking for a large group, this is especially helpful. If you are throwing a backyard barbecue or a family dinner, you can count on the oven’s reliability to send people away satisfied with their meal of perfectly cooked burgers. When trying to impress guests or satisfying picky eaters, this will be a very useful tool. Oven-baked burgers are consistent every time!
Step 1: Pre-heat Your Oven: Set the oven to 400°F (205°C). Preheating the oven ensures the patties will be seared to perfection on the outside while the inside is still cooked all the way through. Sealing the burgers will trapping the juices and keeping the flavor inside.
Step 2: Prep Your Patties: Grab some fresh ground beef, preferably with a solid 80/20 beef to fat ratio for optimal juiciness. Make the patties about 1 in thick and go to town seasoning with salt, pepper, and any other seasoning of your choice. This specific ratio is the ideal meat to fat ratio for optimal flavor and moisture retention, ensuring the burgers are remain juicy and flavorful.
Prepare the Cookies: For the initial step, grab a wire rack as well as parchment paper, or a lightly greased wire rack. This setup allows the heat to evenly distribute around the cookies. The wire rack elevates the cookies, allowing air and heat to circulate, which helps to evenly cook the cookies and gives the cookies surface a nice brown finish as well.
Cook the Cookies: Allow the cookies to bake for around 20 minutes, but keep an eye on them. If you would like to know how long to bake burger patties, the answer is about 20 minutes, but how long they cook for depends on how thick the patties are. Before the end of the 20 minutes, you should keep an eye on the cookies to try and figure out how long the patties should taper off to get your desired level of doneness. You don’t want to overcook the patties on the ends.
Make Sure They are Cooked all the Way and Safe to Eat: You want the thickest range of the patties to be well done to 160° for beef, so adjust your cook time as you feel necessary to get your precise doneness level. A meat thermometer or a probe thermometer helps a lot to get perfect results and helps to know for sure when the meat is done.
Add Cheese (Optional): If making cheeseburgers, during the last 2 minutes of baking, add a slice of cheese to each patty to melt, giving a creamy layer of flavor to the burgers.
Tips for Perfect Oven Baked Burgers
Avoid Overmixing: After portioning your beef into patties, do not handle it, to avoid the burgers being tough. Overmixing is the leading cause of patties being dense and chewy, so maintain a soft touch to your patties to keep them tender.
Make an Indentation: By pressing a small indentation in the center of each patty, it will assist in cooking evenly and not puffing up. This small technique will guarantee a flat patty that is evenly cooked and helps any excess air escape, giving a good texture to the burgers.
Use a Wire Rack: When burgers are elevated on a wire rack, the fat will be able to drip off and air can flow freely, leading to a better cooked burger. This method will help lose some fat and overall a good crust will form on the outside of the patties.
Baking A Burger Recipe Variations
Classic Baked Cheeseburgers
You can keep things traditional and go by the first recipe and cover the cheeseburgers with your favorite condiments like American cheese, lettuce, and tomato. Everyone gets a classic cheeseburger and those offered with cheese greatly enjoyed. You can add a twist by using a different cheese, adding a slice of bacon, or especially trying the extra crispy ones for an additional flavor or texture.
Spicy Jalapeno Burgers
For an added kicking spice, add both diced jalapenos and pepper jack cheese to your patties. Pair it with creamy chipotle mayo for an extra flavor. A perfect variation for spicy lovers, those meals with high heat and creamy avocado for a spiciness to balance the overall flavor of the meail.
Herb-Infused Burgers
For a gourmet twist, add an aromatic touch to your burgers by mixing in the parsley, thyme, or rosemary before you form the ground meat into the patties. Find your favorite combinations of the herbs and experiment with different ones. If you’re looking for a high quality dining experience, try serving it with a spicy aioli or a bit of butter that’s herb infused for a gradual butter serving.
How to Broil Hamburger Patties in the Oven
If you like a nice seared finish on your broiled hamburgers, you should try broiling. Broiling in the oven uses the top heating element like a grill to sear the patties and also adds smoky flavor to the burgers.
How to Broil the Patties
Preheat the Broiler
Use the oven broiling setting to preheat the oven. Preheating the oven keeps the heating element from getting overly hot and searing the patties too quickly and burning them.
Position the Oven Rack
Move your oven rack to a position around 6 inches from the broiler. This positioning lets the burgers get enough heat to cook quickly and evenly and keeps the patties from burning from excessive heat.
Broil the Patties
Put the patties in a broiler pan and broil them for 3 or 4 minutes on each side or until they are done enough for your liking. Keep a close watch on the patties in the oven to make sure they are not getting burned and use a meat thermometer to make sure they are done.
Final Thoughts: Super Simple Oven Burgers
Cooking burgers in the oven is an easy and versatile way to make an old meal without much effort. Use these easy tips recipes to create burgers that will surely excite your family and friends. This cooking method will make the process easier and allow you to play around with flavors. Stick with the old flavors, or bring in new and trendy spices and herbs. The oven method will allow you to make tons of different burgers. Enjoy your easy oven baked burgers!