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Home » Recipes » Beef Recipes

Juicy Smoked Burgers

Published: Jul 17, 2024 by Chef Ryan Littley

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Making delicious, juicy smoked burgers that are full of flavor with a hint of smoky flavor is easier than you think. Made with simple ingredients, you’re going to love our easy smoked hamburger recipe.

Smoked burgers with cheese on buns on a white platter.


 

The secret to great smoked burgers is using the right blend of beef. For tender, juicy burgers, use 80/20 ground beef. Heat and smoke can dry out the burgers, and the extra fat in the meat helps keep them moist and succulent.

You can use 80/15, but I wouldn’t use beef with less fat. Lean ground beef works well for some dishes but not for smoked burgers.

Smoked burger with cheese, lettuce, tomato and burger sauce on a white plate.

We love our electric smoker, but you can use a trager pellet grill, charcoal grill, or gas grill using indirect heat.

If you enjoy making delicious smoked meats for sandwiches, make sure to try our smoked hot dogs and smoked sausage, onions, and peppers recipes.

Table of Contents:
  • Ingredients to make Smoked Burgers
  • Can I change up the ingredients for the Smoked Hamburgers?
  • How to make Juicy Smoked Burgers
  • Recipe FAQ’s
  • More Recipes You’ll Love!
  • Recipe: Juicy Smoked Burgers

Ingredients to make Smoked Burgers

Ingredients to make the recipe.

Let’s start by gathering the ingredients we need to make our easy smoked burgers recipe. In Chef Speak, this is called the Mise en Place, which translates into Everything in its Place.

Not only does setting your ingredients up ahead of time speed the cooking process, but it also helps ensure you have everything you need to make the dish.

Can I change up the ingredients for the Smoked Hamburgers?

Absolutely. You can substitute onion powder and garlic powder for the diced onions and minced garlic.

You can also use your favorite spices or seasoning mixture. I like to use Cajun seasoning and Jerk seasoning; the flavors go great with the smoky flavor.

How to make Juicy Smoked Burgers

  • Preheat your smoker to 250 degrees.
  • Remove the ground beef from the refrigerator a half hour prior to cooking it to allow the meat to come to room temperature.
Collage showing how to start the recipe.
  • Add the ground beef, diced onions, minced garlic, Worcestershire sauce, table salt, and black pepper to a large bowl.
  • Mix just enough to combine the ingredients.
    *Make sure not to overhandle the ground meat, as it will toughen the meat during the cooking process.
  • Portion out the hamburgers into 8 oz balls.
  • Form thick patties using your hands or a burger press. We prefer thicker patties, but If you like thinner patties, you can also make smash burgers out of the beef.

Add wood chips to the smoke tube. For this recipe, we used hickory wood chips, but you can also use maple, pecan, or oak.

Collage showing how to finish the recipe.
  • For the best results, place the beef patties directly on the grill grate in the preheated smoker with a drip pan underneath. Cook until the internal temperature of the burgers is 145 degrees (about 1 hour).
    *Cooking times will vary as we are cooking to temperature, not a specific time. Make sure to use a meat thermometer!
  • About halfway through the process, flip the hamburger patties.
  • When the desired temperature has been reached, add cheese to the patties.
  • Allow them to cook for an additional 5 minutes or until the cheese has softened over top of the burgers.
    *For a crispier texture, you can reverse sear the burgers and allow the cheese to melt on the burgers during the process.
Smoked burgers with cheese on buns on a white platter.

Serve the smoked burgers with our classic burger sauce, barbecue sauce, or your favorite condiments. Add lettuce, tomato, pickle chips, red onion, crispy bacon, or any of your favorite toppings.

Store any leftover burgers refrigerated in an airtight container for 2-3 days.

Recipe FAQ’s

Do I need to flip the burgers during the smoking process?

No, you don’t. But if you’d like to have grill marks on the meat, flipping them will give you marks on both sides.

My smoked burger is still a little pink, is it done?

When using a smoker to cook meats, the most important thing to remember is to always cook to temperature. Smoking can turn your burgers pink and give the illusion that the patties are more (or less) done than they really are.

More Recipes You’ll Love!

  • Smoked hot dogs on a white platter.
    The Best Smoked Hot Dogs
  • Smoked sausage, peppers, and onions on a white platter.
    Smoked Sausage, Peppers, and Onions
  • Smoked shotgun shells on a white platter.
    Smoked Shotgun Shells
  • smoked pork belly burn ends with barbecue sauce in a glass bowl.
    Smoked Pork Belly Burnt Ends

Smoked burgers with cheese on buns on a white platter.

Juicy Smoked Burgers

Chef Ryan Littley
Making delicious, juicy smoked burgers that are full of flavor with a hint of smoky flavor is easier than you think. Made with simple ingredients, you're going to love our easy smoked hamburger recipe.
5 from 1 vote
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 10 minutes mins
Cook Time 1 hour hr
Total Time 1 hour hr 10 minutes mins
Course Entree, sandwich
Cuisine American
Servings 4
Calories 709 kcal

Equipment

  • Smoker
  • wood chips

Ingredients
  

  • 2 lbs ground beef 80/20
  • ½ cup onions finely diced
  • 1 tablespoon garlic finely minced
  • 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 teaspoon table salt
  • 1 teaspoon black pepper
  • 4 hamburger buns

Instructions
 

  • Preheat your smoker to 250 degrees
  • Remove the ground beef from the refrigerator a half hour prior to cooking it to allow the meat to come to room temperature
  • Add the ground beef to a large mixing bowl.
  • Add the diced onions, minced garlic, Worcestershire sauce, table salt, and black pepper, to the mixing bowl mixing just enough to combine all ingredients.
    Make sure to not over handle the ground beef as it will toughen the meat during the cooking process.
  • Portion out the hamburgers into 8 oz balls.
  • Using your hands or a burger press to form the hamburger patties.
  • Add wood chips to the smoke tub for this recipe we used apple wood chips.
  • Place the burgers directly on the rack in the smoker with a drip pan underneath and cook until an internal temperature of 145 degrees has been reached (about 1 hour). Cooking times will vary as we are cooking to temperature, not a specific time.
    *If you prefer less done burgers, cook to 125 – 135 depending on your preference.
  • When the desired temperature has been reached, add cheese and allow them to cook for an additional 5 minutes or until the cheese has softened over top of the burgers.
    *For a crispier texture you can reverse sear the burgers and allow the cheese to melt on the burgers during this process
  • Remove the burgers from the smoker and place on your favorite bun.

Nutrition

Calories: 709kcalCarbohydrates: 25gProtein: 44gFat: 47gSaturated Fat: 18gPolyunsaturated Fat: 2gMonounsaturated Fat: 20gTrans Fat: 3gCholesterol: 161mgSodium: 966mgPotassium: 721mgFiber: 1gSugar: 4gVitamin A: 5IUVitamin C: 3mgCalcium: 115mgIron: 6mg
Tried this recipe? Pin it for Later!Mention @askchefdennis or tag #askchefdennis!

Comments

    5 from 1 vote

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    Recipe Rating




  1. Lisa says

    July 17, 2024 at 12:08 pm

    5 stars
    Yes please!!

    Reply


My name is Chef Dennis Littley, creator and owner of Ask Chef Dennis Productions. As a classically trained chef with 40+ years of experience in the kitchen, I share my time-tested recipes, knowledge, and chef tips to help you create easy-to-make restaurant-quality meals in your home kitchen.

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