How to Grill Burgers on Charcoal | Kingsford® (2024)

How to Prep

• Season your ground meat with salt and pepper.
• Form your ground meat into 6-ounce balls, between the size of a baseball and softball. With your hands, flatten them until they’re about ¾” thick.
• Put a slight indentation in the center of each patty to keep it from swelling and becoming too round.
• Refrigerate the patties until you’re ready to put them on the grill.

• How to Keep Those Burgers Juicy For delicious, juicy burgers, use a gentle touch when forming your patties. Overmixing or compacting the ground meat can result in dense, firm burgers.

How to Prep

How to Build Your Fire

• Give your top grill grate a good brushing and set it aside. Pour Kingsford® Original Charcoal Briquets into a chimney — or pour them in a mound and light. Wait for coals to light fully.
• Once the charcoal turns gray with ash, arrange coals in a Two-Zone Method: coals on one side of the grill and a void on the other.
• Add the grate and let it heat up.
• Coals should be at Medium Heat — around 400°F. How to control the heat when grilling with charcoal.

• How to Gauge Grill Heat Without a Thermometer

  Carefully hold your hand about 5” to 6” above the grate, and refer to the temperature settings below:

  
  

  • High Heat (450° to 550°F):
  2 to 4 seconds
  •Medium Heat (350° to 450°F):
  5 to 6 seconds
  •Low Heat (250° to 350°F):
  8 to 10 seconds

  
  

  Make sure your clothing doesn’t touch the grate, and always move your hand away from the heat before you feel discomfort.

  
  

  When you’re at temp, put cooking oil on a folded paper towel. Grab the oiled paper towel with long-handled tongs and oil the grate thoroughly.

  

How to Build Your Fire

Grilling Time & Temp

• Sear for 4 to 5 minutes directly over the coals until the burgers are brown and crispy on the bottom.
• Handle the patties gently without pushing down on them with the spatula. Also watch that they don’t char.
• Flare-ups will happen. Don’t worry!

• Here’s How to Handle a Flare-Up Flare-ups happen to even the most skilled grill masters. Flare-ups are just fat rendering and dripping onto the coals. With a long-handled, metal spatula, simply move your food to the other side of the grate until the flames subside.

  
• When you see liquid pooling on the uncooked surface of the burgers, it’s time to flip them.
• Using a long-handled, metal spatula, flip the burgers only once. Then sear the other side to lock in the juices.
• Reposition the burgers so they’re no longer directly over the coals. Cover the grill with the lid, and continue cooking until the desired temp is reached. Use a digital meat thermometer to make sure they’ve hit 160°F.

• How Done Are My Burgers? Let’s Find Out * USDA Safety Guidelines recommend cooking ground meat to the well-done temp of 160°F to make sure any harmful bacteria are destroyed.
  ** Cooking times are approximate. Based on a ¾” burger.

  

The Finish

• There’s no need to rest burgers. Simply put them on the toasted buns and add your favorite toppings. Enjoy!

The Finish

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