Burger Grilling Mistakes

We all love a grilled burger. I considered myself an expert until I found this article with some new tips. I have listed some common mistakes for you (some tips from Buzzfeed  and some from experience.)

Here are the most common mistakes people make while cooking burgers.

1. Not buying the proper amount of meat. It takes six ounces per burger.
2. buying meat that is too lean. You need some fat for flavor and to keep your burgers juicy. The droppings onto the coals also create a lot of smoke and that flavors your burgers. Don't go any higher than 80% lean.
3. Over-handling the meat (seriously.) The more you handle the meat the tougher it becomes.
4. Buying big buns and making tiny hamburgers. Where's the beef?
5. Not letting all of the lighter fluid burn off and cooking to early. Let the coals light until there is no black visible. No one likes charcoal lighter flavored burgers.
6. Not completely cleaning the grill. Nobody wants to take a bite of their burger and crunch down on a piece of burned chicken from last weeks bar-b-que.
7. Pressing the patties with a spatula. You are just mushing all of the juice out of your burger. STOP!
8. Shutting the lid to speed things up. This may help speed up the process a little but usually results in un-even cooking (unless you are using a Weber Kettle Grill.) Burgers should cook four minutes on each side ... then flip once more, add the cheese and cook for two minutes.
9. Washing off a burger that dropped on the coals or ground. Don't be the guy serving crunchy burgers.