The Ultimate Smoked Burger

[Mel]

I know--burgers are for grilling. But, oh man, you ain't NEVER had burgers like these! Once again, I wish I could claim credit, but I got the idea from Karen Putman.

Here they are raw:

Here they are cooked:

Recipe:

Balsamic "Jelly" (this got drizzled on the buns):

1/2 cup white balsamic vinegar (I used red--this is beef!)
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 chicken stock

Cook a few hours earlier on medium-high heat until reduced by half. Set aside.

Apricot Ham Relish:

1/2 cup thinly sliced red onion
1/2 cup sliced dried apricots
3 tbs red wine vinegar
2 tbs extra virgin olive oil
2 tbs sugar
1/4 cup capiccola ham (I just used whatever ham I had)

Cook everything but the ham on medium-high heat until no liquid remains (there will still be oil), about 10 minutes. Turn off the heat and add the ham. Mix well. Set aside.

BURGERS:

1 1/2 lbs ground beef
1/2 lb ground pork
1 tbs seasoned salt (I used 1 rounded tsp sea salt)
1 tsp pepper
3 tbs toasted pine nuts
2 minced garlic cloves
1/4 cup dry white wine (I used sherry)
6 slices Havarti (I used Swiss)

She said to smoke at 350 degrees for 20 minutes, top each burger with cheese, and smoke for 2 more minutes.

My WSM is pretty new, and I'm not sure of all of its "rules." So....here's what I did. I put the burgers on at 250 degrees, all vents open, about a chimney's worth of charcoal (maybe less), 20 lit coals on top, one piece of maple.

5:50 - 250 degrees - added burgers
5:55 - 240 degrees
6:00 - 252 degrees
6:05 - 272 degrees
6:10 - 290 degrees
6:15 - 300 degrees
6:20 - 310 degrees
6:25 - 310 degrees
6:28 - 315 degrees, added cheese, wood had caught fire
6:34 - 340 degrees, brought the burgers in

Drizzled balsamic jelly on buns. Added lots of lettuce, burger, and apricot ham relish.

EVERYONE IMMEDIATELY INHALED THEM!!!

They even had a nice little smoke ring.

The only thing different I would do is leave the cheese on for a few minutes, not six minutes.

But oh my god........THESE WERE AWESOME!!! I may never "grill" a burger again!

 

[Dan Wicker]

I'm a purist when it comes to burgers, but I have been curious about putting them on the WSM. Good job!

Mel, I'm waiting for your true inner Mainiac to come out and throw a 2 pound lobstah on the WSM.

 

[Mel]

Oh, that's coming, Dan! We eat a LOT of "lobstahhhhhh" up here in Maine, and some of my best friends are lobstermen. Come the season, I'll have a real Maine "lobstah bake" out on the WSM. I might even wrap 'em up on a bunch of seaweed like the old-timers used to do!

Oh, and these burgers.....delicious. I'm eating a leftover right now!

 

[Clay Cope]

I'm glad you posted this. I've been thinking about doing burgers in the smoker after reading a suggestion in a smoker book I have. They smoked burgers (fresh ground chuck of course) at 250, and it took just over an hour to hit the internal temps.

I personally don't think it makes much difference on a burger if it's low and slow, or high and fast, but I do like the concept.

 

[Pat McCreight]

I've cooked burgers on the top rack, no water pan. Probably a temp of around 325, but I don't remember. Turned out pretty good.

You can definitely pick up smoke flavor very quickly with ground meat, so you need to be careful with the wood you choose. I personally don't see cooking them below 300 for any reason.