From Frozen Patties to Flame Grilled Burgers

Sharing is caring!

Want to know how to grill frozen burgers from frozen solid to flame-grilled in 20 minutes? We all live very busy lives, and sometimes, we don’t have the time to wait for frozen burgers to reach room temperature before we cook them. But you can cook frozen burgers, and I’ll show you exactly how to do it so they don’t end up all mushy.

How Long to Grill Frozen Burgers

Grilling a frozen burger takes 10-11 minutes. It’s perfectly safe to cook frozen hamburger patties straight after taking them out of the freezer. The most important thing is to ensure that the internal meat temperature reaches 165°F before serving them. 

How to Cook Frozen Burgers on the Grill

1. Separate the patties. This will ensure that their perfectly round shapes are preserved. If you’re having difficulty with this, use something blunt and flat (like a butter knife) to do it.
   
2. Preheat your grill to medium heat. If you’re using a pellet grill or have a temperature gauge, make sure the heat is at 325 ℉.
3. Oil the grill grates to avoid losing the bottoms of your patties. If you miss this step, the ground meat will often stick to the hot grates.
4. Do any last-minute seasoning to your burgers before you put them onto the grates.
5. Leave the meat to cook on the first side for 5 minutes.
6. Next, flip it and let the second side cook for approximately 5 minutes.
7. Cook until the internal temperature measures 165 ℉ on your meat thermometer.
8. All that’s left to do is let the meat rest for at least 5 minutes; then, you can serve and enjoy!

Are there any Upsides to Grilling Meat Patties While They’re Still Frozen?

Having frozen patties in your freezer at all times is excellent because they’re super convenient. It doesn’t matter whether you bought them from the store or made them beforehand.

Being able to take them out of the freezer and toss them onto a grill means that you’re saving yourself a whole lot of preparation time.

This also allows for excellent portion control. You can simply take out 1-2 frozen burger patties when you feel like it.

Being able to cook as much as you know you’ll be able to finish means avoiding overeating and having unwanted leftovers. It’s also great for last-minute casual get-togethers or just a quick and easy family meal.

Ways to Safely Thaw Burgers

Of course, immediately grilling frozen meat should never be your first option. Here are some ways to safely thaw out burger meat.

In the Refrigerator

The easiest and safest way to thaw meat is to always remove it from the freezer and transfer it to the fridge. While it could probably thaw within 12 hours, it’s always a good idea to plan.

Thus, it is recommended that you begin the thawing process at least 24 hours before you plan to cook the meat.

Using Cold Water

Start by transferring the frozen hamburgers into a fully secure zip-lock bag.

Then, you want to fully submerge it in a big enough bowl of cold water. If you don’t have a large enough bowl, you can always plug the sink with a rubber stopper and fill it with cold water. 

Leave the meat to soak for approximately 10 to 30 minutes and wait for the patties to thaw out. Of course, for safety reasons, you will need to cook the meat immediately. Also, it’s important to remember that you should never place it back into the freezer under any circumstances.

In the Microwave

This is officially the fastest method for thawing a frozen meat patty.

All you need to do is to place it onto a microwavable dish and zap it at 1-minute intervals. Take the meat out and check to see if it’s thawed. And if it’s not, just place it back in for another minute.

With this thawing method, you will also need to cook the patty immediately after it’s thawed. While we do not recommend it, you can also cook the meat in the microwave if you want to.

You must also not re-freeze the patty after thawing it in this manner.

How to Avoid Flare-Ups

Flare-ups refer to the event where large flames suddenly peek through the grill grates while you’re grilling. These can scorch, burn and even dry out your meat.

To combat this, lower the heat of your grill or move the meat to a lower-temperature section of the grill. Especially if you notice the meat secreting more juice than it should, these burger juices can trigger flare-ups. 

How to Avoid Dry Burgers

Just because something takes longer to cook does not make it impossible to overcook it. Taking your eyes off the juicy burger patties on the grill can easily lead to disaster. 

You may notice juices leaking out of the meat on the grill. This meat juice is just myoglobin plus the extra moisture from the meat. Myoglobin can easily be mistaken for blood in this form, but it’s just a protein found in meat tissues. 

The key to a moist, juicy burger is to avoid cooking the meat to the point where the secretion stops.If your meat is no longer leaking those juices, it means it has become too dry. And you’ve most likely overcooked the meat in the process.

Smoke On!

Charlie

Hungry For More?