We’re always using our smoker, so we’re shocked that just now we’re sharing our seriously incredible smoked burger recipe!
We have three different smokers at our house (can you tell we’re obsessed?!) and we got rid of our gas grill, so we’ve become experts at smoking so many different recipes.
If it’s a special occasion that we’re celebrating and we’re feeding a crowd, we’re making our Smoked Prime Rib Recipe or our Smoked Turkey Recipe.
For a football-filled game day, we’re making our crisp and flavorful Dry Rubbed Smoked Chicken Wings or our Smoked Cream Cheese Recipe for an easy dip to munch on while we watch the game from the couch.
But on a busy weeknight, we are making this Smoked Burger Recipe. You can’t go wrong!
These delicious smoked burgers feel extra fancy, but it’s actually a really easy recipe!
You can use this smoked burger recipe for any type of topping combination, but our favorite way to use a smoked burger patty is with our Mushroom Swiss Burger Recipe.
We take the burger and cover it with swiss cheese, caramelized onions, smoked sliced baby bellas (check out our Smoked Mushroom Recipe to learn how to smoke your mushrooms at the same time you smoke your beef patties). Then, we top the burger with our super simple Horseradish Mayonnaise Sauce. The sauce adds a bit of tang and a little bit of heat.
The next smoked hamburger recipe we are going to make is probably going to be a BBQ burger topped with cheddar cheese, slices of bacon, BBQ sauce, and Pickled Red Onions.
We think that flavor combo will also pair perfectly and bring amazing flavor to the sandwich.
Are you drooling yet?!
Let’s get cooking and make the best smoked burger your entire family will adore.
What Type of Smoker to Use
Honestly, you can make smoked burgers in any type of smoker.
When we are at our Fredericksburg Bed and Breakfast Airbnb rental, we use our Traeger Pellet Grill Smoker because it’s easy, self-regulated temperature control for guests to use.
At home we also have a Masterbuilt Gravity-Fed Charcoal Grill, you can just add wood chunks to the hopper in order to add smoke to that grill.
For this specific recipe that we photographed, we actually used our Big Green Egg.
The heavy ceramic of the kamado-style smoker helps to lock in the smoke which we think creates really juicy burgers.
No matter what type of smoker you use, your burgers will come out great.
What Type of Wood to Use for Smoked Burgers
When it comes to the type of wood pellets or wood chunks to use in your smoker, it’s all personal preference.
Typically at most hardware or large grocery stores you’ll find oak, hickory, mesquite, pecan, cherry and apple wood chunks (and pellets if you have a pellet grill).
Mesquite wood chips are a popular option, but we usually use hickory since Karen has a slight mesquite allergy.
Also consider your toppings when picking your smoking wood.
We bet a burger topped with bacon jam would be delicious with a sweeter wood, like apple or cherry wood.
Our mushroom swiss burgers tasted awesome with the hickory smoke.
How to Make Smoked Burgers
We love to smoke burgers because it adds a unique depth of flavor to an American classic.
Start by making your burger patty with ground chuck meat.
Typically when we are making a burger, we like to go with an 80/20 fat ratio instead of going with lean ground beef.
Remember that fat equals flavor, so don’t shy away from a higher fat ratio.
If you are making your patties yourself, be careful not to overmix the meat.
If we’re feeling lazy we even take pre-formed burgers and just season them and pop them on the smoker. It still turns out delicious!
Rather than cooking at high heat like you would for a smash burger, you want to smoke your burgers at a lower temperature.
This is the best way to add the most smoky flavor, and a higher fat content in the burger patty will ensure you can cook it for longer periods of time without drying out the burgers.
Smoked Burger Internal Temperature Chart
Always use a meat thermometer that has been inserted into the beef patty to determine the doneness.
Smoked burgers will always appear pink, so that is why a thermometer is so critical in determining when your burgers are ready.
We love using this wireless thermometer with an alarm, so that way you can set it and forget it. The thermometer will beep when the desired internal temperature is reached.
If you haven’t bought a wireless thermometer yet, just temp your burgers from time to time, and if it has not reached your desired internal temperature of the burgers, give it more time.
Don’t worry if it takes a little longer than planned, the more time on the smoker, the more smokey flavor that will be developed.
| Medium Rare Burger | 130-135 Degrees F Temperature |
| Medium Burger | 140-145 Degrees F Temperature |
| Medium Well Burger | 150-155 Degrees F Temperature |
| Well Done Burger | 160+ Degrees F Temperature |
What to Serve with Smoked Burgers
There are a number of sides that pair well with smoked burgers:
- Whether you like waffle fries, shoestring fries, or curly fries, you can’t go wrong with classic french fries
- Consider a side salad if you are looking to lighten up the meal a bit.
- Potato salad is a great option if you’re having a picnic, our Loaded Baked Potato Salad Recipe can’t be beat!
- If you really want to embrace the smoke flavor, make our Smoked Mac and Cheese as a side dish!
- Serve your burger with a cold beer or if you are a wine lover like we are, a Merlot pairs really nicely with the smokey flavor of the burgers.
Smoked Burger Recipe
Prep Time: 10 Minutes
Cook Time: 1 Hour
Serves: 4
Ingredients:
- 4 ground beef burger patties
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 4 hamburger buns
- Cheese and toppings
- Start by preheating your smoker to 225 degrees F.
- In a small bowl, mix together your seasoning mixture of onion powder, garlic powder, salt and pepper.
- Next, season your beef patties with the homemade seasoning blend. If you have preformed patties, you can simply season the exterior. If you are handforming your hamburger patties, you can mix the seasoning in with the meat. Just be careful to not overly mix or handle the meat.
- Once your grill is hot and your burger patties are formed, place the burgers on the smoker.
- Do not flip the burgers. Smoke the burgers continuously until the internal temperature reaches your desired doneness (we like our burger cooked to 140 degrees). This took our smoker about one hour.
- Add your sliced cheese on top of the hamburgers and smoke for an additional 2-3 minutes until slightly melted. Then, remove the smoked burgers from the grill.
- If desired, butter and toast your buns. Then top with your favorite condiments and toppings.
Smoked Burger Recipe
This smoked burger recipe is juicy and packed with flavor! Elevate regular old burger night with a kiss of smoke.
Ingredients
- 4 ground beef burger patties
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 4 hamburger buns
- 4 slices of cheese
Instructions
- Start by preheating your smoker to 225 degrees F.
- In a small bowl, mix together your seasoning mixture of onion powder, garlic powder, salt and pepper.
- Next, season your beef patties with the homemade seasoning blend. If you have preformed patties, you can simply season the exterior. If you are handforming your hamburger patties, you can mix the seasoning in with the meat. Just be careful to not overly mix or handle the meat.
- Once your grill is hot and your burger patties are formed, place the burgers on the smoker.
- Do not flip the burgers. Smoke the burgers continuously until the internal temperature reaches your desired doneness (we like our burger cooked to 140 degrees). This took our smoker about one hour.
- Add your sliced cheese on top of the hamburgers and smoke for an additional 2-3 minutes until slightly melted. Then, remove the smoked burgers from the grill.
- If desired, butter and toast your buns. Then top with your favorite condiments and toppings.
Recommended Products
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5”Stainless Steel Hamburger Press Patty Maker, Non-Stick Hamburger Press -
Stainless Steel Large Grill Spatula -
Stay Dry Pellet Bin, Wood Pellet Storage with Locking Lid -
Grill Rescue BBQ Bristle Free Barbecue Cleaner -
Wireless Remote Digital Cooking Food Meat Thermometer with Dual Probe -
Traeger Grills Ironwood 650 Wood Pellet Grill and Smoker -
Traeger Grills Signature Blend 100% All-Natural Wood Pellets for Smokers
You’ll find that the key to smoking burgers is just allocating a bit more time to the cooking process and using a meat thermometer to determine when the meat is done.
Other than that, the process of making burger patties, seasoning the meat, and topping your burger is completely the same.
The smoker does all the work and adds in such a unique smokey flavor, and that’s what makes this smoked burger recipe so memorable.
Love all things Burger?! Check out these other Burger Recipes:
- This recipe goes perfectly with all the toppings for our Ultimate Mushroom Swiss Burger Recipe.
- If you’re a cheese lover, make a cheese stuffed burger! The iconic Juicy Lucy Burger Recipe (from Karen’s hometown in Minnesota), has a waterfall of melted cheese inside!
- All the flavors of tacos but in burger form! Our Queso Poblano Taco Burger Recipe has taco seasoning in the patty, is topped with roasted poblano peppers, and queso cheese sauce!
- Can’t decide between pizza and a burger? Why not have both! Our Cheeseburger Pizza Recipe has been loaded with pickles and special sauce, which adds an amazing flavor to plain ‘ol pizza.
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