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[jdmessner]

Kind of a silly question, but what the heck! I am working on a community dinner in a couple of weeks. The group wants to do about 100 burgers. Since I have a large grill, I became the default burger guy. Most don't realize the difference between a pellet grill and gas or charcoal. The thought process is, if you have a grill, you should be able to do burgers.

I  know hamburgers are not the typical bill of fare, but would it work? We are looking at using frozen preshaped patties. My grill has just the three settings and doesn't go much past 375 on high.

[imahawki]

I tried to do brats at a "smoke" temp a few years ago and they were bad but one of the biggest issues was the skin super tough.  Burgers don't have skin obviously so that won't be a problem but man, I'm not sure.  And even if they are good, they might look bad if they're smoked like too red and looking uncooked and no sear marks??? Do you have time for a test run?

[Bar-B-Lew]

Here is a low and slow NY strip steak.  I do hamburgers the same way all the time.

https://pelletfan.com/index.php?topic=2611.0

[urnmor]

350 to 375 should be fine to cook your burgers, however I would recommend you use a mat and not place directly on the grates.  this will help ensure your burgers stay together as they cook and is easier to flip them and take them off the grill.

[Canadian John]

 "Smoked Burgers". Total cook time ~2 1/4HRS.  Smoke @ 180º for 1HR. Flip and cook @225º for 1HR. Flip and cook @ 275 for 10 Min. Flip add cheese and cook 5 Min..  No cheese, no problem.Just go the 5

Min....Without a temperature control, the cook times will vary.. If you have had your Traeger for a while you should be familiar with the grate temps in different operating conditions, and adapt accordingly.

Hope this helps.              Note: These are hand formed patties close to 1/3 LB.

[pmillen]

Burgers are best cooked over a pellet pit's direct flame area.  You can make one. 
     â€¢  Home Depot sells adjustable flame tamers. 
     â€¢  They look a bit like corrugated metal with a lot of holes punched in them.
     â€¢  Remove your drip pan and heat deflector.
     â€¢  Place the flame tamers.
     â€¢  Put the grates back on and grill over high flame.
     â€¢  Don't wait until the last minute to test.

[ICIdaho]

I like low and slow on the burgers. My kids request it. I usually do around 230 degrees. It takes around an hour.  They are a dark reddish color on the outside. I quit high heat hamburgers on the pellet grill, it caused too many grease fires even with everything cleaned.

[BigDave83]

I am going to guess you could only get say 21 burgers on the cooker at a time (figuring 18x36 cooking area and 5" round premades) so doing 100 of them is going to take a while unless you have multiple cooking racks in your cooker.

I have never done big burger cooks on the pellet cooker but have on a gas grill. I will cook them to where they are not completely done and shrunken up, then they get transferred to an electric roaster or a chafer to keep warm, in the roaster or what ever you use I have beef broth, some seasoning garlic, onion, black pepper and sometimes some chili powder, also some Worcestershire sauce and some tequila. If you can adjust the temps on a roaster set it at 160 ish and just allow the burgers to to finish cooking in the liquid they will stay juicy and heck I have been know to add a touch of the liquid smoke in there also.

Good luck to ya on your big cook.

[jdmessner]

     â€¢  Don't wait until the last minute to test.

Always solid advice! I will look into it and see how it goes. If I can get it to work (flame tamer) it would be great to be able to use the grates!! Hope to be able to do a few test runs this weekend. Will see how it goes.

[Bentley]

Sure it will and they will taste great.  Instead of 4 minutes a side at 550°...it might take 10 at 375°, but who cares in the end?  They will be delicious!

...but would it work? We are looking at using frozen preshaped patties. My grill has just the three settings and doesn't go much past 375 on high.

[jdmessner]

Had the community dinner last night. Had a phone malfunction, so I wasn't able to take any pictures. I thought it turned out well. We did 80 burgers and 140 hot dogs. We did some fresh, but mostly frozen. I was kind of surprised that there was not much difference in the cook or end results between frozen and unfrozen. They went about 45 minutes on medium (about 275ish).

However, I don't think the guys I was working with were all that impressed. I overheard one saying it wasn't any different than putting them in the oven and baking them. I should point out that they are both avid stick burners and like a very smokey taste. These burgers did not have the typical seared look coming off the grill, but I don't think anyone noticed or cared once they were served. They tasted good! We must have had around 100 folks show up. It was a great way to celebrate National Hot Dog Day!

[reubenray]

Let the stick burners do them next time and I bet some of them will be overcooked or burned.  I use to have a stick burner and it was not fun doing a lot of meat on it.

[jdmessner]

Honestly, I would agree with them. I’m not a fan of low and slow burgers. I like crust on my my burgers, but different tastes and opinions are what makes the world go round! 

I cannot disagree with you. The main reason we did the burgers this way was more out of convienance than anything else. The grill was big enough to do it and I was voulenteered! Otherwise, I probably never would have thought about doing it that way. However, the bottom line is that they did taste good! They just didn't have the overwhelming smoke taste. It was just interesting to overhear the comment about a pellet grill not being any different than baking in the oven. I have come t realize stick burners can be very defensive!

[Bar-B-Lew]

Honestly, I would agree with them. I’m not a fan of low and slow burgers. I like crust on my my burgers, but different tastes and opinions are what makes the world go round! 

I cannot disagree with you. The main reason we did the burgers this way was more out of convienance than anything else. The grill was big enough to do it and I was voulenteered! Otherwise, I probably never would have thought about doing it that way. However, the bottom line is that they did taste good! They just didn't have the overwhelming smoke taste. It was just interesting to overhear the comment about a pellet grill not being any different than baking in the oven. I have come t realize stick burners can be very defensive!

The ease of use of a pellet grill is often times as easy as baking in the oven.  The flavor not so much.  Great job on the cook and "volunteering".

[Bentley]

JaJaJa...They probably want one...envy is a horrible thing!

However, I don't think the guys I was working with were all that impressed. I overheard one saying it wasn't any different than putting them in the oven and baking them. I should point out that they are both avid stick burners and like a very smokey taste.