Grilling Hamburgers on Charcoal

How to Make the Perfect Big Green Egg Burgers

Updated: December 2024

Nothing beats a perfectly grilled backyard burger. The smell of charcoal and sizzling beef will put a trance on your whole neighborhood - when you know how to do it right. Want to confidently say that you know how to make burgers on the Green Egg? Here’s how to make the perfect burger on your charcoal grill.

1. Set Up Your Charcoal Basket & Divider

First, fill your Big Green Egg charcoal basket with fresh charcoal. Then, set up your Kick Ash Basket Divider. This will create a cooler area on one side of your grill.

2. Prep The Meat

For the perfect backyard burger, fat is your friend. A juicy burger starts with fresh ground beef (we prefer ground chuck) with a high-fat content. Opt for 80/20 or 73/27 beef, resulting in more flavor and juiciness in your finished burgers.

To get fancy, put on your best tuxedo T-shirt and choose ground brisket, sirloin, or short ribs instead.

3. Be Gentle with Your Burger Patties

One mistake a lot of up-and-coming grillmasters make is overworking their meat. You should handle the meat as little as you can. Just enough to shape the burger patties so they stay together on the grill. Too much squeezing and mixing will make your burger tough and dense.

4. Make 6oz Patties

Burgers that are too small or excessively large for the buns are for amateurs. And you, future king or queen of your Big Green Egg, are no amateur.

For a great burger that tastes as good as it looks, make your patties about six ounces. This is a little bigger than a baseball. Shape the ball with as little handling as possible, then smash it down to about 3/4 inch thick.

Next, take your thumb and make an indentation in the middle of the burger. This indentation will prevent your burger from turning back into a ball on the grill.

5. Keep it Simple with Seasoning

“I love you as meat loves salt.” - Old English Folktale 

A heavy sprinkling of salt and a dash of pepper is absolutely all the seasoning you need for a great backyard burger. The flavor from high-quality, high-fat ground beef mixed with charcoal smoke is all you need to achieve a mouth-watering flavor.

Yes, that’s what chefs in the best restaurants in the world use to create the best burgers you’ve ever had - just salt and pepper!

We prefer coarse salt, like kosher salt, over small-grained table salt. Large-grained salt helps you control how much you use. The coarse grains go deeper into the meat, adding more flavor to your burger.

6. Prepare Your Big Green Egg Charcoal Grill

Set up a two-zone cooking area to cook burgers on your Big Green Egg. Place coals on just one half of the grill.

This is the perfect task for your Kick Ash Basket Divider! This way, you’ll create a searing surface on the hotter side and a cooler cooking surface on the other side.

7.  Master the Perfect Sear for Your Burger

The perfect sear is key to making the perfect burger on your charcoal grill. Too much, and you’re eating a hockey puck and too little, and your burger tastes like it came out of a fast-food warming pan.

Man holding burger

Photo by Oliver Sjöström on Unsplash

To get the perfect sear, put your burgers on the hot side of the grill. Cook them until they are brown and crispy on the outside. This should take about four to five minutes. You’ll know they’re ready to flip when you start seeing juices bubbling up to the top on the uncooked side.

Then flip and sear on the other side for the same four to five minutes. We warn you not to flatten your burgers with a spatula!

When you do this, all you’re doing is squeezing the juices out. Flip and step away from the grill!

8. Move Burgers to the Cooler Side of the Grill 

After searing the burgers, move them to the cooler side of the grill. Cook them to your desired doneness with the grill lid closed. A meat thermometer can help you check the temperature.

We prefer medium or medium rare. If you’re going for well-done burgers, just throw everything in the trash and order a pizza. Well-done burgers are a waste of good meat and will make your friends hate you.

9. Cheese It Up & Serve

Once you’ve reached the desired doneness, slap those perfect charcoal grill burgers on a tasty bun and serve. 

Add cheese about a minute before the burgers finish cooking and close the lid to achieve ideal cheesy meltiness.

Must-Haves for the Perfect Big Green Egg Burgers 

Several vital components were essential for getting these burgers ready: