Skip to main content

The Barbecue Burger

5.0

(1)

Image may contain Burger and Food
Photo by Matthew Benson

Like most tender quick-cooking meats, hamburgers taste better grilled over a high heat than barbecued (smoked low and slow). Here’s a way to infuse the evocative spice and smoke flavors of true barbecue into a conventional fast-cooking burger. It uses a smoke-scented barbecue rub. I call it The Barbecue Burger; you might call it smoky nirvana. There’s a lot to love literally—each burger tips the scale at 8 ounces.

Recipe information

  • Yield

    Makes 4 huge burgers

Ingredients

2 pounds ground beef (preferably a mixture of ground chuck and sirloin, about 18 percent fat)
2 to 3 tablespoons Kansas City Sweet and Smoky Rub, or your favorite barbecue rub
4 romaine lettuce leaves (take from near the center)
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
4 onion rolls or 4 hamburger buns, sliced almost in half through the side
4 thick strips artisanal bacon
4 thick slices red ripe tomato
6 to 8 tablespoons Smoke Wrangler’s Barbecue Sauce, or your favorite barbecue sauce

You also need:

1 1/2 cups hardwood chips, soaked in water for 30 minutes, then drained

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Form the ground beef into 4 patties, each about 3 1/2 inches across and 3/4-inch thick. Make a slight depression in the center. (Burgers rise more in the center than on the periphery, so the slight indentation helps give you an even thickness.) Generously season the burgers on both sides with the Kansas City Sweet and Smoky Rub and let marinate in the refrigerator while you light your grill.

    Step 2

    Set up the grill for direct grilling and preheat to high. Brush and oil the grill grate.

    Step 3

    Lightly brush the romaine lettuce leaves on both sides with olive oil (you’ll need about 1 tablespoon.) Brush the insides of the onion rolls with the remaining oil.

    Step 4

    Arrange the bacon strips on the grill grate and grill until browned on both sides, 3 to 4 minutes per side. (Move them as needed to dodge any flare-ups.)

    Step 5

    Grill the hamburgers until cooked to taste, about 4 minutes per side for medium (160°F on an instant-read thermometer.)

    Step 6

    Grill the lettuce leaves over the hot fire until lightly browned, 30 seconds per side. Toast the onion rolls, cut side down, over the hot fire, 1 to 2 minutes.

    Step 7

    To assemble, place a grilled romaine leaf on the bottom half of each onion roll. Top with a burger, then barbecue sauce, then a tomato slice, bacon, and more barbecue sauce. Top with the other onion roll half.

Image may contain: Burger, and Food
Excerpted from Barbecue Sauces, Rubs, and Marinades—Bastes, Butters & Glazes, Too by Steven Raichlen (Workman Publishing). Copyright © 2017. Photographs by Matthew Benson. Buy the full book from Amazon.

See Related Recipes and Cooking Tips

Read More
A pinch of sugar in the spice rub ensures picture-perfect grill marks with layers of flavor.
This comforting cheeseburger-inspired pasta from Kiano Moju is bolstered by berbere spice.
An espresso- and cumin-spiked rub (or brine) gives this smoked chicken impressive flavor.
A fresh take on a Midwest staple, featuring homemade gravy and plenty of vegetables.
Developed in the 1980s by a chef in Hong Kong, this sauce is all about umami.
Just like the state fair, minus the crowds.
You can enjoy these madeleines with just powdered sugar—or decorate them with a colorful white chocolate shell.
Make these cookies for an after-school snack, midday treat, or gift for friends and neighbors.