Smoked Burger Recipe – Smoking Hamburgers in 6 Easy Steps

Many of us think of a lovely, juicy, smoked burger with all the accompaniments when we consider barbecuing. Smoking hamburgers really packs in the flavour, and it’s easy and fun too! In fact it’s actually one of our favourite meats for smoking recipes.

Here is our smoked burger recipe for you to try out on your smoker or barbecue, served with a delicious smoked garlic and chilli mayo, red onion relish, rocket and applewood cheese.

For The Smoked Burger

The Beef should be at least 20% Fat 80% Meat

500g Beef Mince/Ground Beef Chuck

500g Beef Mince/Ground Beef Brisket

Ingredients for Smoked Garlic and Chilli Mayo

4 Smoked Garlic Cloves

1/2 Red Chilli Pepper Finely Chopped and Deseeded  

A Good squeeze of Fresh Lemon Juice

100ml or 1/2 Cup of Mayonnaise 

Red Onion Relish

2 Medium-Sized Red Onions 

A Squeeze of Fresh Lime Juice

1 Teaspoon of Fine Sea Salt

To Serve

4 Toasted Brioche Buns

Rocket

4 Slices of Smoked Bacon

4 Slices (or Grated) Applewood Cheese

Smoked Burger Recipe Step 1 – Smoke Your Onions and Garlic 

The first thing to do is leave your onions and garlic in your smoker for a few hours (or overnight if you can) so that they char and take on that lovely smoke flavour.

We’ll use them for the relish and smoked mayo later.

Close the lid down and leave them as long as you can at a low heat.

Smoked Burger Recipe Step 2 – Choose Your Burger Meat

Go to your local butcher for this. We are going to use a half and half mix of beef mince/ground beef. This will give us the right amount of fat to meat ratio – making our smoked burgers extra juicy. 

We want to aim for 20% fat to 80% meat, and it’s best to explain this to your butcher rather than rely on prepackaged mince that isn’t fresh and don’t know where it has come from. 

If you are really fortunate your butcher may mince your beef right there and then, but you should ensure your beef has been ground that day, and is fresh all the same.

Get yourself 500g of Chuck Steak Mince and 500g of Brisket Mince, which will make around 4 burger patties. 

Smoked Burger Recipe Step 3 – Make Your Smoked Burger Patties

Now we are going to shape our beef mince into patties using our hands.

We’re actually going to shape them so that they are a little wider than our brioche buns, so that they are around 1/2 inch or 1.25 cm thick.

They will shrink as we smoke them, so bear in mind that they are being shaped into a bigger size than they will eventually end up. 

Season each patty with salt and black pepper and then wrap up each patty in clingfilm. 

Refrigerate for about 30 minutes while you get your smoker or barbecue ready, and up to a temperature of 110°C or 225F.

Add hickory or cherry wood chips (or a nice mix of both) to your charcoal for extra smoke flavour. 

Smoked Burger Recipe Step 4 Smoking Hamburgers

Now we are ready to smoke your burgers! 

Make sure you flip them around halfway through your cooking time.

At 110°C or 225°F it will take your burgers between 1Hour to 1 1/2 Hours for rare-medium rare.

The only way to be certain is to check the internal temperature of the burgers.

The internal temperature will be 63°C or 145°F for medium rare and 71°C or 160°F for medium, 74°F or 165°F for well done.

Around 10mins before the end of your smoking time you can put your 4 slices of bacon on the smoker and close the lid.

Around 5 minutes before the end of cooking you can toast your brioche buns lightly – either in the toaster or if you have room on your barbecue smoker or pellet grills. 

Smoked Burger Recipe Step 5 Make Your Smoked Mayo & Red Onion Relish

While your burgers are smoking we can make our relish and smoked garlic and chilli mayo. 

Peel your 4 smoked garlic cloves (which will be a lovely brown colour now) and mash them up in a bowl with the finely chopped chilli and lemon juice. When they are well mixed and combined add your mayo.

Take your charred red onions and peel the skins off. They should fall off pretty easily for you.

Roughly chop your onions, add a squeeze of fresh lime juice (or apple cider vinegar if you prefer) as well as your salt.

Smoked Burger Recipe Step 6 Serve with Toasted Buns & Accompaniments

Let your burgers rest for around 4-5minutes after cooking for best results.

While they are resting you can arrange your plates, relish, and smoked garlic and chilli mayo.

Put your relish and mayo in a two big bowls and let your guests choose how much relish and mayo they want.

Serve your burgers on the buns with your rocket and smoked applewood cheese.

You could serve these smoked burgers with fries, baked potatoes, corn on the cob, ribs or even onion rings. You know your guests’ tastes and your own.

Smoked burgers recipe nailed!

More BBQ and Smoker Burger Recipes

Smashed Burgers on the BBQ Grills

Pulled Pork Burger BBQ Recipe

Smoked Burger Traeger Recipe

If you an easy but effective recipe to use on your Traeger grills, this one from Traeger themselves is well worth a try.

Pit Boss Smoked Burger Recipe For the Pellet Grills

If Pit Boss is more your thing, they also have a simple but super tasty smoked burger recipe for you to try. It’s called ‘The Boss Burger,’ for a reason. It’s huge!

FAQ’s About Smoking Burgers

How Long to Smoke Burgers at 225F?

At 110°C or 225°F it will take your burgers between 1Hour to 1 1/2 Hours for rare-medium rare. If you don’t want them pink in the middle best to leave them a bit longer – up to 2 hours.

Can Burgers be Served Pink?

It’s safe to eat burgers pink if the beef is freshly ground (preferably that day or the day before). If the patties have been frozen or it’s been a while since they were ground it’s better to cook them the whole way through.

What Wood Should I Use for Smoking Burgers?

Beef can handle stronger wood flavours well, so we like use hickory or mesquite (or a mix of both). If you want a milder smoke flavour cherry and apple wood will both work well.

Can You Smoke Burgers?

Yes you certainly can! You can smoke most foods, and beef burgers take on smoke flavour particularly well.

If you enjoyed this recipe feel free to have a look at this one:

https://bbqsmokergrill.org/how-to-make-bbq-sauce/

Or this one:

https://bbqsmokergrill.org/t-bone-vs-porterhouse/

Here is another smoked burgers recipe you could have a look at for further ideas.

https://heygrillhey.com/smoked-hamburgers/