Marinated Burgers recipe - Saving Room for Dessert (2024)

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Juicy and flavorful Marinated Burgers

Delicious grilled Marinated Burgers that taste like steak!

Everybody loves a great burger, especially one that’s juicy all the way through. Cooking burgers the right way helps, but you can also take it a step further and marinate the burgers to enhance the beefy flavor.

These Marinated Burgers are full of flavor and our most requested grilled summer recipe.

For myself, I love a good steak and might pick that over a burger most days. However, I’m happily married to a burger loving manso grilled hamburgers are a must on Father’s Day, 4th of July or any day that ends with the letter “y”!

But ever since I developed this recipe years ago, I’ve grown to love burgers and always devour these marinated burgers when grilled at home.

Don’t let grilling season go by without trying this wonderful marinade!

Ingredients for our marinated hamburger recipe:

For the marinade:

• brown sugar
• vegetable oil – canola or olive oil work well too
• balsamic vinegar
• low sodium soy sauce
• Worcestershire sauce
• ground mustard
• grated fresh ginger
• garlic cloves or garlic powder will do in a pinch
• seasoned salt – we use low-sodium Montreal Steak Seasoning
• black ground pepper
• red pepper flakes

For the burgers:

• ground chuck – 20/80% fat ratio – lamb or pork also work well in this marinade
• buns – split, buttered and toasted

For serving:

• cheese – we like a good melting cheese such as Monterey Jack, Pepper Jack or Provolone
• cooked, crisp bacon
• lettuce
• tomato
• onion
• pickles
• condiments: ketchup, mustard and/or mayonnaise

How to make a great hamburger:

First divide the ground beef into 6 equal portions, about 6-ounces each. Form patties and make a slightly deep indention in the middle of the burgers using your thumb.

Place the hamburger patties in a large casserole dish or baking pan.

Combine all the marinade ingredients and pour over the burgers. Turn the patties to ensure the marinade is covering the bottom of the pan. Cover the dish with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour and up to 8 turning the patties a few times.

Preheat your grill and oil the grates. Grill the hamburgers until cooked through, about 7-9 minutes per side.

Serve and enjoy!

Tips for making the best marinated grilled hamburgers:

1. Use beef with a little more fat such as 80/20 ground blend. Leaner ground beef/sirloin can dry out easily when grilled.
2. Don’t overwork the meat! Form burgers firmly, but not too tight.
3. Make a deep indention in the middle of the patty with your thumb. This simple trick ensures the middle of the burger will cook evenly as they puff up and shrink.
4. Allow the hamburgers to rest at room temperature for 30 minutes before grilling.
5. Clean and oil the grill grate to prevent sticking.
6. Cook over a pre-heated hot grill.
7. Do not over-sear the meat over hot flames. Charred burgers are tasty, but often dry out. Once seared quickly on both sides, move the burgers to a higher grill rack or turn the flames down to medium or medium-low.
8. Don’t smash the burgers while cooking. This pushes all that juicy fatty goodness out of the patty and may make your burgers dry.
9. Allow the burgers to rest for about 10 minutes before serving so the juices have time to settle down.

These Marinated Burgers are good enough to eat without condiment camouflage.

This marinade is not overpowering but enhances the flavor of the meat.These burgers are perfectly delicious served plain or topped with cheese. In fact, you can skip the bun all together! The flavor is the ultimate combination of steak and burger.

We use a mild provolone or Monterey Jack cheese on these burgers but any will work well. I like a little mayonnaise, ketchup, tomato, onions and crisp lettuce on my burgers. Add a few fries or chips and pickles on the side and we’re good to go!

Oh, and don’t forget to butter and toast your bun; it makes all the difference!

This marinade can also be used for steak skewers. And finally, try our easy steak marinade when you’re in the mood for a little knife and fork action.

Great sides to serve with Marinated Burgers:

French fries are the classic side to serve with burgers. But if you’re in the mood for something a little less predictable, try a few of our favorite summer sides.

• Mexican Street Corn
• Southern Macaroni Salad
• Creamy Potato Salad
• Super No-Mayo Coleslaw

Thanks for PINNING!

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Originally published June 2016 – updated June 2021