How to Cook Frozen Burger’s on You’re Grill

Knowing how to cook a burger patty to perfection is a must for anyone looking to throw a perfect summer cookout. But not everyone has the time to make their burger patties from scratch the day of there cookout. That’s not a problem there are a few things you can do. The easiest thing to do is to make them ahead of time and freeze them until you need them. The other option is to use store-bought burger patties. If you decide to go this route then make sure there 100% all-beef patties. But that brings me to another question I hear a lot, can you cook burger patties on your grill when there still frozen.

Yes, you can cook frozen burger patties but I don’t recommend it. It’s always best to let them thaw in your refrigerator before cooking them. If you don’t have the option to do that then you can still cook them on the grill with a little know-how. Just make sure you cook them long enough so that the middle is cooked and not still raw or still frozen.

So there’s a bit to learn if you plan on taking burger patties right from your freezer and putting them on the grill. You’re going to need to know a few things like how to keep them from sticking to the grates, and how to tell if they’re cooked all the way through. No one wants to bite into a burger and find its undercooked. On the other hand, you don’t want to overcook them and dry them out. So it’s a fine line between not cooked enough to eat, and to overcooked to eat.

Setting Up Two Heat Zones

What I like to do when I forget to thaw my burgers beforehand is to start them on indirect heat with the lid closed to get them thawed a bit before searing them on high direct heat. To do this, after lighting your charcoal arrange it on one side of your grill. Or across the front or back of the grill, it’s up to you where to make your heat zones. Where every you put the charcoal is now going to be your direct high heat zone, and the area without the charcoal is your indirect heat zone.

If you have a gas grill the easiest way to make a two heat zone is to leave one or two burners off. Over the top of the off burners will be the indirect heat zone that you’re going to use for thawing out your frozen burger patties. Making a two-zone heat set up is something that will come in handy for all types of cooking not just for thawing frozen burger patties or other frozen food on the grill for that matter.

Oiling The Cooking Grates

Now that you have your heat zones established. The next thing you should do is to brush a little oil on the cooking grates to keep the burgers from sticking to them. This is something most people don’t think about doing but it makes a big difference. When oiling your grates the best way of doing it is to put a little cooking oil in a small bowl and use a basting brush to apply it to the grates.

NEVER use a can of nonstick cooking spray on a lit grill you’ll end up with a fireball. Most grilles have an open flame and the gases they use in cans of nonstick cooking sprays are highly flammable. So what will end up happening is when you start spraying the grates with the nonstick cooking oil spray, is that the spray will catch on fire and you can end up burning yourself. Even if you don’t get hurt any oil that did get on the grill grates will have gotten burned off in the fireball. So your burgers will still stick to the grates when you put them on the grill.

Cooking Your Burgers To Perfection

Once you’ve gotten your grates oiled up and ready to go and your grill is up to cooking temperature. Place the burger patties on your indirect heat zone and close the lid for 3 to 5 minutes. Make sure to leave a little space between the patties so that the heat can get to the sides. This is going to thaw them for you and make it easier to cook them.

ProTip: Once you see that the top of the burgers is thawed you can add some seasoning to them. I recommend doing this if you’re using store-bought burger patties. Even if you just add a little salt and pepper it can go a long way. But don’t be afraid to try something new like a little bit of dry rub or steak seasoning on your burgers.

After you’ve left the lid closed for another 3 to 5 minutes open it and move the burgers onto your direct heat zone. Now you can cook them as if they were thawed in the first place. Leave the burger patties on your high direct heat for about 3 minutes then flip them over. Let them cook on the other side for about 3 minutes or so. If the burger patties are on the thick side then you may need to add more cook time for each side.

If you are working with thick burger patties, or even a thick steak for that matter. After you have a nice sear on the outside, but it looks like your food is starting to burn but the inside isn’t cooked, then you should move it back to your indirect heat zone. Doing this will slow down the cooking prosses and let the inside of your food catch up to the outside. Like I said above two-zone heat can come in handy for other things besides thawing out your frozen food.

Knowing When to Take Your Burgers Off The Grill

Now the only thing left to talk about is knowing when to pull your burger patties off of the grill. The easiest thing to do is to use a meat thermometer. I recommend using an instant-read thermometer this way there’s no question on what the internal temperature is. If you don’t have an Instant-read thermometer any meat thermometer will do. You’re looking for an internal temperature of around 165F for it to be safe to eat.

If you don’t have any kind of meat thermometer at all, there are two options I know of to tell when your burgers are done. The first is to simply cut one and see if it looks like it’s cooked all the way on the inside. You don’t want any pink on the inside it should look about the same color as the outside. The second is a little more of a guessing game. Take a look at the juices coming out of your burgers it should be clear and look a little like cooking oil mixed with water.

Keeping an eye on what the juices look like coming out of your burgers is a good way to know when to check the temperature. When you start to see the juice turn clear your burgers are done or at least close to being done. If you’re using a meat thermometer check them and you’ll see it’s about time to take them off the grill.

Conclusion

There you have it, that’s how to cook burger patties if you don’t have time to let then thaw beforehand. Or if you just forgot to take them out to thaw before going to work in the morning. Take your time and get your grill set up for two zone cooking. Don’t forget to oil your cooking grates before adding the burgers to the grill or else there going to stick to the grates and rip into pieces.

Now you can start the burgers on a lower heat to get them thawed a bit before moving them to a high heat zone. Always make sure your food is cooked to a safe temperature before eating it or else you run the risk of getting food poisoning. If you found this helpful you can click here to read my article on using frozen meats. Or if you’re more of a chicken person you can click here for my how to cook frozen chicken thighs.

Now if you have the time I always recommend making fresh burger patties in the morning before a good cookout. Even if you don’t want to make them the day of I do think its best to make your own burger patties. Just make a big batch of them when you have the time to do so and freeze them. You can even get the wax paper that’s already cut into little squares for putting between the patties, just like the store-bought ones.

As Always, Happy Grilling!