Grilled Beef Burgers with Sharp Red Onion Slaw
- Savory
- Barbecue
Juicy beef burgers charred over direct heat, stacked in toasted brioche buns with melted cheddar and a crisp, sharp red onion and lettuce slaw. A high-protein barbecue dinner with a fresh bite.
- Total
- 39 min
- Prep 20 · Cook 14 · Rest 5
- Serves
- 4
- Difficulty
- Medium
You'll practice: Grilling · Resting meat
Instructions
-
Light the barbecue and let it heat to medium-hot, about 15 minutes, with the lid open or vents open so the coals glow with a light ash coating.
~15 min
Coals covered in a fine grey ash are at their hottest and most even, so the burgers sear rather than smoke or cook unevenly.
Grilling Wait for a light ash coating on the coals and set up two heat zones. Turn the burgers only once and resist pressing them, so the crust forms and juices stay in.
-
While step 1 cooks
While the barbecue heats, halve the red onion and slice it as thinly as you can, then put it in the mixing bowl. Slice the tomatoes into 1 cm rounds and tear the lettuce into bite-sized pieces.
~8 min
-
Add 1 tbsp olive oil, 1/2 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp black pepper to the sliced red onion and toss to coat. Set the dressed onion aside; it softens slightly and turns sharp and glossy.
~2 min
Salt draws water out of the onion cells, softening the raw bite while the oil carries the sharp flavour and gives a glossy coating.
Dress the red onion just before grilling so it stays crisp and sharp rather than turning soft and watery.
-
Pat the beef burgers dry, brush both sides with the remaining 1 tbsp olive oil, and season with the remaining 3/4 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp black pepper.
~3 min
A dry surface browns far better than a wet one, and the oil helps heat transfer so the patties char instead of steaming.
-
Grill the beef burgers over direct heat, turning once, until well charred and the center reaches 71°C/160°F, about 6 to 7 minutes per side. In the last minute, lay a slice of cheddar on each burger to melt.
~14 min
Turning only once builds a deep crust, and the cheese melts best in the residual heat of the final minute.
Do not press the burgers with the tongs while they grill; pressing squeezes out the juices that keep them moist.
Grilling Wait for a light ash coating on the coals and set up two heat zones. Turn the burgers only once and resist pressing them, so the crust forms and juices stay in.
-
While step 5 cooks
While the burgers finish, split the brioche buns and toast the cut sides on the barbecue for 1 to 2 minutes until golden.
~2 min
Toasting the cut sides drives off moisture and creates a crisp layer that stops the bun going soggy under the juicy burger.
-
Rest the burgers off the heat for 5 minutes. Build each bun with lettuce, a tomato round, a cheddar-topped burger, pickles and a generous spoonful of the dressed red onion, then close and serve.
~5 min
Resting lets the juices redistribute through the meat so they stay in the burger instead of running out onto the bun.
Resting meat Rest the burgers off the heat for 5 minutes before building. Cut in too soon and the juices run out; a short rest keeps them juicy and pink.
