Hello,
I had a BBQ this weekend using my new propane grill. I have never used a propane grill before, just charcoal. I was cooking burgers and went to flip them and lost 3 of 4 between the grill grates. I’m not sure what I’m doing wrong but I got 2 suggestions, one was to grill on low because it will reduce the amount of flare ups and the second was to get under the burgers in a quick motion with a spatula but when doing this I lost the burgers :eek:. Any ideas???
Thanks,
Rich
I’m not much at flipping, but for one thing, Jeebus, don’t grill your burgers on low, unless you like gray dried-out meat. Also, make sure the grate is clean before the food goes on - heat it up, scrub it clean, rub it lightly with an oily paper towel to prevent sticking.
Maybe use a different spatula? You want something thin but sturdy enough not to bend under the patties and yes, slide it under the patty quickly.
How the hell far apart are your grill grates that a burger would fall in between them? Or did you mean that the patty broke apart? (If the latter, see above about scrubbing and oiling - food won’t stick to clean grates.)
Make sure the burgers are pretty thin. A thumbprint in the center will help for even cooking.
Medium-high heat, and be sure to preheat the grill for a while. You might want to do this on high and turn the heat lower when the burgers go on.
Don’t flip until you see the edges of the burger get done. Keep a spraybottle filled with water around to keep the flareups under control.
If necessary, grill the burgers to desired exterior doneness, move them to off over an unlit burner, and close the lid until the centers are done. This shouldn’t dry the burgers out since it will only be 5 minutes, and the grilled exterior should retain some of the juices.
purple gave good advice, but let me add one more thing:
Don’t play with the burgers (poking them, moving them, etc.), and don’t try to flip them too early. You want to get a good sear before trying to move them around - not only will they taste better, but they’ll be less likely to fall apart.
So:
Some will suggest giving a quarter turn about half way through the cooking time on each side in order to give better grill marks - I say wait until you can cook the burger without destroying it until moving to more advanced techniques 
If flare up are making you flip hastily, move the burger over to a section of the grill that’s a little cooler, flip them over, then move them back over the hot part. The propane grill works on the idea of heating up the rocks over the flame to provide the cooking heat. If you get them hot enough you can turn down the gas, and reduce flare ups. I didn’t see that working out to well when I had a propane grill, so I went back to charcoal. A friend keeps a spray bottle of water handy to douse flare ups.
Be sure to flip perpendicular to the grill grates, too.
They have great tongs for burgers at most kitchen stores. This will help immensely.
What were you doing before–why should the change to a propane grill have made a difference?
I was going to say this – except I think you mean parallel. That is, you should not flip across grates, but along them. That way, there is no point at which the burger is positioned vertically above a gap between two grates.
Yep - that’s my advice for the OP as well. Frequently, doing this will be a little awkward, since you might have to stand to the side of the grill, but it’s definitely the safest way. (This is one reason that round grills are nice). Move the spatula quickly under the burger with the spatula moving parallel to the grill. Then flip, also using a motion parallel to the grill.
You can also do a two-handed flip while building up your skills. Just put a finger in the middle of the top of the burger as you flip. Since you should only flip burgers once, the top should still be raw and cool enough for this to work just fine.
I definitely don’t see the connection to flare ups or gas/charcoal. The same techniques should work either way.
Unless you’re really married to the idea of having grill marks on your burgers, you can use a cast-iron pan or a some other grill pan that sits right on your barbeque. I have a griddle from an old Jenn-Aire that works perfectly. There are alsosomethat are made specifically for your BBQ.
If you really want to be manly, you should grip the entire grill with the insides of your forearms, pick it up, carry it across the room (being sure not to leave footprints), then shake the entire grill so the burgers flip on their own. Bonus points if you put little dragon/tiger/unicorn/hello kitty branding irons on the side.
I don’t use a spatula on my grill for anything but fish. The best tongs you can buy are the $6 spring loaded stainless steel ones they usually sell in the kitchen utensils isle of your grocery store. Buy an 18" set and a 12" set.
And for the flare ups, like TriPolar said, just move the burgers around on the grill. I usually get a good sear on them (both sides), and then either take them off for the folks who like 'em rare, or move them up to the top rack to finish cooking and to add extra seasoning, cheese, veggies, etc.
Lastly, I don’t oil my grates before I put food on. I oil fish and lean steaks, but burgers have so much fat in them, if your grates are clean and hot, they shouldn’t stick. If they’re not lifting off the grate with relative ease, they’re not ready to be flipped yet.
Don’t flip your burger until the bottom side has already fully cooked and has separated from the grill. It’s nearly impossible for a burger to break apart if you follow this one piece of advice.
This must be what the OP was talking about. You have to stand in front of the grill, and the grates run from front to back, and if you turn the spatuala to the side, something flat can slip through the grates. I think he just needs a better flipping motion to make sure the burgers don’t fall edge down. You can flip things on the grill by giving the spatula a full 180 turn so the burger is flat side down before it seperates from the spatula.
Don’t use water to control flare-ups. Use beer. Poured over the patties it gives the meat a nice depth of flavor as it evaporates. QTF TriPolar’s comment above about flipping the meat all the way through 180 degrees.
I forgot to address that specifically, but I was wondering the same thing. 