Rib Eye Express Barbequed Hamburgers

These aren’t your typical backyard burgers. Instead of a quick sear on the grill, these patties get smoked low and slow in a water cooker for two hours until they absorb real wood smoke flavor. Slopped with BBQ sauce in the last half hour, they come out juicy, smoky, and nothing like a fast-food patty.

The recipe starts with one basic burger mix and gives you eight different seasoning variations to keep things interesting all week. From ginger-soy Oriental burgers to chili cheese burgers with grated cheese mixed right into the meat, each version starts the same and finishes completely different.

The water pan is doing important work here. Cold water or ice in the pan keeps the smoker temperature low and adds moisture to the cooking environment, preventing the lean beef from drying out over the long cook.

Pro Tips

• Use extra lean ground beef since the long cook renders out a lot of fat. Fattier grinds can fall apart after 2 hours.
• Keep the smoker temperature between 225°F and 250°F (107°C to 120°C) for best results. Too low and they take forever; too high and they dry out.
• Make a week’s worth at once. These reheat well and the smoke flavor actually deepens overnight.
• Apply BBQ sauce only in the last 30 minutes. Earlier and the sugars burn and turn bitter.

Variations

• The Dill Burgers with chopped olives and crushed dill seed are standouts for pickle lovers.
• Try the Sesame Burgers topped with a drizzle of sesame oil and sliced scallions for an Asian-inspired twist.
• The Herb Burgers with marjoram, thyme, and parsley pair especially well with Swiss cheese.