Steakhouse Butter Burger
On July 05, 2021 (Updated December 05, 2024)
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This Steakhouse Butter Burger is the juiciest grilled burger you’ll ever have. The coarse ground chuck is infused with salted butter (you heard me) before being shaped into a monster 8-oz patty, seasoned with my famous Beef Rub, and grilled to glorious meat perfection.
What is a Butter Burger?
A butter burger is a hamburger that cooks the meat with butter, making it the most delicious and juicy burger ever. We all know that fat = flavor when it comes to beef, so these burgers are crafted with an additional 10% of salted butter (hence the name butter burgers).
The secret to cooking the perfect burger patty is taking your time. I prefer grilling burgers on a charcoal grill because it adds that extra special flame-kissed flavor that I love. If you don’t have a charcoal grill, no worries! This method can be adapted to any type of grill.
There are many things that make a butter burger awesome, but the top priorities are good meat, good seasoning, and a good fire. You deserve to be the backyard BBQ Burger Master, so read on and start thinking of who you’re inviting over for your next cook-out.
Best Meat for Butter Burgers
First up, let’s chat meat. Not all ground beef is made equal. Skip the ground beef from the supermarket that’s in one of those heavily printed plastic tubes. It is typically very finely ground to break up any of the less desirable gristle and extra fat from the cow.
Also, skip the pre-ground burger meat on the shelves. It’s usually scrapped meat from several different cuts of whatever the butcher had remaining that day. Use it for sloppy joes, soups, or tacos, but pass on it for burgers. If you want a true steakhouse burger experience, you’re going to want a coarse grind of whole beef muscle with the appropriate ratio of beef to fat.
My first choice for burgers is always chuck. This cut comes from the shoulder of the cow and is already perfect for burgers at around 80% beef and 20% fat.
Chuck has a great beef flavor on its’ own and a perfect texture when fresh ground, so the added touch of the salted butter just helped enhance what was already there. Almost all grocery store butchers are willing to fresh grind for you, and they do it for free, so don’t be afraid to ask!
Seasoning for Butter Burgers
Throwing an epic burger bash requires more than your standard salt and pepper. To make my butter burgers memorable, I used my Beef BBQ Rub. It has a salt and pepper base with onion and garlic, as well as a slew of other spices that give it a true steakhouse feel.
This seasoning is an NBBQA 1st place winner that adds great flavor to burgers (and steaks and veggies too!) This steakhouse butter burger eats like a prime cut, I tell ya!
How to Make a Butter Burger
Here’s how to make a butter burger:
- Preheat the grill. Preheat the grill to 275 degrees F. The important thing is to set your grill up for two-zone cooking. That means you’ve got one side of your grill going high and hot while the other side is cool without the direct heat (this is called your indirect side).
- Prep the patties. In a mixing bowl, combine the ground chuck and small pieces of butter. Do not overmix. Form the meat into equal-sized patties slightly larger than your buns, and season with Beef Rub.
- Grill the meat. Place the seasoned patties on the indirect heat side of the grill and cook for 5 minutes. Flip and cook an additional 5 minutes or until the meat reaches an internal temperature of 145 degrees F. Now it’s time to lock in all of those juices and deliver the perfect crust, so move your burgers to the direct heat side of your grill. Grill the burgers for a few minutes to get your burgers up to a finished 155-160 degrees F.
- Assemble the butter burger. Remove the burger from the grill and place it on a toasted bun. Top the burger with your favorite toppings and burger sauce. Enjoy!
More Burger Recipes
Need to add a few more awesome burger recipes to your dinner rotation? We have a handful of delicious burger recipes ready for you! Check out a few of these popular recipes from Hey Grill Hey:
Butter Burger Recipe
Just like that, you have become the neighborhood grillmaster with glorious backyard BBQ cred. A good burger isn’t difficult, it just requires a few simple techniques and the right combo of flavors. I hope you’re ready to tackle your next cookout with confidence!
We originally published in August 2017, and recently updated it with more information and helpful tips. The recipe remains the same. If you loved this recipe, make sure to leave us a comment below! We love to hear from you!
Steakhouse Butter Burgers
Ingredients
- 2 pounds (32 oz) fresh ground chuck 80/20 meat
- 4 ounces salted butter diced
- 2 Tablespoons Beef Rub
- 4 slices medium cheddar cheese
- 4 burger buns
- assorted burger toppings lettuce, tomato, red onion, dill pickles
Steakhouse Burger Sauce
- 2 Tablespoons mayonnaise
- 2 Tablespoons steak sauce
Instructions
- Preheat the grill. Preheat your grill to 275 degrees F for two-zone cooking. That means half of your grill has direct heat (charcoal, propane, etc) and the other half of the grill is heated only by the radiant heat from the other side (no direct heat).
- Make the burger sauce. In a small bowl, combine the mayonnaise and steak sauce for the burger sauce. Stir well and refrigerate until ready to use.
- Prepare the burger patties. In a large bowl, combine the ground chuck and the small butter pieces. Don't over mix, just gently toss together to evenly distribute the butter. Form the meat into 8-oz patties that are just larger than the size of your buns. Season the patties on all sides with the Beef Rub.
- Grill the burgers. Gently place the seasoned butter burger patties on the indirect side of the grill and close the lid. Cook for 4-5 minutes and then carefully flip the burger. Repeat until the burgers reach 145 degrees F internal temperature. As you get close to target temperature, it's a great time to place the buns on the direct heat and let them toast up for about 1-2 minutes.
- Finish cooking the burgers. Leave the lid of the grill open and transfer the patties to the direct heat of the grill. This part goes fast, so watch your internal meat temperature. Cook for 2-3 minutes, and flip once. Top with the cheddar cheese, cover the grill, and allow the patties to cook to 165 degrees F and the cheese to get all nice and melty.
- Assemble the butter burger. Place the finished burgers on the toasted buns and top with all of your favorite burger toppings Don't forget the amazing burger sauce, it really adds so much!
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
How do you do two zone cooking on a pellet grill?? Asking for a friend…..
You kind of don’t. haha. BUT, you can start your temps lower and then crank them up at the end to have a similar experience! Same zone, but two different temperatures.
Don’t flip the burgers too soon… once they are ready they will release from the grate and not stick.
This was hands down one of the best burgers I’ve ever made! However, I did have challenges with the burgers sticking to the grill grates. I used a propane grill. Next time I will make sure I oil the grates, unless you have any other recommendations to try? Thanks!
Yum!! Juicy, flavorful. I put them on the smoker with hickory pellets, added strips of smoked pork belly – amazing. Loved the A-1 mayo! I’ll definately be making these again. Thank you!
Twist’dQ doesn’t seem to sell the Bent Burger seasoning on their website anymore.
Where
can I buy the twisted Q seasoning ?
They have a website you can buy from. Just do a Google search for them!