Delicious Traeger smoked burgers (and smoked cheeseburgers!) are tender, juicy, and loaded up with smoky flavor. Make my easy DIY hamburger patties using ground beef – or use store bought ½ LB beef patties. Let’s smoke ‘em up!
HEY THERE — Are you on instagram? I post quick, easy smoker recipes there @sipbitego.
What temp are smoked burgers done?
Perfect medium temperature smoked burgers are done at 145 degrees F, as seen in the Sip Bite Go demonstration. You can use the burger temperature chart above to cook burgers on the smoker to different levels of doneness.
Why do you recommend 80/20 ground beef for smoking?
Saturated fat is pretty comparable to 85/15 ground beef, but they’re just a little more juicy at an 80/20 ratio.
Why do you smoke burgers on low?
The reason: massive FLAVOR!!!!
It’s true that there are faster ways to smoke burgers – at 350, 400, 450, and even 500 degrees F – but I love smoking burgers at 225 degrees (or 250 if I’m “rushing it”) because they slowly pick up a TON of smoke flavor. And they come out with a beautiful deep, rich color.
Also see how to smoke bacon wrapped burgers stuffed with cheddar cheese – aka “Juicy Lucy’s… it’s a super tasty burger smoker recipe.
Ingredients
Here’s what you need to make from-scratch burgers smoked to perfection.
For basic smoked burgers from scratch
- Ground beef (ideally 80/20 blend)
- Salt and pepper
- Burger buns
- Cheddar cheese (or gouda, etc, to make a smoked cheeseburger)
Condiment ideas (optional)
- Tomato
- Pickles / relish
- Lettuce
- Onion
- Ketchup
- BBQ sauce
See how to get more smoke flavor from your favorite recipes…
How to smoke burgers
Now I’ll walk you through it…
Detailed recipe steps
- Measure the beef patties. To make the patties, use a scale to measure 8 oz burger patties, or ½ LB burgers, that are about ½ inch thick. (If you don’t have a scale, you can eyeball dividing up each LB of burger meat in half.)
- (optional) Season ground beef into burger patties for smoking. To a large bowl, add ground beef. You can choose to season the meat now with salt and pepper, or wait to add it on when you add the burgers to the grill. (we have tested and like both methods).
- Shape burger patties (smoosh the meat together gently) so each one is about ½ inch thick. The goal is to create burger patties that are a bit wider than the diameter of the hamburger buns. Chill burger patties in the fridge for at least 15 minutes, or up to a few hours before smoking them.
- Preheat Traeger Grills or Pitt Boss or whatever pellet grill you’re using to 225 degrees F. In the Sip Bite Go recipe video you’ll see we like using Hickory wood pellets for burgers because they provide phenomenal smoky flavor to the beef.
- Smoke burgers. Remove burger patties from the fridge and season them with salt and pepper (if you haven’t already seasoned them). Then add them directly to the preheated smoker grill grates. Close the lid and smoke burger patties for 60 minutes. Optionally, you can flip the burgers at the 30 minute mark (but usually, I don’t).
- (Optional) Toast buns and turn it into a smoked cheeseburger about 5-10 degrees prior to your ideal doneness temperature. So for medium smoked burgers, you’ll add the buns (inside facing down) directly onto the grill grates and add cheddar cheese on top of the still-smoking burgers when the temperature of the patties measure about 135 degrees F internally. From this point, you’ll smoke them another 15-20 minutes, with cheese on top, until the next step. Check the buns periodically and pull them off when they look toasted.
- Continue smoking burgers until done. They’re ready when the internal temperature reaches your desired level. Our burgers in the photos measured 145 degrees F for medium burgers. Transfer to a platter.
- Finish smoked burgers with your favorite condiments and enjoy.
Smoked burgers temperature chart
Can you smoke hamburgers to any desired temp you’d like? Sure can!
We smoked these burger patties to a perfect 145 degrees F. The cheese was added to the burgers on the Traeger when they were about 140 degrees, so the cheddar picked up a yummy smoke flavor as well.
- Rare smoked burgers (125-130°F) is still red inside.
- Medium rare smoked burgers (130-140°F) is red to pink inside.
- Medium smoked burgers (140-150°F) is mostly pink.
- Medium well (150-160°F) has just a slight bit of pink inside.
- Well cooked (160°F) has no red or pink inside.
Gourmet burger recipes from Sip Bite Go to check out…
- Smoked burgers
- Viral taco smash burgers
- Breakfast burgers
- Onion smash burgers
- Philly cheesesteak smash burgers
- Blackstone burgers
- Burger sliders
- See how to make hamburger patties step by step
- GUIDE: how long to grill burgers
- Sous vide burgers
- Mayo seared sous vide burgers
- Sous vide lamb burgers
- Smoked bacon wrapped burgers
- Bacon wrapped burgers
- Cheeseburger pizza
- See more Blackstone griddle recipes
- Learn how to toast buns on griddle
- See the best burger recipes…
Meat thermometer recommendations
Every home chef needs a reliable meat thermometer to cook food perfectly.
On Sip Bite Go, you’ll often see me using:
- Meater thermometer – a fancy wireless thermometer that connects to a phone app – gifted to me from a Traeger partnership.
- ThermoPro digital thermometer – which has a wire that connects the thermometer to a display box outside the oven/grill.
It’s like being psychic! The great thing about either of the thermometers above is that I don’t have to take the food out of the oven to know the temperature.
How to use ‘em… What I do is stick the digital thermometer in steak, pork, chicken, whatever before cooking them.
While the meat cooks, it reads the temperature so I know exactly what temp meat is as it’s cooking. Without having to take it out and check. It’s really difficult to overcook food when you know exactly what temp it is inside!
Get inspired with easy recipes for a tasty backyard bbq menu – starting with this lineup of the best burger recipes ever.
More Tasty Grill + Smoker Recipes
- Smoked mac and cheese
- Smoked brisket flat
- 321 ribs
- Beer can chicken on the smoker
- Smoked wings
- Smoked turkey breast
- Whole smoked turkey
- Smoked Traeger pizza
- Smoked whole chicken
- Smoked corn on the cob
- Grilled skirt steak
- Flank steak marinade
- Smoked pulled pork
- Want more? See my lineup of easy smoker recipes
See this Traeger Flatrock grill review.
See my favorite smoker tools and seasonings in my Amazon Storefront.
Meat thermometer recommendations
Every home chef needs a reliable meat thermometer to cook food perfectly.
On Sip Bite Go, you’ll often see me using:
- Meater thermometer – a fancy wireless thermometer that connects to a phone app – gifted to me from a Traeger partnership.
- ThermoPro digital thermometer – which has a wire that connects the thermometer to a display box outside the oven/grill.
It’s like being psychic! The great thing about either of the thermometers above is that I don’t have to take the food out of the oven to know the temperature.
How to use ‘em… What I do is stick the digital thermometer in steak, pork, chicken, whatever before cooking them.
While the meat cooks, it reads the temperature so I know exactly what temp meat is as it’s cooking. Without having to take it out and check. It’s really difficult to overcook food when you know exactly what temp it is inside!
Meat thermometer recommendations
Every home chef needs a reliable meat thermometer to cook food perfectly.
On Sip Bite Go, you’ll often see me using:
- Meater thermometer – a fancy wireless thermometer that connects to a phone app – gifted to me from a Traeger partnership.
- ThermoPro digital thermometer – which has a wire that connects the thermometer to a display box outside the oven/grill.
It’s like being psychic! The great thing about either of the thermometers above is that I don’t have to take the food out of the oven to know the temperature.
How to use ‘em… What I do is stick the digital thermometer in steak, pork, chicken, whatever before cooking them.
While the meat cooks, it reads the temperature so I know exactly what temp meat is as it’s cooking. Without having to take it out and check. It’s really difficult to overcook food when you know exactly what temp it is inside!
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Chat soon!
– Jenna
Next, browse the Sip Bite Go recipe collection…
Traeger Smoked Burgers / Smoker Cheeseburgers Recipe | Sip Bite Go
Ingredients
For basic smoked burgers from scratch
- 2 lbs ground beef ideally 80/20 so they are juicy
- ¾ tsp salt
- ½ tsp pepper
- 4 burger buns
To make a smoked cheeseburger
- 4 slices cheddar cheese
Condiment ideas (optional, not included in nutrition info)
- 1 tomato beefsteak, sliced ½”
- 4 pickles deli style, sliced (substitute relish)
- ½ cup lettuce Iceberg, shredded
- 1 medium onion sweet or yellow, sliced ½”
- ketchup
- bbq sauce
Instructions
- Make beef patties. To make the patties, use a scale to measure 8 oz burger patties, or ½ LB burgers, that are about ½ inch thick. (If you don’t have a scale, you can eyeball dividing up each LB of burger meat in half.)
- (optional) Season ground beef into burger patties for smoking. To a large bowl, add ground beef. You can choose to season the meat now by mixing in the salt and pepper before forming the patties, or you can wait to add it on top when you add the burgers to the grill. (we have tested and like both methods).
- Shape burger patties (smoosh the meat together gently) so each one is about ½ inch thick. The goal is to create burger patties that are a bit wider than the diameter of the hamburger buns. Chill burger patties in the fridge for at least 15 minutes, or up to a few hours before smoking them.
- Preheat Traeger Grills or Pitt Boss or whatever pellet grill you’re using to 225 degrees F. In the Sip Bite Go recipe video you’ll see we like using Hickory wood pellets for burgers because they provide phenomenal smoky flavor to the beef.
- Smoke burgers. Remove burger patties from the fridge and season them with salt and pepper (if you haven’t already seasoned them). Then add them directly to the preheated smoker grill grates. Close the lid and smoke burger patties for 60 minutes. Optionally, you can flip the burgers at the 30 minute mark (but usually, I don’t).
- (Optional) Toast buns and turn it into a smoked cheeseburger about 5-10 degrees prior to your ideal doneness temperature. So for medium smoked burgers, you’ll add the buns (inside facing down) directly onto the grill grates and add cheddar cheese on top of the still-smoking burgers when the temperature of the patties measure about 135 degrees F internally. From this point, you’ll smoke them another 15-20 minutes, with cheese on top, until the next step. Check the buns periodically and pull them off when they look toasted.
- Continue smoking burgers until done. They’re ready when the internal temperature reaches your desired level. Our burgers in the photos measured 145 degrees F for medium burgers. Transfer to a platter.
- Finish smoked burgers with your favorite condiments and enjoy.
Video
Notes
- Rare (125-130°F) is still red inside.
- Medium rare (130-140°F) is red to pink inside.
- Medium (140-150°F) is mostly pink.
- Medium well (150-160°F) has just a slight bit of pink inside.
- Well (160°F) has no red or pink inside.
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