Can You Cook Burgers In The Oven?

When you hear the names "In-N-Out," "Shake Shack," and "Whataburger," only one thing likely comes to mind: the mighty burger. Some people love 'em simple with just cheese while others prefer to stack their burgers mile-high with toppings, but either way, Yahoo! reports people eat about 50 million of them each year.

But before such condiments can be added, the art of cooking said patty must be perfected. D'Artagnan notes that pan-frying, grilling, and even steaming are all popular methods for tasty burgers. You can even take a trip back to the 1920s and try your hand at the smashed burger technique, which involves rolling the meat into golf ball shapes. Cook these for about a minute or so on the skillet, then flip and smash them down with a spatula. Cook through on both sides before serving, and prepare to wow yourself and your guests with crispy and ultra-thin burger patties that rival the best burger joints.

Now the skillet is all fine and dandy, but what about using an oven to create such burger wizardry? Can it be done? Or will it yield utter disappointment? Kitchn has some food for thought on this matter.

Burgers can be cooked in the oven, so let's start with baking the ultimate burger patties. According to Kitchn, all you have to do is place a wire rack over a lined baking sheet (be sure to use aluminum foil), and then place four patties on top of the wire rack. These should be about four inches across and half an inch in thickness.

Next, pop these in a 400 Fahrenheit oven for 15 minutes, and voilà: you now have burger patties at about 140 Fahrenheit (which is about medium doneness, per Kitchen Gearoid) and without much mess involved. No splattering, no watching the burgers, and no flipping either. As the source explains, the use of a wire rack allows for better airflow, cooking all sides of the patties to perfection.

The broiling method requires more supervision and flipping, but it's a faster way of cooking burger patties since they only need a few minutes to cook. D'Artagnan notes that either a broiling pan or a lipped sheet tray should be used, and the patties should be cooked for roughly three minutes on the first side, then flipped over to broil on the second side, though the exact time frame for this part will vary depending on how you like your burgers cooked. Overall though, you're looking for a browned crust on the patties, but be sure to watch them as they're cooking because they can go from cooked to burnt pretty quickly.