Open Vs Closed Lid: Which Is Best For Hamburgers On A Gas Grill?

When it comes to grilling up some tasty hamburgers, it seems that just about everyone has given their 2 cents on the matter. Multiple celebrity chefs have chipped in, with Gordon Ramsay giving a buttery tip for burgers and Tyler Florence focusing on the burger's texture as the most important part of your experience. Indeed, little hamburger tips and tricks abound, going all the way down to which kind of beef you should choose for your burgers. But for all of these recommendations, one crucial question seems to have flown under the radar. So today we're here to ask: should you grill your burgers with the lid open or closed?

The answer might seem obvious at first. Keep the lid down, right? While keeping the lid down is the general consensus when it comes to the grill, it may be in your best interest to cook burgers with the lid up depending on the size of your patties. Thin or even medium-sized hamburgers cook rather quickly, so keeping the lid up will slow down cooking and allow more time for your burgers to develop some great texture from the grill. Having the lid open will also avoid your burgers from being "baked" on the barbecue instead of grilled. So if total control of the burger's doneness is important to you, you'll want to keep the lid up. This can change if your patties are thicker than usual, but the conventional wisdom seems to say to keep the lid up.

Grilling your patties with the lid up or down depends on the situation you find yourself in. The thickness of the burgers definitely plays a role, as well as your own personal taste in how you prefer your burger's doneness and texture. But the type of grill you're using also plays a pivotal part in making that decision. Not all grills are created equal, some get hotter than others and retain heat more effectively. And that's not even mentioning charcoal grills, which give a much more smoky taste to meat.

If your grill tends to be on the cooler side, then you may want to keep the lid down so as to avoid losing any more heat. Conversely, if your grill gets intensely hot, then you'll likely want to leave the grill open to avoid overcooking your burgers throughout. And when it comes to charcoal grills, keeping the lid down will of course allow more of that smokiness to find its way into your burger. So if you can sear them on a hot spot with the lid up, and then finish cooking them on a cool spot with the lid down, you may end up getting the best of both worlds with a smoky but juicy burger. But this is of course mostly conjecture subject to your own tastes, so carry these tips with you in order to make a delicious hamburger that caters to your preferences.