Smoking your burgers creates a flavor profile that is significantly richer than the typical seared burger. The slower cooking process preserves the meat’s natural moisture preventing it from drying out — a common issue when grilling burgers over high heat — and leading to an incredibly juicy burger. Another benefit to smoking your burgers is the obvious flavor boost from allowing the meat to absorb the smoky flavor from your wood pellets or charcoal. Together these two advantages produce burgers infused with flavor that cannot be matched by over-the-flame grilling alone. But don’t count out those flames because they’re part of this process, too. This method involves a nice sear at the end of the smoke to create that slightly charred crust, so you get the best of both worlds.

So the next time you’ve got burgers going on the grill, let them take a smoky ride with indirect heat before finishing them off over the fire. You’ll be glad you did!