Bullseye First cook not impressive

[Hogman3]

I ordered my Bullseye RT-B380 on a Thursday and it was delivered the following Sunday, awesome shipping dept. I did the initial burn-in the next day and decided to try cooking some frozen ground sirloin burgers from Costco on it. When I flipped them halfway though cooking, they had no color to them to speak of (I cooked them at 400°F). I'm a diehard charcoal griller, but sometimes it's too windy here in the Mojave Desert to mess with charcoal. I don't want the desert to catch on fire due to flying embers. That's why I went with the Bullseye. Anyway, I lit off my Weber Q-grill and finished cooking the burgers on there to get a little sear and crunch. I haven't played with Riot mode yet. Am I cooking at too low a temp? The manual recommends 375°-450° for grilling. Any and all help will be greatly appreciated.

 

[C. Keeper]

I ordered my Bullseye RT-B380 on a Thursday and it was delivered the following Sunday, awesome shipping dept. I did the initial burn-in the next day and decided to try cooking some frozen ground sirloin burgers from Costco on it. When I flipped them halfway though cooking, they had no color to them to speak of (I cooked them at 400°F). I'm a diehard charcoal griller, but sometimes it's too windy here in the Mojave Desert to mess with charcoal. I don't want the desert to catch on fire due to flying embers. That's why I went with the Bullseye. Anyway, I lit off my Weber Q-grill and finished cooking the burgers on there to get a little sear and crunch. I haven't played with Riot mode yet. Am I cooking at too low a temp? The manual recommends 375°-450° for grilling. Any and all help will be greatly appreciated.

I typically do 450 with grill grates.

 

[Hogman3]

I typically do 450 with grill grates.

Thanks, grill grates came with it but one of the panels was the wrong configuration and I couldn't connect it to the adjoining panel (they are sending me a new one). I suppose I could have gotten by with only two panels. I'll try 450° next time. Thanks again.

 

[Greg Jones]

I typically do 450 with grill grates.

Plus one on this, or perhaps even max 500°with the GrillGrates. As a side note, I’ve had two RT-B380 grills. The first one, I ran on Mostly Peaceful Protest (riot) mode as often as possible. After 6 months, the grill was burned out and trashed and recteq replaced it. The second one, I’ve never had it in Riot mode and 18 months later it has performed like a champ. Just because it can run at 750° plus doesn’t mean you should.

 

[Jim6820]

Help me understand this: were the burgers frozen when you put them on the grill? It isn’t clear to me in reading your post. If they were, I’d say you flipped them too soon and they weren’t actually “halfway through cooking.”

I know tossing frozen burgers on the grill is commonly done, but the trick to doing that successfully is knowing when they are truly “halfway done.”

 

[Hogman3]

I have cooked these same burgers for quite a few years now, on gas & charcoal. When the juices come to the surface on the first side, that’s when I flip them. That has always worked in the past. I did state that they were frozen patties in my original post. Next time, I will bump the temp up to 450° as suggested in previous replies. I’m cooking top sirloin steaks tonight (at 450°). I know I still have a learning process to go through. At 74 years of age, I’d like to think I’m still capable of learning “stuff”. lol

 

[Hogman3]

I cooked the steaks tonight at 450° on grill grates. They were only 3/4” thick vs the 1 1/4” ones I prefer. I’ll try 400° next time to compare results. I think I’m gonna like this grill after all, it’s so easy to use.

 

[NavyHSKR]

I just cooked frozen sirloin burgers from Sam's Club last night one mine. 500 is the magic temp if you want sear marks. I also use the grill grates.

 

[Hogman3]

I just cooked frozen sirloin burgers from Sam's Club last night one mine. 500 is the magic temp if you want sear marks. I also use the grill grates.

Maybe I was a little premature in posting my initial result. I realize I have some learning to do. Thanks for your tip. I think I'll try 450° the next time I cook them, and if that doesn't work, then I'll bump it up to 500°. And most definitely on grill grates.

 

[DesertRat]

I’ve been grilling on my stampede at 475. And while I’m not pleased with the process, I am happy with the results that I have been getting. So, not liking the idea of using my smoker as a grill I made this purchase and I am going to refill a propane tank for it this morning.

 

[Grilltreats]

The Bullseye takes some getting used to like any other grill. For searing I just use two sections of the sear plates from my RT-700. The Bullseye can burn those burgers if that's desired using the sear plates.

The thing a like about the Bullseye other than getting a good sear is the ability to add wood chunk(s) for some nice smoke flavor at the higher temps. I would have tossed in a dry mesquite chunk on the heat shield towards the back before turning on and waited for it to start smoking before putting on the meat.

 

[Gotcha]

I prefer not to cook frozen burgers and when using sear plates I set the grill to 500, I like it hot
Best Greg

 

[BadgerFan]

I cooked the steaks tonight at 450° on grill grates. They were only 3/4” thick vs the 1 1/4” ones I prefer. I’ll try 400° next time to compare results. I think I’m gonna like this grill after all, it’s so easy to use.

Next time do a reverse sear. Smoke the steaks at 180 degrees for 30-45 minutes, depending on the thickness. Take them off and turn the smoker up to 500 and finish them.

 

[Hogman3]

This is a follow up to my July 2 post about not being impressed with how my burgers turned out. I cooked them again tonight after setting the temp to 450° and on the smooth side of the grill grate. They turned out great. As I get used to the Bullseye, I’m liking it more & more.