Can You Bake Hamburgers?

When you think of hamburgers, you're more likely to picture them grilling on the backyard barbeque than baking in the oven. While hamburgers are typically prepared by frying or grilling, you can bake them as well. To keep hamburgers from drying out and falling apart in the oven, you will need to add ingredients to the hamburger meat. Use ground chuck, which contains some fat, when baking hamburgers.

To sear the moisture into the hamburger patties and brown the outside of the burgers, cook them in a pan with oil for a few minutes before baking. Heat 1 tbsp. of vegetable oil in a skillet over medium-heat for five minutes. Increase the heat to high and place the patties in the pan and cook them for two minutes on each side, according to The Food Network. Transfer the patties to a baking dish.

When you bake, you draw the moisture from the burger and could end up with a dried out hamburger. To keep burgers moist in the oven, mix the hamburger meat with a tasty sauce. Taste of Home recommends combining ketchup, vinegar, water, mustard and brown sugar to make a sauce. Pour the sauce over the patties prior to baking.

Hamburgers can stick to the baking dish, so grease the dish before placing the hamburgers in it. Hamburgers can be baked uncovered in an oven preheated to 450 degrees Fahrenheit, and should take about 10 to 11 minutes for medium burger and 13 to 15 minutes for well-done. If you wish to add cheese, place it on top of the burgers for the last two to three minutes of baking.

As an alternative to baking in the oven, you can broil the hamburgers in your oven. When you broil hamburgers, place them three to four inches away from the heating element to prevent charring. Use the highest temperature on the broiler and rotate and turn the hamburger every three minutes. Total cooking time should take about 12 minutes for well-done burgers.