While most people say that a charcoal grill is the best for grilling burgers, a gas grill works very well also. The key to grilling a perfect burger on your gas grill is to start with top quality meat. For instance, Celebrity chef Bobby Flay recommends certified Angus ground beef that is 80 percent to 90 percent lean. Your gas grill should be perfectly clean and fully heated before placing the burgers on it.
Turn on the gas grill to high and let it preheat.
Place the ground beef in a bowl and season the mixture with salt and pepper to taste. Do not over-mix the meat. Form the ground beef into equal size patties, about 3/4 inches thick. Bobby Flay recommends making a depression in the center of the patty with your thumb. This will disappear as the meat expands on the grill, he says, and keep the burger from bulging in the center, a common burger grilling problem.
Brush the canola oil over the burgers to prevent the burgers from sticking to the grill.
Place the burger patties onto the hot grill. Grill for about three minutes until the burgers turn a golden brown and begin to char slightly. Turkey burgers require about five minutes.
Flip the burgers over; cook until browned and charred on the other side, or to your preference. Do not flatten the burgers with the spatula or you will lose the juice. Cook beef burgers on the second side for four minutes for medium rare. Turkey burgers need to be cooked through completely, for another five minutes.
Add cheese, if you want a cheeseburger, during the last minute of cooking. Close the grill to help the cheese melt quickly.
Place burgers on hamburger buns immediately. Serve with topping options.