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Celebrate National Cheeseburger Day by throwing your cast-iron skillet on the grill.

Taylor Martin has covered technology online for over six years. He has reviewed smartphones for Pocketnow and Android Authority and loves building stuff on his YouTube channel, MOD. He has a dangerous obsession with coffee and is afraid of free time.

Alison DeNisco Rayome is a managing editor at CNET, now covering home topics after writing about services and software. Alison was previously an editor at TechRepublic.

This story is part of Home Tips , CNET's collection of practical advice for getting the most out of your home, inside and out.

Sunday is National Cheeseburger Day (who knew?), and what better way to celebrate than by firing up the grill and making some tasty burgers of your own? But you don't have to do it the same old way you usually do. We've already covered eight unexpected ways you can cook with your grill , but there's another trick you may not have considered -- using a cast-iron skillet on the grill for your burgers.

It may sound counterintuitive, but there are a few reasons it's worth giving it a go. Whether you're cooking up burgers for a cookout or just making a simple dinner for your family, try this new tactic. (We've also got tips on how to clean a cast-iron skillet , and how to clean your grill the right way. Plus, check out the best meat delivery services for more to grill.) 

Read more: Best Grills of 2022

You might grill to keep from cleaning the kitchen, but cooking fatty burger patties on the grill  can also create a bit of a mess. Sure, it's nothing a grill brush (or aluminum foil ) can't handle. But using a cast-iron skillet on the grill will reduce the mess even further.

When you're done cooking the burgers, let the skillet cool down a bit, wipe it down to remove the burnt bits and grease, coat it in some oil and throw it back on the grill to season it for the next use.

When you cook hamburger patties on an open grate, the fat from the burgers seeps out and falls down into the grill. If this fat hits a flame, it will cause a flare-up.

Flare-ups can not only be dangerous, they can also toast the outside of your food more than you want. Cooking in a cast-iron skillet traps the fat and prevents it from falling into the heat source.

One of the main differences between a grilled burger and one cooked in a skillet is how juicy the burger usually is.

The fat that drips down through the grates is just flavor escaping your burgers, so trapping the fat is two-fold. Not only does it almost completely put an end to flare-ups, it means you'll be cooking the burgers in their own fat. This helps preserve some of that precious beef flavor and will make a juicier burger in the end.

Not to mention, while you preheat the skillet, you'll want to throw some cooking oil in there, too. The fat and oil (hey, no one ever said a juicy burger was a healthy option) will help you obtain that crispy, brown crust without overcooking the center and while keeping flare-ups from burning your burgers.

Cooking directly on the grill grates allows fat (and flavor) to escape.

Even with a pan, you're still cooking on a grill -- over an open flame of some sort. That means regardless of whether you're cooking over charcoal, on a pellet grill or with gas , you can still get that awesome smoky flavor.

All you need to do is open the vent and close the lid for a few minutes while the burgers are cooking. If you're using a gas grill, throw some wood chips in a smoker box before you start cooking to help flavor the burgers.

For more grilling advice, check out these articles on the top five grilling tricks you should know and the best grills tools to buy . You can also read about our favorite portable grills and charcoal grills of the year.