Whenever I fry hamburgers I can't help but notice that they create a lot of smoke. I have brand new non-stick pans, and an electric stove. I cook them on setting 6, where the stoves max is 8. I don't add any oil because if I do it pops and goes everywhere.
I have a thermometer that I use when cooking, and I keep cooking until they reach 170 all around. I think I'm doing it right, I put the burgers down, let them cook for about 4 minutes, poke the thermometer in to create some venting holes, flip them over. Repeat this process until they reach 170. Usually about half-way through they start to smoke pretty bad. Am I cooking them too high? It already takes what seems like forever to cook them through.
Best Answer
There are a couple of things that jump out at me:
170 F (77 C) - This is overkill for ground beef. The USDA guidelines recommend 160 F (71 C).
Venting holes - This is unnecessary. There is no need to "vent" a hamburger. What you're doing is creating holes for the juices to flow out of and get vaporized on the pan. This is likely a significant source of the smoking you describe. Keep those juices in!
I'm not familiar with electric stoves, so I'm not sure if 6/8 is too hot or not, but it might be. I cook my burgers on a gas stove at medium-high flame and generally do 5 mins per side for a medium burger (I grind my own beef). My burgers are about an 3/4" - 1" thick too. So you might have your stove too hot, try turning it down a smidge.
Update
I want to clarify regarding the "blood" you are worried about. It's a common misconception that the red liquid packaged with beef is blood. It's not. Beef is drained of virtually all blood when it is slaughtered. Beef is 75% water, so the liquid you see is mostly water and the pink hue comes from the iron & oxygen binding protein myoglobin which exists in muscle tissue. When cooking, the juices you are releasing are taking a lot of the flavor with them. This liquid is a combination of liquified fat, water, and proteins. You can verify this at the USDA site for beef.
Another common misconception is that a completely grey-brown interior indicates well done. According to the USDA, 25% of burgers turn brown before being fully cooked; this can happen as low as 135 F (57 C). The inverse is true as well, some beef can be cooked to the USDA recommended safe temperature 160 F (71 C) and still retain some light pinkness in the center.
If your concern is merely safety, cooking the beef to an interior temperature of 160 F is sufficient, regardless of it's hue. If you you're cooking it beyond that just because you don't like the sight of pink meat, well you're overcooking your burgers and doing yourself a bit of injustice. :)