It's grilling season ... How do you make your burgers?

[Jessica]

Nothing better than food on the grill - especially burgers. I mix the ground beef w/ some worcestershire sauce (sometimes red wine & olive oil instead), salt & black pepper, fresh minced garlic, a little garlic powder & some thinly-sliced shallots. Cook them till they're a little crispy on the outside & top w/ good cheese - last time I used some Dill Havarti - for the last couple minutes so it gets all melty. And then, of course, your favorite toppings.

What's your favorite grillin' burger?

:9

[underpants]

1. Frumunda burger-tomato under the cheese then melt it

Hainz 57 and A1 on the burger while it cooks

[LisaM]

19. Buy the very best quality meat and cook it really rare

have it with a (lightly) toasted sesame bun, cheddar cheese, raw onion, tomato, lettuce, and mustard. I don't need it to be mixed with stuff. If the meat's good, a little salt and pepper is fine.

[MissB]

2. Turkey

with a slice of blue cheese.

[Left Is Write]

3. I use Worcestershire too.

Finely chopped onion, salt, pepper.

[Magrittes Pipe]

4. Here goes.

First of all, I get ground sirloin. The meat itself has better flavor. Of course, sirloin is WAY too lean to make a good burger, so I cut in plenty of minced butter. Salt and pepper, and voila!

If you wanna dress 'em up, garlic, onions/shallots, fresh herbs are all good ideas. Sometimes I like to stuff the patties with bleu cheese. The trick is to KEEP IT SIMPLE! Burgers should not be a compex food. I'd hold myself to 2 ingredients max beyond beef, butter, salt, and pepper. Cheese as desired, of course, and that doesn't count as one of the two. ;)

Grill 'em to taste (if you trust your butcher, you can go a little pinker than at restaurants -- due to E. coli risks, I don't order a burger out that's any less cooked than medium-well). I toast my buns as well, and top with good greens (usually a nice lettuce -- not iceberg -- but arugula can be damn nice, too) and mayonnaise.

[Jessica]

15. What fresh herbs do you use?

A friend of mine told me to try some fresh mint, which I do have growing right now. I've always wanted to try stuffing them w/ cheese, too.

As far as the meat goes, my grandpa/parents have beef cattle - so they frequently stock my freezer w/ the good stuff. :9 :hi:

[Magrittes Pipe]

17. Mint can definitely work, especially if you top it with some goat cheese.

Oh, yeah.

I like dill with milder cheeses (or cheddar, oddly enough). Parsley is always good. But my all-time favorite herb for burgers is probably thyme.


on edit: If tomatoes are in season, and you can get REAL tomatoes -- like heirlooms, or the so-called "ugly" tomatoes that aren't genetically engineered until all the flavor is gone -- then by all means, put some tomatoes on. Otherwise, avoid tomatoes. A good burger can be made great by a good tomato. A good burger can be ruined by a bad tomato.

edit again: If the above makes me sound like a tomato snob, it's because I am. I can think of NO food for which the difference between the real stuff you can get at a farmers' market and the stuff you get at the grocery is so great. A true tomato is a thing of beauty. A tomato that is genetically engineered to *ship well* as opposed to *taste good* is anathema to yumminess.

[Spiffarino]

5. Mine are a bit old-fashioned

A splash of Worcestershire and a sprinkle of onion powder, then let the smoke finish it; cooked medium to medium rare, served on a toasted bun with lettuce, tomato, onion, dill slices, sharp cheddar, and light mayo.

[Zenlitened]

6. Hmmm... can't top your burger recipe. But...

... have you grilled up some sweet Italian peppers and sausage? Oooooh, baby! Maybe a little onion, too -- everything gently roasted in the flames. Yum. :)

[Jessica]

10. Mmmm ...

sounds great. I have had some Italian peppers on a burger w/ mozzarella cheese in a restaurant & it was awesome. I'll have to try that.

[Total Disaster]

7. Try this.....

...mix a packet of Lipton's onion soup with a small amount of water and then pour it over the raw hamburger meat. Mix thoroughly and let it sit in the frig for an hour or two.

Another thing I like to do is to grill the buns after the hamburgers are finished. That smokey flavor is unbeatable!

[Hobarticus]

8. Mix some cottage cheese into the meat...

Makes for one damn juicy burger.

[Jessica]

13. That's a new one ...

Hmmmm. I'll try anything once!

[Hobarticus]

14. Real tasty...can't really over-do it....

The cheese liquifies in the heat...mmmmmm!

[pie]

20. i love cottage cheese

i'm going to try that

[Toby109]

9. Ever tried peanut butter

on a burger? Delicious!

[Jessica]

11. No. Really?

Honest to God, I could eat PB on everything - but I've never heard of that!

[Toby109]

21. Really

Been eating PB on burgers since I was a wee toddler.

Try it, you'll like it.

[fishwax]

22. I've had that! Delicious!

I used to have that occasionally when I was a kid. Haven't had it in a long time, though. Might have to try it again.

As a kid, I had peanut butter on pretty much everything :D

[fishwax]

23. worcestershire sauce, fresh herbs, and some flavored marinade

sometimes I use mrs. dash instead of herbs, depending on how much funds I've got for burgers.

I like mixing in a little flavored marinade because a little bit of that adds a nice hint of flavor and provides a lot of flavors to choose from. And if I'm grilling veggies too the marinade ties them together.

[bugslsu9]

12. I love burgers

2 lbs ground chuck (anything less, and the burgers fall apart, at least in my experience),minced garlic, salt, pepper, Tony's, Worcestershire, and Italian seasoning. Grill to medium rare, top with 3 kinds of cheese: sharp and mild cheddar, and swiss. Toasted bun, miracle whip and ketchup.

Damn I'm hungry now!!!!!!

[KitchenWitch]

16. two very thin patties surrounding a slab of bleu cheese

Seasoning salt. Grill, eat!

[Abelman]

18. I keep it simple

I like to mix some hot sauce into the meat and grill it up. Top it with some sharp cheddar, maybe pepperjack - not American is the point. A nice spicy burger.

If I'm up to it, I get some bacon as well, put some pickles, GOOD mustard (not yellow) a small dab of ketchup and grill the bun. Sesame Seed is my favorite, but I am also partial to a good Kaiser roll.