With the 4th of July coming up next week, it made us think about one of America's iconic, simple foods: the burger. We see variations around town- patties sandwiched between donuts, patties doused with hot sauce, patties stacked six inches high- but what we don't often hear about is how our own readers like to make their burgers.
Here are three recipes with five ingredients or less. After cooking, each burger will need buns, and various toppings: tomato slices, red onions, lettuce, mustard, mayonnaise, ketchup.
Pimento Cheese Stuffed Burgers
Pimento cheese dip is a staple in the South, so why not stuff it in your patties?
(from Southern Living’s 1001 Ways to Cook Southern)
- 2 pounds ground chuck
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 ½ cups prepared pimento cheese, divided
- 1 teaspoon salt
- Combine ground beef and pepper in a large bowl until blended.
- Shape mixture into 8 (4-inch) patties, and spoon 1 ½ teaspoons of pimento cheese in the center of the first 4 patties.
- Top with the remaining 4 patties, pressing edges to seal.
- Cover and chill for 30 minutes. Season evenly with salt.
- Preheat grill to 350 or 400 degrees. Grill, covered, for 7 to 8 minutes on each side, or until no longer pink.
- Serve on buns with toppings.
6_25_burger Chipotle Burgers with Avocado
George Foreman revolutionized indoor grilling, so if you lack an outdoor grill or the weather on the 4th is rainy, here's a fall back.
(from George Foreman’s Indoor Grilling Made Easy)
- 1 ¼ pound lean ground beef
- 2 tablespoons chipotle puree
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- 1 avocado, halved, pitted and sliced
- Preheat grill and coat with non-stick spray.
- Put the beef in a medium bowl and add the chipotle puree, salt and pepper. Mix the seasonings with a fork.
- Form into 4 (1 inch thick) patties.
- Grill the patties for 3 minutes (medium-rare), 5 minutes (well-done)
- Serve each burger topped with avocado, toppings and buns.
Cheeseburgers
James Beard’s cookbook is conversational, and this doesn’t give detailed instructions. He simply provides ingredients and lets the cook’s senses take it from there.
(from James Beard’s American Cookery)
- 2 pounds chopped chuck or top round
- 1 cup grated sharp cheddar
- 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- ½ teaspoon Tabasco
- 2 finely chopped garlic cloves
- Mix all ingredients thoroughly and form into 8 portions.
- Broil or pan-broil to your taste.
- Serve each burger with buns and toppings.
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