Three Great Burger Recipes

• 2 or 2 ½ lb ground beef (85% lean works best)
• 1 small onion, chopped very fine and soaked in cold water for 10 minutes, then drained and patted dry
• 4 Ritz or Town House crackers, pulverized
• 4 T A1 Steak Sauce (can use worrsterchestershire instead)
• salt and pepper or Montreal steak seasoning

Mix all ingredients in a steel or glass bowl. Shape into eight patties, approximately ½ inch thick, slightly thinner in the center. 

When shaping patties, form them loosely and don’t pack them firmly or they could get a little tough when cooked. 

Once the grill is hot, use a cloth and wipe some grapeseed oil on the grate.  Place burgers on grill and season the top side.  Grill over high heat for five or six minutes, turn and season the other side.  Grill for four more minutes. 

If you are adding cheese - and you know you are, add that with about two minutes remaining.  Serve with whatever garnishes you like.

Notes: The pulverized crackers will keep the burgers moist because the salt and starch will retain moisture.  Burgers will contract while cooking (especially 90% lean or higher) and can almost turn into meatballs unless they are pretty flat in the first place, the depression in the middle helps the final shape to turn out right.  

Some people like really thick burgers but your Old Pal Pete thinks they sometimes turn into meatloaf.  I'd a lot rather make a double with two thinner patties than a single with one that is an inch thick.  On the other hand, if they are thinner than about 3/8", it's hard to get that little bit of pink in the middle that shows that you are a true grill master.  Experiment a little and find out how thick you like your patties (or Pattys for that matter).

• 2 ½ lb ground beef (85% lean works best)
• Four Hatch or Anaheim peppers
• Two Jalapeno peppers
• Two small or one large white onion
• Two cloves of garlic
• 4 Ritz or Town House crackers, pulverized
• Sliced American cheese

Cut peppers in half and remove seeds. Remove outer skin and cut onions into three or four slices each. Grill or broil peppers and onions until peppers are charred on about 15% of the surface. Remove from heat, set onions aside and place peppers in a covered bowl for 5 minutes or so. Once the skin has loosened, peel peppers and discard skin.  Remove skin and mince garlic cloves. 

Place garlic, peppers and onions in food processor and pulse until coarsely chopped. Remove all but one-half cup and set aside. Continue to process the half-cup of the mixture until finely chopped.  Bob's Burgers has a cookbook that includes a different mixture but the right terminology for here, they call it "chunky but spreadable".  Insert your punchline here.

Mix ground beef, the half-cup of finely chopped pepper/onion/garlic mixture and the pulverized crackers in a steel or glass bowl. Shape into six or seven patties, approximately ½ inch thick, slightly thinner in the middle. 

For this recipe the patties need to be at least six ounces to provide enough surface area to support the chile mixture that is added later and they need to be flat or you will make a mess. When shaping patties, form them loosely and don’t pack them firmly or they could get a little tough when cooked. 

Once the grill is hot, use a cloth and wipe some grapeseed oil on the grate.  Place burgers on grill and season the top side with salt a/o pepper but don't use anything more flavorful at this point.  

Grill over high heat for five or six minutes, turn and grill for two or three more minutes. 

When burgers are nearly done, add a large spoonful of the remaining green chile mixture to each patty and spread across the surface. Then place a slice of American cheese on top, covering the chile mixture, and cook another minute or so until cheese has melted, tying everything together.

Notes: We love everything about New Mexico and visit there as often as we can. All the photos you see on this post are from New Mexico.  Green chile cheeseburgers are a local staple in the Land of Enchantment. The best chiles are local Hatch chiles so if you can get them, use them. If not, this mix of Anaheim and Jalapeno gets close, flavorful and a little bit hot but nobody will have to mop their forehead. 

You may want to use different condiments on these burgers than usual. Think Tex-Mex and add sour cream or whackamole instead of, or in addition to ketchup and mustard. Experiment a bit and see what you like. American cheese is usually kid food and ought to be ignored by grown-ups but it is the right stuff for this recipe. American melts well and the flavor fits the other ingredients.  See if you can find white American to look a little fancier.

• 1 lb lean ground beef, 90% will work for this recipe
• ½ lb bulk mild Italian sausage (can also use hot if you prefer)
• 2 T Italian-style bread crumbs
• 6 slices mozzarella or provolone cheese
• tomato slices, onion slices and lettuce for garnish
• sun-dried tomato-mayonnaise for garnish (see below)

Mix the beef, sausage and bread crumbs, add a bit of salt and pepper and form loosely into 5 or 6 patties, approximately ½ inch thick and flat or with a slight dip in the middle. These are best grilled over charcoal but are OK on a gas grill or even pan fried. Over hot coals, grill 4-6 minutes on one side, then turn for 3-4 minutes more. Add cheese slices, close grill lid and grill another minute or so to melt cheese. 

When your old pal Pete or his Carnivorous Kids want an alternative burger, they are not looking for tofu, tofurkey, pureed black beans or even ground poultry but we are willing to include a portion of an inferior species ground and added to ground beef. These are a really nice change of pace.

Note # 1: To make these even more different from typical burgers, serve on toasted Italian bread slices instead of buns. 

Note # 2: To really add personality, chop sun-dried tomatoes and mix with mayonnaise about 2 T tomatoes with 4 T real mayo (don’t use Miracle whip for this).  A drop or two of sriracha in the mayo adds personality that some will appreciate but don't get too crazy with that because it could interfere with some of the other flavors.  Enjoy!