Garden Garlic Cheeseburgers Taste Great Grilled or Fried
Keeping with the recent theme of “quick meals”, last night we had to go to the grocery store - so dinner ended up getting made an hour or so later than usual. This means an extra quick meal needed to be made. We had some onion buns and ground chuck fresh from the store - so cheeseburgers it was! I turned on the oven to bake some fries while I made the burgers.
You might wonder why I would write a recipe about burgers - but I’m going to tell you how to create a better burger. Also - this being the winter time, for us (living in Michigan) the burgers had to be cooked on the stove and not the grill.
Burger Basics
- For best results use ground chuck. Ground sirloin has too little fat, and standard hamburger or ground round has too much fat (for my taste)
- Make thick patties about 1/2″ thick and 4″ around for moist juicy burgers
- Mix in the right seasonings depending on what you have on hand
- Add a few select veggies to the burgers to cook in extra flavor
- Cook on Med-High heat the entire time (grill or stove)
- Always cook burgers covered
- Cook time 15-20 minutes (or your heat is too hot
Necessary Ingredients:
- 1/3 - 1/2 lb fresh ground chuck per person you are feeding
- 1 packet hidden valley ranch or lipton onion soup mix
- seasonings you like - salt, pepper, galic or onion powder, cumin, etc
- diced veggies you like, onion (red, green, or yellow), green pepper, tomato, shredded carrot, etc.
- 1 slice cheese per burger (american, swiss, muenster, provolone, etc)
- Burger sized buns - Kaiser or Onion buns
First, take the total amount of ground chuck you are going to need and place it in a large mixing bowl. We’re going to mix some things in before we make the patties. I always keep a wide variety of spices and spice packets in the cupboard and grab what I need for times like this. Typically I use either a packet of Hidden Valley Ranch (dressing or dip) when making this kind of burger, or the old school lipton onion soup mix packet. Both are great and lend great flavor to the burgers. Dump one you like in the bowl. Next add in some seasonings you like. I add a few dashes of salt and pepper, then usually some garlic powder and a little bit of cumin. For these garlic garden burgers I typically add in a tablespoon of minced garlic as well - but that’s my taste. I always keep a big jar of minced garlic in the fridge. Last dump in the bowl whatever diced, chopped, or minced veggies you like. I prefer some sweet onion and green pepper - and sometimes just a big of shredded carrot is nice too. Now - get to mixin’! Dig your hands in there and mix it all up good, and then form your patties.
As I said earlier, for best results I make about 4″ around patties 1/2″ thick. I like to make the big thick burgers like you would get at Red Robin, Applebee’s, etc. Place them in a large skillet (on the stove) or on the grill on Med-High heat and immediantly cover. The key to good burgers is not to have the heat to high or low, and to only turn them as many times as necessary (3-4 times). Do not press down or flatten them with your spatula. You want to turn them over about once every 4-5 minutes. This is the key to keeping the burgers juicy AND done. I can never get over the fact that people (I know) think a burger has to look dark, dry, blackened, or burnt to actually be done. You don’t have to cut into a burger or burn it to know that it’s done. I’ll cook the burgers like I just described and the entire time they will be “leaking” out of the top - usually blood. On the last turn (at the 20 minute mark) they are almost always leaking clear fluid (which means they’re done). I will actually use my spatula to flatten them after that last turn to squeeze any excess fluid out (they will still be juicy - but you don’t want a mouthful of hot grease), and again you are checking the fluid to drains out to make sure it’s clear and not bloody (which means they aren’t done). If they aren’t done after 20 minutes on med-high heat on your stove either your burners are bad or you made the patties way bigger than I said to.
Last - after that last turn and flattening you are going to “cheese” the burgers. Place one slice on each - and cover (with the heat off) for about 2 minutes, then remove cover and place on your bun and serve! Gotta comment to make the better garden burger even better? Comment now!
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