How should I dress my burgers tonight?

[RumMunkey]

Hamburgers on the dinner menu. I'm, not terribly excited about the standard lettuce, onion, ketchup, mustard toppings.

What can I do that's a little different (and not terribly unhealthy)?

I was thinking of a light smattering of BBQ sauce or perhaps some HP sauce! Anybody got any really tasty ideas?

[DeadlyAccurate]

Swiss + sauteed mushrooms and onions

Taco seasoning, lettuce, tomatoes, cheddar, sour cream and salsa

[Trunk]

caramelized onions, blue cheese and bacon.

or blue cheese and hot sauce.

or a fried egg and a piece of ham. (not a joke)

[Annie]

Bearnaise sauce.

[Bippy the Beardless]

To add to those great suggestions above.

Grilled Portobello Mushroom.
Some cooked Chilli.
Grilled fresh pinaple slice, with ham and slice Jallepino.
Goats Cheese, sun dried tomatoes, choppe olives and Basil

[MsRobyn]

Jeans and a T-shirt usually work for me. ;)

Seriously. I like BBQ sauce, cheddar cheese and sauteed onion.

Robin

[Chicago Faucet]

or perhaps some HP sauce!
I know Hewlett Packard does ink cartridges, but now they do sauce as well? Jeez, they're into everything, anymore.

[FriarTed]

Horseradish

Thousand Island dressing (aka Big Mac Special Sauce, tho some 1000 Islands I've had need a bit of horseradish to match the Mac sauce)

Bleu Cheese

Feta Cheese

[Shaggarito]

Mix some BBQ sauce or Steak sauce into the patty before you start them up.

They will be Bomb.

-Shaggarito

I can't believe I'm giving cooking advice! I hardly EVER cook for myself.

[FilmGeek]

Fresh sliced avocado, fresh roma tomatoes, mayo and ketchup or mustard, and/or bleu cheese on fresh baked kaiser rolls.

The avocado tends to get a bit slippery, so keep those napkins handy.

[Liberal]

I like the so-called Carolina Classic: chili, mustard, and coleslaw. Lots of chili, mustard, and coleslaw. It's a very messy, and very delicious, burger.

[RumMunkey]

I know Hewlett Packard does ink cartridges, but now they do sauce as well? Jeez, they're into everything, anymore.

That would be Houses of Parliment! THE sauce for steaks and the like!

[Mycroft H.]

Similar advice to Shaggarito’s –

Before forming the patties I mix in mustard powder, garlic powder, Worcestershire Sauce and, when in the mood, herbs d’ Provence or Summer Savory and/or chopped onion. Makes ‘em great and they’re definitely not boring. :lipsmacking smiley:

[Munch]

That would be Houses of Parliment! THE sauce for steaks and the like!
Sauce for... steaks? What did those poor cuts of beef ever do to you? :(

[silenus]

Mix your ground beef in a 3:1 ratio with hot or sweet Italian sausage. Cook well-done.

Or

Form the burger patties around chunks of feta or mozzerella cheese.

[Antigen]

You people are killing me! I haven't bought a new propane tank for my BBQ yet and now I want burgers! Almost every suggestion here is one I want to try. I'm going to have nothing but burgers for a month.

My usual favorite: fried onions, thick melted sharp cheddar cheese, Bullseye Original BBQ sauce.

[Munch]

Bullseye Original BBQ sauce.
If I may make a suggestion...

Wal-Mart now carries one of the best BBQ sauces produced - Gates & Sons BBQ, made in Kansas City. It's not as thick, and is much more peppery than most BBQ sauces, but it is fantastic on burgers. Get the original recipe, the new spicy flavors are not good.

Careful, it pours fast.

[Carol the Impaler]

Ah, gawd. I've been craving a jalepeno cheeseburger for two days now (mayo, monterrey jack and LOTS of jalepenos).

And this thread is not helping.

Damn you!! Damn. you. all. to. hellllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll!

[Tentacle Monster]

A modest proposal:

Instead of using a bun, get ahold of some onion bagels. Toast 'em, apply a healthy schmear of cream cheese and slap the patty in that sucker. Some mustard helps, too.

Sounds odd, but it's delicious.

[FilmGeek]

If I may make a suggestion...

Wal-Mart now carries one of the best BBQ sauces produced - Gates & Sons BBQ, made in Kansas City. It's not as thick, and is much more peppery than most BBQ sauces, but it is fantastic on burgers. Get the original recipe, the new spicy flavors are not good.

Careful, it pours fast.

HI, MAY I HELP YOU???

I realize that if you've never been to a Gates restaurant, you don't have any idea what I'm talking about, but trust me, this is appropriate.

Gates is not my favorite, but it does seem to be massively popular around here. Too vinegary for my tastes. No molasses. KC Masterpiece is my choice, if I can't get Fiorella's Smoke Stack or Jack's Stack.
[/hijack]

Now I want some feta burgers with big slices of avocado. Damn.

[Bippy the Beardless]

That would be Houses of Parliment! THE sauce for steaks and the like!
Just a quick note, I was lucky enough to get to work in the Houses of Parliment as a contractor for a few months. They do have bottles of HP sauce on every table in the cafeteria.

[MikeG]

I prefer Chef Sauce to HP but I suppose that's just because it's what I grew up with.

Oyster sauce is good on burgers, I had a burger last week that was 50/50 beef and lamb with a cucumber mint relish on it that was super tasty:)

Old Bay is good, some cumin rubbed on the burgers before cooking is nice, and don't forget the old standby, Liptons French Onion soup mix!

Or you could skip the buns and simmer the patties in a egg lemon sauce like the Greeks do. Or make little meatballs, brown them or skewer them and grill them with some turmeric, garlic, and fish sauce, then add them to some simmering coconut milk and Thai curry. Toss in some fresh herbs and serve over rice.

Now that I think about it, grilling little meatballs on skewers is amazingly good, you can add all sorts of stuff to them and the grilling makes them even better, plus you can serve them with rice, potatoes, buns, whatever.

Disclaimer: I have lots of weird condiments so all the above is possible in my kitchen at the moment. The idea is, look at your spices and condiments, thin how you use them for non burger dishes and think of how you can incorporate ground beef into them.

[NailBunny]

The "I've Created A Muenster!" Burger:

Mix 1 lb hamburger with some powdered Knolls Cracked Peppercorn Ranch mix to taste, some bread crumbs, and some salt and pepper.

Saute a crapload of onions in 1/2 a bottle of beer until they carmelize. Grill the burgers, place on bottom half of bun, put the onions on top, cover with several generous slices of Muenster (sp?) cheese, put in the oven until the cheese is well melted, cover with toasted bun top.

Die, go to heaven and leave a stinky, happy corpse. ;)

[Chefguy]

Lots of good stuff here. A comment about making the patties: don't overwork the meat. Lightly shape it into a patty, do NOT press it down on a cutting board or other surface. Overworking the meat makes the burger too dense and dry.

For condiment: Try mayo mixed with chipotle. It gives a great smoky flavor and packs some heat. Or add the chipotle to your barbeque sauce.

[RindaRinda]

I am now drooling.

You probably already ate it, but for next time, how about globs and globs of guacamole? With jalapenos, or maybe pico.

I like eating my burgers on lightly toasted french bread. It's a more interesting texture than your standard hamburger bun.

[papergirl]

Mmmm. I just finished a burger that I topped with a Grilling Blend from Sam's (I'm a sucker for spice blends) and some provolone. Pretty tasty.

My first favorite burger ever, though, involves lots of black pepper, white pepper, and malt vinegar. Wow.

But I'm a vinegar lover, so vinegar on burgers makes perfect sense to me. :)

Best,
karol

[Rico]

Monterey Jack Cheese, sauteed onions and mushrooms, and a liberal helping of Homade or Heinz Chili Sauce over a thin coating of real mayonnaise. Served on an onion roll.

If done over mesquite charcoal, a burger to die for.

[furthur]

If you mix a packet of ranch dressing mix in with the meat, they'll be yummy. Careful, cause that can make them crumbly; you might want to try a binding agent like an egg to hold everything together.

Furthur & I used to make Heart Attack Specials with the ranch in the burgers and then topping them with shredded cheddar & bacon.

Mrs. Furthur

[Trunk]

Not that anyone asked, but I need to disagree with anyone who says to mix things in with the meat.

Or at least if they still want to call it a Hamburger.

Call it American Koftah or a grilled meatloaf or something, but a Hamburger, IMHO, is ground beef, period. Mixing in onions, BBQ-sauce, eggs, whatever, means you don't trust the meat or your cooking.

I knew a guy who added apples to his burgers.

Anything added to the meat except salt and pepper should be treated VERY suspiciously. If you want onions, grill or caramelize or saute some onions and add them later. If you want ranch dressing, pour it on top of your burger. It doesn't improve the patty.

Just because BBQ sauce is good and a burger is good doesn't mean BBQ sauce added to the patty is better, and burgers are such a good consistency (if done right) that adding things throws off the balance.

You gotta trust the meat, man.

[Munch]

HI, MAY I HELP YOU???

I realize that if you've never been to a Gates restaurant, you don't have any idea what I'm talking about, but trust me, this is appropriate.

Gates is not my favorite, but it does seem to be massively popular around here. Too vinegary for my tastes. No molasses. KC Masterpiece is my choice, if I can't get Fiorella's Smoke Stack or Jack's Stack.
[/hijack]

Now I want some feta burgers with big slices of avocado. Damn.
Oh, I know what you're talking about! And if for some reason you left room, I highly recommend the Yummy Yammer Pie. And Jack's Stack is definitely the king nowadays in KC - they're just too good for words.

Next time you're in the city, head down to the farmer's market and go to Planters. They sell spices in bulk, and have a fantastic blackening mix that's perfect on grilled chicken and burgers. Plus, don't forget a bag of chili powder when it's cold outside - it's dynomite.