I have some nice pre-formed hamburgers to make tonight–the kind that, for whatever reason, the meat department actually makes into patty shapes for you, the valuable consumer, so you don’t have to get your hands dirty or whatever.
(Okay, they were on sale. 94 cents for 4 of them, can’t beat THAT, and ever the savvy shopper, I bought 12.)
There has to be SOMETHING more exciting than regular ol’ burgers, perhaps even more exciting than my Ranch burgers, which consist of burgers sprinkled with Ranch mix.
Try this. Barbecue sauce, sauteed Vidalia onion slices, and Cheddar cheese, with other veggies as you deem appropriate.
I also make instant mashed potatoes (it doesn’t taste right with real ones) and frozen peas (again, it doesn’t taste right if they’re canned). Serve the burger patties open-faced on white bread and cover patty and potatoes with jarred beef gravy. Leave the peas untopped.
Black-pepper crust and danish blue-cheese. Lightly brush some olive oil in which you steeped some crushed garlic on potato or sourdough rolls. Don’t overcook and hide the ketchup.
Serve with shoestring french fries lightly dusted with cayenne pepper, corn on the cob and salad.
Well, if you want decadent, you could always make chili-cheseburgers out of them. Or, if you have access to good guacamole, bacon and guacamole are wonderful on hamburgers, along with your regular fixings.
Another thing you can try is making alterations in the bread. Grilled or toasted sourdough, for example, is very nice with burgers. Or you could try my recently discovered favorite bread for sandwiches, although I’ve yet to try it with a burger. Get some Asiago cheese, grate it, and liberally cover a couple of pieces of buttered bread with it, then put them in a hot, non-stick pan until the cheese is nice and brown and crusted onto the bread. Mmmmmmm.
Second the blue cheese. If you like blue cheese, nothing makes a burger taste more decadent. Add a little generic dry cajun spice over the blue cheese for a little kick.
I recently had a burger with rib tips on it. That was pretty decadent.
When I make burgers, I rub both sides with kosher salt for a good crust, some fresh black pepper if you got it, and some worchesterhoweveryouspellit sauce. Fresh lettuce, fresh onilons. Maybe some bacon, cooked at the same time as the burgers and finished up on the grill. Get good, fresh, kaiser buns, preferably from a bakery.
Take half a fresh chili, a teaspoon og ginger, a little bit of garlic, two or three sundried tomatoes and the quarter of a fresh onion.
Chop all these ingredients finely and mix them with the minced meat and a little bit of flour.
Fry the meat and add a slice of cheese or two (Most kinds will do the job) after you flip it over.
Toast a large burger-bun and add fresh tomatoes, lettuce, meat/cheese and whatever you normally use on a burger.
Cheese, mushrooms, diced onions plus whatever else you want except produce items. Put in between 2 slabs of pre-formed patties and seal the sides. Grill & enjoy!
My favorite thing to do with a hamburger is to make a Doggy Burger. I take a hot dog, cut it into discs and fry them a little. Place a slice of cheese (plain american is best for this ‘recipe’) on top of the cooked burger patty. When it’s melted a little, pres the hot dog discs into the cheese and dress your Doggy Burger however you prefer. I like dill pickle relish and a bit of mayo on mine.
And yes, I have heard the old slam, "Your momma’s so fat she likes a hot dog on her hamburger.
Considdering the limitations of what you have (I’d rather have the ground beef and work some flavors into it) I like my ultimate burger with sauteed onions, mushrooms, and red peppers. I also use BBQ sauce on them. Oh, and I go for a kaiser roll that’s been toasted and I’ve applied garlic butter to though not if I’m going with the sauce…
Canned vegetables, period, have no place in the Doors pantry, but canned peas are okay in tuna salad and in Kraft mac n’ cheez, if you need something for weight.
You know, I’m kinda curious. Bodypoet, what did you do with the burgers?
MsRobyn, I’m gonna have to disagree with you on that one. Canned peas are gross, no matter how they’re disguised. Canned corn is about the only canned vegetable that is palatable even though it is vastly inferior to its frozen/fresh counterpart.
I went for fairly simple broiled burgers…lots of pepper and garlic, topped with Swiss cheese and good thick bacon. And marinated onions, for me. And steak sauce too.
Tasty, very tasty. I still have 4 left, maybe I’ll make those for the boys tonight. We managed to eat 8–even the babies ate 1/2 a burger each.
Thanks for all the ideas–now I’m REALLY in the mood for burgers!