Burgers

Hamburger topped with Double Gloucester Cheddar and Stilton is hidden within on a multi-grain bun

You will notice that I don’t presume to tell you what topping to put on your burger aside from cheese. I loathe lettuce or tomatoes on my burgers so putting up a food stylist type photo with fresh lettuce and tomatoes on a burger does nothing to entice me to try a burger recipe. When I see that I just picture myself picking that stuff off  wearing a pinched expression on my face. Like I did with the pizza dough recipe I just gave you the base since you know what you like on your burger, except I did throw in a little gourmet touch with the burger by the addition of some Stilton cheese that I had left over from my Royal Wedding meal.

It was the last burger so it got a bit more meat – oh well.

I use squares of wax paper to keep the burgers separate when I pile them on a plate before grilling. A favourite little gadget of mine that I picked up last summer is a burger shaper thingy. You can set it to the weight you want and you squadge the meat into the form. I put a piece of wax paper down first so I can lift it out easily.

I did add Stilton to these burgers but that is completely optional and omitting it will not change the burger very much. I also use lean ground beef so you need to be more careful with them on the bbq since they don’t hold together as well as regular ground beef. It is the price you pay for saving a bit of fat. We almost lost one on the bbq but it was because I forgot to add a bit of grapeseed oil to the outside like I usually do. It really helps.

On cooking shows, the chefs are always talking about not overworking the meat or you will get a tough burger. I have no idea what they are talking about because my burgers are super tender and I really get in there to squish all the ingredients together and I use lean ground beef. Just goes to show, don’t believe everything you see on television. Something that I think helps keep the burger tender is the grated onion. I use a cheese grater and I use just half an onion, but that is plenty to add lots of flavour that distributes through the burger.

Yield: 6 burgers (approx 1/4 lb each)
Ingredients

700 g (approx.) of lean ground beef
1/4 cup crumbled Stilton cheese (optional)
1 egg
1/2 onion, grated
1 tbsp Lea & Perrins Worcestershire sauce
1-2 tbsp BBQ sauce (I used Bull’s Eye Guinness bbq sauce)
1/3 cup milled flaxseed
2 tbsp whole wheat breadcrumbs
1 tbsp grapeseed oil (for brushing on the burgers just before they go on the grill)

How-to
In a medium bowl, mix all the ingredients listed except for the oil. Use your (clean) hands for this – don’t be a wimp. When everything is mixed well, shape into patties using a burger shaper if you have one. If not, just get them as even as you can and try to get them flat-ish, otherwise you will have meatballs when you are done grilling because they will shrink and just get rounder.  It is a good idea to make these a bit ahead of time so that the breadcrumbs and milled flaxseed have a chance to absorb any excess liquid in the burgers. It will help keep everything together once they are cooking. Lightly coat the patties with oil using a silicone brush just before slapping them on the very hot grill. Turn the heat down almost right away. You want them to cook through, not turn into charcoal bricks. Turn the burgers when you see that the sides are getting well cooked and some juices start to come up through the top of the pattie. Turn them just once.  I recommend cooking them until they are well done unless you grind your own meat. Better to be safe, especially if you are serving these to kids. To check to see if they are done, the juices should run clear (not pink). If you are inexperienced with grilling and you aren’t sure if they are done enough, just go ahead and cut into it to check. My husband may throw in a grilling tip or two since he is the one who is out there cooking after all the hard work is done.

Serve with whatever toppings you like, on whatever buns you grab from the store.