Nothing says summer like the smells coming off the barbecue. I will grill all year round – I’ve grilled filet mignon steaks for Christmas.
Of course hamburgers are one of the most often grilled item and with just a little bit of prep and a tip with the seasonings, you can have a gourmet burger at home.
I usually double my burger recipes, cook off what is needed and freeze the rest of them (flat on a lined sheet tray, then bag them up when frozen) so I can pull one out when I am in the mood.
Start by gathering all of your ingredients. I used some cilantro the day before. I chopped up the whole bunch so it was ready for the next time I had use for it.
Chop your peppers, onion, and cilantro if you already have not. Put all of your ingredients in a bowl.
Mix it all together (no salt and pepper yet), and divide into how many burgers you want.
A note about mixing: mix only until the ingredients are all incorporated. Over mixing ground beef tends to make it tough.
Start making your burger patties. When you form your patties, make sure the middle is thinner than the edges. When ground beef cooks, it pushes the juices to the middle, plumping up the middle of the patty. So, if your patties start out perfectly even in thickness all the way across, you will end up with swollen burgers in the middle.
Once your patties are formed, it is time to add the salt and pepper to both sides of the patties. By adding it to the outside of the meat, you get that really good restaurant grilled taste.
As I mentioned, I generally make double the amount of burgers I need and freeze what don’t get eaten for easy grilling later. Usually I will lay the burgers that I’m not going to cook on a lined sheet tray and freeze them until frozen, then bag them up.
This time I cooked all 8 burgers. Plus I made them the day before. To save space in my refrigerator, I decided to put these on a plate, but I needed to stack them. In order for them not to stick to one another, I put a piece of parchment paper in between the layers.
Ok, you are ready to cook your burgers. I will use a grill any day over a pan on the stove or in the oven. I prefer charcoal over gas, it just gives it a much better flavor. But use what you have available to you.
Today was really windy and cool and I have a small gas grill on the front patio that blocks the wind, so that’s where I cooked them.
Depending on how thick you made your burgers and how hot your grill is, depends on how long it will take to cook them. Generally it’s about 5 to 7 minutes per side with the lid closed.
Ok, I have to throw in the bit about food safety. Your burgers need to reach a minimum of 155 degrees to kill E-coli, which means your burgers will be cooked to medium.
If you are adding cheese, now is the time. Some people want cheese, some don’t, some are allergic to dairy. Some like pepper jack cheese, some like co-jack, mix it up and have fun with them.
Add your cheese and close the lid for the cheese to melt.
Now the fun part, the toppings. Get creative and add toppings that your really enjoy.
You can also wrap it in some lettuce for a bun-free (gluten-free) version. It’s a little more messy but a lot less filling.
I used my Sweet Pepper Sauce as my condiment on these Pepper Burgers.
Pepper Burger
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef 80/20
- 3 tbsp onion fine diced (sweet yellow or red works great)
- ½ each bell pepper fine diced (whatever color you have on hand works)
- ½ can diced green chilies
- ½ each jalapeno minced, remove seeds and ribs
- 1 tbsp Worcestershire
- Sea salt and black pepper
Instructions
- Chop onion, bell pepper and jalapeno.
- In a large bowl, add the beef, chopped peppers and onions, green chilies, and Worcestershire. Mix until combined.
- Split mixture into 4 and patty. Make sure the center of the patty is thinner than the edges.
- Sprinkle both sides of the patties with sea salt and black pepper.
- Grill patties until done to your prefered doneness (no less than medium is recommended). If desired, add cheese and melt.
- Top with your favorite toppings.
- Enjoy!
Notes
Pepperjack or Co-jack cheese
Tomatoes
Pickled Jalapenos
Greens
Avocado slices
Pickles
Sweet Pepper Sauce