July 4th Burger Roundup

A few years ago Serious Eats released this amazing, comprehensive guide called the United States of Burgers, and apparently I was super unhappy with Washington's representative burger. I wrote a post about it when the article was released, and never ended up hitting publish. With the 4th of July just around the corner, there's no better time to resurface a ton of awesome all-American burger inspiration. Aside from Will Smith saving the world from aliens, what's more American than a burger on Independence Day!? USA, USA!

Hawaiian Sliders with Grilled Pineapple & Teriyaki Mayo

Sliiideerrrrz! 

I feel like sliders got really crazy big in like, 2009, and were everywhere, then after a year or two we were all like "sliders are so overdone, just give me a full size burger, already" and now we're at a place where we can enjoy a good slider now and then, without it being too mainstream OR too OMG-SLIDERZ. 

I personally love a good slider, because it's the perfect couple bites. You can have a hamburger without committing to a full hamburger, ya know?

Evan and I do Hawaiian style burgers or chicken sandwiches a lot. I guess the grilled pineapple is what makes it Hawaiian. For these ones, I also made a little teriyaki mayo sauce. So good!

You could absolutely make these into full sized burgers, but how fun would it be to bring a tray of pre-assembled Hawaiian sliders to your Memorial day BBQ!? SUPER FUN!

Hawaiian Sliders

Baby-sized ground beef patties

Swiss cheese, sliced

Pineapple slices, grilled

Avocado

Tomato

Teriyaki Mayo Sauce (below)

Slider buns

I trust that you can grill some burgers. Just do whatever you prefer. I did a simple home-ground beef mixture with salt and pepper, topped with swiss cheese. And also, grill some pineapple slices. I found some amazing brioche slider buns, but any little buns, breads, or rolls will do. To assemble, start with half your slider bun, then layer on teriyaki mayo sauce, grilled baby burger with cheese, grilled pineapple, avocado, tomato, and more sauce. Then top it off with the bun top! That's it! 

Teriyaki Mayo Sauce

1/3 cup mayonnaise

1 teaspoon soy sauce

1/4 teaspoon sesame oil

1/2 teaspoon liquid sweetener (honey, maple syrup, or agave)

1 teaspoon yellow mustard

Hot sauce of your choice (Sriracha!)

Fresh ground black pepper

Whisk together all ingredients, and you're good to go! 

Homemade Everything Burgers

It's almost July 4th, and in my mind, nothing is as all-American as the good ol' grilled hamburger. And, nothing is as delicious (seriously) as an all-American burger with homemade everything! I'm talking home-baked buns, homemade mustard and ketchup, and fresh ground steak burgers. 

I may never be able to go back to bottled ketchup. I definitely won't go back to pre-ground meat. Although, I must admit, it was my first home-grinding, and I was a little squeamish. I just kept picturing Pink Floyd's The Wall music video (not all-American). 

I discovered the recipes for these bad boys in an old issue of Gourmet, and couldn't think of a better way to celebrate Lady Liberty's birthday (Happy Birthday, old gal!). Luckily, Gourmet still has the recipes online too, so after you give Lady Liberty the ol' hip-hoorah and 236 spankings, you can celebrate Independence Day with the best burgers ever. Or with Will Smith. Whatevs. 

Give yourself plenty of time to make these burgers. The mustard seeds need to soak 1-2 days, the buns need to rise twice, and the ketchup is best after cooling a few hours. These homemade everything hamburgers are so worth the wait and effort. 

I would recommend talking to your butcher about the best cuts of beef for the patties. Mine recommended a mix of two cuts (top sirloin and a choice something-or-other), and the combo made incredible burgers. I also ran it through the thick-grind and then the smaller-grind, but you could totally keep these chunky and meaty, and it would be awesome. The recipe calls for just salt in the meat, but I did my standard salt, pepper, and a dash of worcestershire. 

And, the buns are adorable. Yes, Michael Scott... That's what she said. 

Cheeseburger Chimichangas

  

Superbowl time! Who cares about the football game (oh, you do? sorry)… I'm in it for the food. Superbowl Sunday is one of the greatest junk food holidays of the year. It's pretty much the only day of the year that I'll eat chicken wings AND nachos in the same day. I mean, really, it's pretty much the only day of the year I eat chicken wings, period. These mini-baked-cheeseburger-chimichangas are perfect Superbowl food. I mean totally made for this occasion. Or maybe a 6 year old's birthday party. Whatevs. Like cheeseburgers? Me too. Like tortillas? Of course you do. Put them together, and you're all set for the big game.

Mini Cheeseburger Chimichangas (baked)

Makes 8 chimichangas

1/4 of an onion, diced small

1.5 lbs lean ground beef

pinch granulated garlic

1 tomato, diced small

3 medium-sized dill pickles, diced

1/4 cup ketchup

1 tablespoon mustard

salt & pepper

1.5 cups grated cheddar cheese

8 small flour tortillas (the 'fajita size')

olive oil

Preheat oven to 350.

Heat a large skillet over medium, drizzle a bit of olive oil to coat, and add onion. Sauté until just starting to brown, and add beef and granulated garlic. Cook until beef is almost cooked through, and drain off excess liquid. Add tomatoes and dill pickles. Cook until beef is all the way done, and tomatoes have basically melted into the mixture. Add salt and pepper to taste, and stir in mustard and ketchup. Taste, and add more seasoning if desired. Remove from heat, and stir in cheese.

Prior to rolling, you'll want to heat your tortillas. You can do this a few at a time in the microwave for 10 or so seconds, or wrapped in foil in your oven while it preheats. Just make sure they're soft and pliable. Add filling to center of tortilla, fold in edges, and roll from bottom to top. Arrange on a  greased sheet pan, fold side down (they should hold form if you set fold side down). Bake for 10 minutes, or until bottom side is golden and cripsy, and flip. Bake for another 10 or minutes, until both sides are golden and crispy. Serve with mustard and ketchup (or you can get fancy and go the fry-sauce route). 

Out With a Bang

Red Mill Burgers. The best big, greasy, bacony burgers in Seattle—hands down. This is quite possibly the last beef I'll eat until February. 

To free our bodies of the heavy winter ales and holiday baked goods we’ve over-indulged in the last two months, Amanda and I are doing a meatless and boozeless(ish) January. Also, we’ll be wearing bikinis in February for our sister’s trip to Tahiti (!), so that’s another reason behind our madness. On top of that, Evan and I are going to try to (loosely) follow Bon Appetit’s Food Lover’s Cleanse. Just for funsies. And because the vanilla-date smoothie and the breakfast quinoa look amazing.

So today, for one last hoorah, we went for it. The full on bacon cheeseburger. Milkshake and all.