This is my go-to, always-on-hand sauce for burgers. Sure, I’ll mix it up some times and use other sauces. But this one finds its way onto my burgers a lot. I consider it to be a somewhat grownup version of that famous special sauce you get at McDonald’s. And it couldn’t be any easier to make, using ingredients I often have on hand. For me, it’s the Best Burger Sauce there is.
Perfectly Spicy
You can use any hot sauce you like. If I’m using this Best Burger Sauce on burgers I’m cooking for others, and I’m not sure if they like spicy foods, I use Cholula or Louisiana hot sauce. Neither is particularly spicy, but both add great flavor to the sauce. If you decide to leave out the heat, I’d recommend adding a pinch or two of Cajun seasoning or even Old Bay.
I almost always use Blue Plate mayonnaise in the dishes I make. I think it is the best around. If you can’t find it locally you can pick it up online for a fair price.
These chophouse smash burgers hit the spot and then some. I’m a big smash burger fan, and although I usually make them more traditional with lettuce, tomato and onion, the sautéed mushrooms, Swiss cheese and steak sauce on these burgers was fantastic. Good and messy, these burgers are destined to show up on our menu often.
It’s Easy. And Fun.
Making Chophouse smash burgers isn’t difficult. You don’t need a bunch of fancy equipment or a lot of time. Just a hot griddle and a burger press. Any griddle will do, whether it’s on a grill (I use and love my Weber grills!), cooktop, stove or even a standalone outdoor flattop. Just get those patties nice and thin and top them with a little cheese and sautéed mushrooms and onions . And steak sauce.
Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-low heat.
Add the onion slices and cook until just turning soft, about 5 minutes or so.
Add the mushrooms. Stir and cook until the mushrooms and onions are caramelized and get some brown color. This can take up to 10 minutes. If too much liquid accumulates in the pan it will boil the vegetables not brown them, so drain some off if needed.
Season with salt and pepper. Stir and remove from heat.
Fire up your grill for direct medium-high heat cooking. You can also use an outdoor or indoor griddle or a large skillet on a stove.
Form the beef into 4-equally sized balls or patties. Season well with salt and pepper.
Place the patties on grill. Smash down with a spatula or grill press.
Grill the burgers for 2-3 minutes per side.
Top the patties with cheese and grill until they've reached your desired doneness and the cheese is melted. Remove from the grill.
Toast the buns as desired.
Make the burgers by placing the patties on the bun bottoms.
Add the mushroom and onion mix followed by a good drizzle of the steak sauce.
It’s summer time. And summer is good. Summer is better, though, with a big ole plate of spicy barbecue-and-bacon baked beans on the Char-Broil Big Easy. These are some of the most flavor-packed beans you’ll find. And talk about easy to make, too! It’s not quite as easy as open a bunch of cans and heat, but it’s close to being that easy. A little time in the oil-less fryer and you’re ready to devour some tasty beans. Double, triple or quadruple the recipe and you’ve got a great dish for a picnic or family get-together!
Packed With Flavor
Much of the flavor in these spicy barbecue-and-bacon baked beans on the Char-Broil Big Easy comes from the Ranch style beans. Then along comes a bit of jalapeno spiciness. And just a hint of sweetness. For the BBQ sauce I went with a nice hickory BBQ sauce to add a bit of that outdoorsy flavor.
The bunk bed basket lets you double the amount of cooking space you have on your Big Easy. And it’s easy to take in and out of the cooker too!
True story. Before I got my first car I rode my bike everywhere. And I mean everywhere. And one of the places I would go was K-Mart. According to Google maps now, it was 5.6 miles one way. That’s a good haul, so I worked up an appetite. For me that meant time to get a sandwich at the retailer. Now these years later I can walk to my kitchen and make that same sandwich at home. These copycat K-Mart sub sandwiches taste just like the ones I had oh so many, many years ago.
Not Fancy. Good.
These aren’t some fru-fru fancy sandwiches but they are super-tasty. They’re good eats, packed with meats and lots of flavor. These copycat K-Mart sub sandwiches hit the spot. They’re a great step up from just plain ole bologna and cheese, that’s for sure!
Gently open the buns along the hinge. If they don't open easily use a sharp long knife to cut into them, but do not cut all the way through. Lay flat onto a work surface.
Cut the meats in half. Also cut the cheese in half.
Squirt the mustard in a wide 'V' pattern onto the tops and bottoms of the buns.
On the top buns place 4-6 slices of the pickle.
On the bottom bun put 4 salami halves, 2 bologna halves, 2 cheese halves, 2 ham halves, 4 slices of tomato, lettuce, and 4-8 of the pepper rings.
Slowly close the sandwiches by pulling the top bun down. If the toppings start to slide out, push them back in with your hand or insert a long knife down the center of the sandwich to hold them in as you close the bun.
Wrap the sandwiches in plastic wrap.
Place in fridge for 30 minutes.
Serve cold.
Notes
When I would eat these as a kid I would give them a good squish first, flattening them out. Seems weird, but it’s actually good!
I’ve made a whole bunch of Buffalo-flavored poultry burgers. Most were kinda on the complicated side. They had all sorts of ingredients packed into the patties in an attempt to keep them from drying out. These Buffalo turkey burgers with blue cheese slaw are much easier. There aren’t 40 ingredients. Yet, they come out delicious, moist, and tender. And of course, packed with traditional Buffalo wing flavors.
Nice And Messy
Don’t overlook the slaw on these Buffalo turkey burgers with blue cheese slaw. It’s fantastic. Packed with blue cheese flavors. Save the slaw recipe for any time you want a different kind of slaw. It’d be great on grilled brats too. And sure, if you’re in to carrots and that whole Buffalo theme thing, add a few diced carrots into the slaw too. They’ll add some crunchiness and color too.
I like to use a burger press when I make burgers. It, in combination with some patty papers, enables me to crank out a whole bunch of equally-sized burger patties in no time at all with little cleanup.
Hot, crispy French fries scream ‘dip me!’ I made a big ole batch of crispy fries in my Fry Daddy fryer the other day. On the side, I made a copycat Freddy’s fry sauce. Nope, no ketchup this time. Just a delicious creamy sauce that has just the perfect amount of spiciness. Time to get to dunkin’ and dippin’!
Mayonnaise And Fries Were Made For Each Other
Mayonnaise-based sauces are common all over the world, served right alongside fries. Not so much here in the US. That should change starting with this sauce!
I use these little dipping cups for serving my copycat Freddy’s fry sauce. They’re the perfect size for dipping wings, nuggets, tenders and even vegetables, too. And they’re easy to clean!
I recommend making a double batch of this sauce. Why? Well, not only is it great for fries, it’s also fantastic on burgers! And if you’re like me, you’ll find yourself double-dipping fries because you just can’t get enough of it!
Ah, glorious sweet corn. It makes me happy whenever corn is in season. I love it any way you can cook it. This slow cooked jalapeno corn version adds a bit of heat (though really, it’s quite tame) from jalapenos. It’s tremendously creamy and sweet. It’s also perfect for a get-together since it makes a pretty good size batch. You can halve it if you need, or double it for an even bigger crowd.
Light On The Heat. Heavy On The Flavor.
You can leave out the jalapenos. But I think you’ll want to add something in place of it, like minced sweet onion. Don’t go crazy with it. I think you need just a little something for a little bite in this slow cooked jalapeno corn. I mean, it does have ‘jalapeno’ in the name!
Although I slow cooked the corn in my oven, you can also cook it on a grill or even a smoker. Just keep your temperature around 250 F and the corn will come out delicious.
Ah, glorious sweet corn. It makes me happy whenever corn is in season. I love it any way you can cook it. This slow cooked jalapeno corn version adds a bit of heat (though really, it’s quite tame) from jalapenos, and tremendous creamy sweetness.
Smash burgers are by far my favorite things to grill. They always come out juicy and packed with flavor. And they get that great crusty edge, reminding me of the diner burgers of my childhood. These meatloaf smash burgers put all of the flavors of a delicious meatloaf in a convenient hand-held package that hits the spot. Add traditional glaze and simple toppings (just onion and lettuce!) and you’ve got a real winner of a burger!
So Good. And Messy.
I can’t say enough how great these meatloaf smash burgers were. And they checked one of my required boxes for burgers: messy. The messier, the better. If it isn’t messy it doesn’t have enough ‘stuff’ on it. These burgers have stuff and then some. And the glaze? Oh so good!
The patties on these burgers are larger than I usually use for smash burgers. They were close to 6 ounces a pieces. That’s not a bad thing. You can adjust the recipe if you’d prefer smaller, 4 ounce patties, instead and end up with 6 servings instead of 4.
Making these burgers isn’t difficult. You don’t need a bunch of fancy equipment or a lot of time. Just a hot griddle and a grill press. Any griddle will do, whether it’s on a grill, cooktop, stove or even a standalone outdoor flattop. Just get those patties nice and thin and use quality fresh toppings. And a great sauce.
The only even remotely tropical-flavored chip I’ve ever had is Maui onion. These quick fix mango chile-lime potato chips put those to shame. These chips are decidedly fruity, with a good hint of heat. They also have just a touch of citrus. They’re different in a very good way. The seasoning I used (from Pepper Palace my favorite hot-sauce store!) was original intended for wings or shrimp, but it is just as amazing on chips.
Ready In Minutes. Gone In Seconds.
My quick fix mango chile-lime potato chips take only minutes to make. You end up with great-tasting chips that are seasoned YOUR WAY. My goodness, is there nothing worse that getting a bag of “The best chips you’ve ever had!” chips home only to find that half the chips don’t have enough seasoning. Or any seasoning for that matter. Well, you can go right ahead and season the heck out of them now. Any way you want. Do it.
Not that I mean to over-stress it, but I will mention you don’t need any fancy fru-fru chips for this recipe. In fact, I’d stay away from them. You want wavy chips, preferably. And frankly, you want chips that are a bit oily. Yep. Once heated, the chips will release that oil and that’s what you need to get the seasonings stuck on there good!
Oh man, did these Swamp Sauce smash burgers ever hit the spot. Juicy patties. Crisp fresh toppings. All with a wonderful creamy sauce that is a combination of just about every good burger sauce you can think of. It’s got a little heat. It’s got a little sweetness. A little tang. This will solve your problem if you find yourself opening the fridge, looking at the condiment bottles, and trying to decide what to use. These burgers are proof that even the simplest sauce can make a ‘plain’ burger something special. Sure, there are a few ingredients, but nothing fancy and nothing complicated.
I Dream About These Burgers
Making Swamp Sauce smash burgers isn’t difficult. You don’t need a bunch of fancy equipment or a lot of time. Just a hot griddle and a burger press. Any griddle will do, whether it’s on a grill, cooktop, stove or even a standalone outdoor flattop. Just get those patties nice and thin and use quality fresh toppings. And a great sauce.
