Tag: burgers

Smash Burgers with Zesty Sauce

Oh me. This is why today was a happy day. A very happy day. I made smash burgers with zesty sauce. Nothing could make me happier. Perfectly cooked patties with that awesome smash burger crust. Lettuce. Onion. And then there’s the sauce. The amazing sauce. Everything good is in the sauce. Including soy sauce. That’s where this sauce went from fantastic to amazing.

Smash Burgers with Zesty Sauce

I can’t say enough how great these smash burgers with zesty sauce 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.

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 burger press. Any griddle will do, whether it’s on a grill (I use my Weber), cooktop, stove or even a standalone outdoor flattop. Just get those patties nice and thin and use quality fresh toppings. And a great sauce.

Also try my steakhouse smash burgers.

Smash Burgers with Zesty Sauce
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5 from 1 vote

Smash Burgers with Zesty Sauce

The perfect burgers with the perfect sauce.
Course Main
Cuisine American
Keyword smash burgers
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Servings 4
Calories 721kcal

Ingredients

For the sauce (makes extra)

For the burgers

  • 1 pound ground beef formed into four 4-ounce patties
  • kosher salt to taste
  • ground black pepper to taste
  • 4 hamburger buns
  • 4 slices cheddar cheese or American cheese
  • 4 pieces iceberg lettuce torn or chopped
  • 4 slices tomato
  • 4 slices onion
  • 6 slices dill pickle

Instructions

For the sauce

  • Combine all ingredients. Refrigerate at least 30 minutes before serving.

For the burgers

  • 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.
  • Season the burger patties with salt and pepper on both sides. Don’t be shy with the seasoning.
  • 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 first spreading some of the sauce on the bun bottoms.
  • Add a burger patty.
  • Add onion, lettuce, tomato and pickle slices.
  • Slather the top bun with more of the sauce and serve.

Notes

Patties 4-5 ounces in weight work best.

Nutrition

Calories: 721kcal | Carbohydrates: 32g | Protein: 30g | Fat: 52g | Saturated Fat: 16g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 14g | Monounsaturated Fat: 16g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 109mg | Sodium: 2660mg | Potassium: 823mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 10g | Vitamin A: 1348IU | Vitamin C: 13mg | Calcium: 349mg | Iron: 5mg

Nutritional values are approximate.

Southern Bologna Burgers

Anita got me hooked on thick-cut bologna burgers and sandwiches. They are like the grown-up versions of the bologna sandwiches I had as a kid. I get the deli to cut chub bologna 1/2″ thick and then either fry, grill, or smoke it. Then I slather the bologna with Ross’ Pool Room sauce and serve it on buns topped with onion and pimento cheese. Yeah, that’s a Southern bologna burger right there!

Southern Bologna Burgers

Any pimento cheese will work on these southern bologna burgers. I didn’t go crazy making one of my more complicated versions. Simple is just fine. For a bit of a kick substitute pepper jack cheese for the Colby or add a minced seeded jalapeno pepper.

You can make these delicious burgers with Ross’ Pool Room bologna sauce or my hot bologna sauce.

I recently discovered Blue Plate mayonnaise, which I think is the best around. If you can’t find it locally you can pick it up online for a fair price.

I highly recommend that you shred or grate your own cheese at home. Don’t buy the pre-shredded or pre-grated stuff. It has stuff added to it to keep it from sticking together. That ‘stuff’ affects how the cheese melts. Get the real stuff.

Southern Bologna Burgers
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5 from 1 vote

Southern Bologna Burgers

I slather the bologna with Ross’ Pool Room sauce and serve it on buns topped with onion and pimento cheese. Yeah, that’s a Southern bologna burger right there!
Course Main
Cuisine American
Keyword bologna, sandwich
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 20 minutes
Servings 8 servings
Calories 640kcal
Author Mike

Ingredients

For the burgers

For the pimento cheese topping

Instructions

For the burgers

  • Make a 1″ cut in the bologna from and edge towards the center.
  • Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat or fire up a grill for direct cooking.
  • Fry or grill the bologna, brushing with the sauce as it cooks. You want to get a light char on he bologna.
  • Toast the buns if desired.
  • Assemble the burgers by placing the bologna on the bun bottoms. Add the pimento cheese and bun top and serve.

For the pimento cheese topping

  • Combine all ingredients.

Nutrition

Calories: 640kcal | Carbohydrates: 24g | Protein: 24g | Fat: 49g | Saturated Fat: 19g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 90mg | Sodium: 1036mg | Potassium: 218mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 660IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 530mg | Iron: 2mg

Nutritional values are approximate.

Campfire Burgers

Wow, talk about a burger that just rocketed to the top of our favorite-to-make list. These campfire burgers are just packed with flavor, inside and out. The patties are not boring, combining ground beef with cheese, bacon, Worcestershire sauce and just a hint of smokiness. And then there’s the caramelized onions. Caramelized onions are a wonderful thing but adding balsamic vinegar to them makes them spectacular. And finally, a lightly smoky creamy sauce to top it all off. These burgers are messy, which keeps with my motto: messier is better.

Campfire Burgers

I recommend making more of the onions than the recipe for these campfire burgers calls for. As in doubling it. On the off-chance that you have leftover onions they are also fantastic on grilled hot dogs. I also recommend making more of the sauce. It’s great to have on hand for, well, hot dogs again, but also po boy sandwiches or even as a dipping sauce for chicken nuggets.

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.

Also try my chili crunch burgers.

Campfire Burgers
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5 from 1 vote

Campfire Burgers

These campfire burgers are just packed with flavor, inside and out. The patties are not boring, combining ground beef with cheese, bacon, Worcestershire and just a hint of smokiness.
Course Main
Cuisine American
Keyword burgers
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Total Time 55 minutes
Servings 4 burgers
Calories 643kcal
Author Based on a recipe from Mother Thyme

Ingredients

For the Caramelized Onions

For the Campfire Sauce

For the burgers

Instructions

For the Caramelized Onions

  • Heat the oil in large skillet over medium heat.
  • Add the onions and sprinkle with salt.
  • Toss to coat and cook for 20 minutes, stirring often, until the onions are brown and caramelized.
  • Add the balsamic vinegar, stir, and cook for 2 more minutes. Remove from heat.

For the Campfire Sauce

  • Whisk all ingredients until smooth.

For the burgers

  • Fire up your grill for direct and indirect cooking.
  • Place meat into a large bowl.
  • Add all of the remaining ingredients except for the buns and mix well.
  • Form into 4 equally-sized patties.
  • Grill as desired.
  • Assemble the burgers by adding cooked patties to the bun bottoms. Add onions and plenty of the Campfire sauce.
  • Serve with plenty of napkins!

Nutrition

Calories: 643kcal | Carbohydrates: 36g | Protein: 28g | Fat: 42g | Saturated Fat: 14g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 101mg | Sodium: 1071mg | Potassium: 559mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 14g | Vitamin A: 143IU | Vitamin C: 5mg | Calcium: 175mg | Iron: 4mg

Nutritional values are approximate.

Grilled Chipotle Ranch Sliders

I make sliders much more often than I do full-sized burgers. I’ve made all sorts of them. From chicken chorizo patty melt sliders to cedar-planked beef sliders, to grilled Big Mac sliders, I just love sliders. These grilled chipotle Ranch sliders have such fantastic flavor.

Grilled Chipotle Ranch Sliders

The chipotles in adobo not only add great heat to the grilled chipotle Ranch sliders, they also keep the patties very moist and tender. I topped them with mayonnaise mixed with a bit more chipotles in adobo for a nice creamy (and spicy) finish. Not too hot, mind you. Just a great spicy flavor.

Don’t have chipotles in adobo on hand? Substitute Sriracha sauce or your favorite hot sauce.

Also try my cool shot glass sliders.

Grilled Chipotle Ranch Sliders
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Grilled Chipotle Ranch Sliders

These grilled chipotle Ranch sliders have such fantastic flavor. The chipotles in adobo not only add great heat to the sliders, they also keep the patties very moist and tender. 
Course Main
Cuisine American
Keyword sliders, spicy
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 15 minutes
Servings 8 sliders
Calories 290kcal
Author Based on a recipe from The Recipe Critic

Ingredients

For the burgers

For the sauce

Instructions

For the burgers

  • Place the beef in a large bowl. Add in the dressing mix and adobo. Mix well.
  • Form the meat into 2 ounce slider patties.
  • Grill the patties as desired.
  • Lightly toast the buns.
  • Serve patties on buns topped with the sauce.

For the sauce

  • Combine the mayonnaise and adobo sauce.

Nutrition

Calories: 290kcal | Carbohydrates: 19g | Protein: 12g | Fat: 18g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 43mg | Sodium: 369mg | Potassium: 154mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 98IU | Calcium: 35mg | Iron: 2mg

Nutritional values are approximate.

Fajita Seasoning Mix

We love our taco seasoning mix. It has a great spicy flavor that is perfect with ground beef for tacos. For fajitas we use this mix. Fajita seasoning mix doesn’t just have to be used on fajitas. We enjoy it mixed in (about a tablespoons worth) with sauteed bell peppers and sweet onions (one each medium green and red bell peppers and a medium sweet onion), which we then used to top burgers and hot dogs.

Fajita Seasoning Mix

We seasoned a few home-ground beef patties with the mix, grilled them, then served them topped with the veggies, which were sliced.

Sprinkle a bit of the mix on hot dogs, grill them, and serve them on buns topped with the fajita-seasoned veggies (and a little cheese). We chopped the peppers and onion for the hot dogs.

Make a big batch of this and keep it in an airtight container in your pantry. This mix is perfect on beef. For chicken fajitas, try my chicken seasoning.

Fajita Seasoning Mix
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5 from 1 vote

Fajita Seasoning Mix

Fajita seasoning mix doesn’t just have to be used on fajitas. We enjoy it mixed in (about a tablespoons worth) with sauteed bell peppers and sweet onions (one each medium green and red bell peppers and a medium sweet onion), which we then used to top burgers and hot dogs.
Course Seasoning Mix
Cuisine American
Keyword seasoning, southwestern
Prep Time 10 minutes
Total Time 10 minutes
Servings 1 cup
Calories 191kcal
Author Mike

Ingredients

Instructions

  • Combine all ingredients.
  • Store in an airtight container for up to 6 months.

Nutrition

Calories: 191kcal | Carbohydrates: 41g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 4g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 14233mg | Potassium: 953mg | Fiber: 17g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 7810IU | Vitamin C: 52mg | Calcium: 306mg | Iron: 10mg

Nutritional values are approximate.

Maple Mustard Pork Burgers

License to Grill is one of my all-time favorite TV cooking shows. Aired by Food Network Canada, the show, hosted by Chef Rob Rainford, always contained the best outdoor cooking recipes. Although the show no longer airs, you can find a lot of recipes (like this one for maple mustard pork burgers) from the show at the License to Grill blog.

Maple Mustard Pork Burgers

When I first took a bite of these wonderful maple mustard pork burgers my first thought was “oh my goodness, I may give up beef burgers”. They’re just that good. The onion and garlic in the patty adds great flavor and keeps the meat tender and moist. The glaze… well, the glaze is absolutely fantastic. It’s a combination of sweet and tangy that gets nice and crusty over a very hot grill. I will be using the glaze on other pork dishes, such as grilled tenderloin or pork sliders.

Also try my Asian pork burgers. They’re packed with flavor!

Maple Mustard Pork Burgers
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5 from 1 vote

Maple Mustard Pork Burgers

When I first took a bite of these wonderful maple mustard burgers my first thought was “oh my goodness, I may give up beef burgers”.
Course Main
Cuisine American
Keyword burgers, maple, mustard, pork
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Servings 4
Calories 473kcal
Author Based on a recipe from Chef Rob Rainford

Ingredients

For the burgers

  • 1 pound ground pork
  • 1 tablespoon red onion minced
  • 1 clove garlic minced
  • ½ teaspoon kosher salt
  • ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 4 onion buns sliced
  • desired toppings lettuce, tomato, etc

For the glaze

Instructions

For the burgers

  • Combine the meat, onion, garlic, salt and pepper. Form into patties.
  • Fire up your grill for direct cooking.
  • Brush the burgers with the glaze and place over direct heat. Sear, then flip. Brush with more glaze.
  • Continue cooking and glazing, flipping one more time, until the burgers reach 155 F internal temperature and they have a nice crusty exterior. Remove from grill and let rest.
  • Meanwhile, toast the buns as desired.
  • Serve burgers on buns with desired ingredients.

For the glaze

  • Whisk together all ingredients. Don’t be shy with the glaze when applying.

Nutrition

Calories: 473kcal | Carbohydrates: 34g | Protein: 24g | Fat: 26g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Cholesterol: 82mg | Sodium: 656mg | Potassium: 440mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 13g | Vitamin A: 15IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 115mg | Iron: 3mg

Nutritional values are approximate.

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Onion Burgers Version 2.0

I served these fantastic onion burgers 3 different ways over 3 nights. Two were on buns, and one was bun-less. All three versions were absolutely fantastic. The patties have a nice kick to them, thanks to the spicy V8 juice and some sassy Russ & Franks BBQ sauce (substitute your favorite if you can’t find Russ & Franks). The onion soup mix gives them an almost meatloaf like flavor.

My first take on these burgers was topped with Swiss cheese, BBQ sauce, and sauteed mushrooms.

Onion Burgers Version 2.0
Onion Burgers Version 2.0

Then, I served them topped with BBQ sauce, Swiss and French fried onions.

Onion Burgers Version 2.0-1

Here’s the bun-less version. Great comfort food!

Onion Burgers Version 2.0-2

Because of the V8 juice you can use fairly lean ground beef in these burgers without fear of them drying out.

Onion Burgers Version 2.0
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Onion Burgers Version 2.0

I served these fantastic onion burgers 3 different ways over 3 nights.
Course Main
Cuisine American
Keyword burgers, onion
Prep Time 35 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 55 minutes
Servings 6
Calories 531kcal
Author Mike

Ingredients

For the burgers

For serving

Instructions

  • Make the patties by combining all of the burger ingredients and then forming into 6 patties. Do not overwork the meat or it will fall apart.
  • Refrigerate patties for at least 30 minutes.
  • Grill burgers until done, but do not play with them on the grill. The more you move them around, the better the chances they’ll fall apart. Be gentle!
  • Serve as desired on buns or bunless, with your favorite toppings.

Nutrition

Calories: 531kcal | Carbohydrates: 28g | Protein: 31g | Fat: 32g | Saturated Fat: 12g | Trans Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 107mg | Sodium: 909mg | Potassium: 603mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 97IU | Vitamin C: 5mg | Calcium: 119mg | Iron: 5mg

Nutritional values are approximate.