Easy Weeknight Burgers

[ecowper]

That's great to hear! thanks for the feedback.

[SmokingSteve]

I tried your recipe today. It worked out great! Second cook on my almost fully resurrected Performer.

[bardsleyque]

best thing that goes with pbr is an Old Rasputin Russian Imperial Stout!!!

[ecowper]

If I mix in bacon (which I don’t in this recipe), I do about 1/2 lb in each 1 lb of beef.

[Huskee]

Done, thanks

[DavidNorcross]

I do something similar and also mix in the bacon especially with 90/10. Curious, for a lb of beef, how much bacon do you use?

[ecowper]

Huskee I put this in the wrong channel, do we want to move it to burgers?

[ecowper]

Thanks Redwng ..... I think these are pretty tasty and easy to make. Enjoy!

[ecowper]

bbqLuv the best thing that goes with PBR is a round of golf and a cigar!

[bbqLuv]

Burgers and PBR go together.
We add a little Worcestershire also.

[Redwng]

You did a great job explaining each step and the final product looks fantastic.

[ecowper]

I read it somewhere .... life changer for making burgers easy

[TripleB]

Nothing like easy peasy burgers..... their the Cat's meow. I like the thumb print trick. Been doing that for years. Got that tip from my brother-in-law of all people since he was not a very good cook and couldn't even boil water.

[Oakgrovebacon]

Looks delicious! I personally would leave off the avocado but my wife would take my share.

[ecowper]

I've spent a while coming up with what I think is an easy weeknight burger. Nothing special or fancy. No need to "grind your own", mix in ground bacon, marinade somehow, etc. Just a simple burger that comes out juicy and flavorful. You can cook it on a traditional pan, cast iron, or the grill. Any method works well.

Makes or Serves
This recipe makes 3 burgers about 1/3 pound each, plus all the fixings.

Takes (how long)
Total: 60 minutes
Prepare the burgers: 5 minutes
Chill and internally marinade the burgers: 30 minutes
Prepare the "fixings": 10 minutes
Cook the burgers: 10 minutes
Serve and garnish: 5 minutes

Serve with
Whatever you really like with burgers. I like salted steak fries. You might like something else. And a cold beer!

Ingredients

Burgers
1 lb ground beef - 90/10 is just fine
2 tbsp grapeseed oil, divided (if cooking on the grill, only need 1 tbsp)
1 tbsp worcestershire sauce
1 tsp Morton's kosher salt
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp fine ground black pepper

Fixings (what I like, your mileage may vary)
Quality BBQ sauce
sliced beefsteak tomatoes
Pickles - I prefer to buy something high quality and slice myself. If you can't do that, the Clausen slicers are pretty good
Lettuce - iceberg is best. If you have to use romaine, break out the spines of the leaves
Bacon - at least two slices per burger (I use my own, naturally).
Avocado - slice it about 1/4" thick

Tip: Cook the bacon in the same pan you will cook the burgers in, leave a TBSP, or so, of bacon grease and substitute for the grapeseed oil
Tip: Cook the bacon with a press so it is nice and flat and even.

Method

1. Prep the burgers
   • put all burger ingredients into a mixing bowl and gently mix together by hand
   • Do not over mix the ground beef
   • Form 3 patties out of the ground beef mix
   • Lay out on a cookie sheet that is lined with wax paper (to avoid sticking and breaking)
   • Make a thumbprint in each burgers. This helps keep the burger from puffing up in the center as it cooks
   • Put burgers in the fridge for 30 minutes. I find this helps the flavor, acting as an internal marinade.
2. Prep the fixings
   • Slice all the cold veggie type ingredients about 1/4" thick (tomatoes, pickles, avocadoes, etc)
   • If you haven't already, cook the bacon while the burgers are in the fridge
   • Toast the buns if you desire
   • Cut the cheese so it will fit on top of the burgers without tons of overlap
   • Cut the lettuce leaves (or tear by hand) so that it is slightly larger than the buns
3. Cook the burgers
   • Prep a grill to medium high heat or preheat a pan on the stove. If using an IR therm, we are going for 400F direct heat
     • If using a pan on stove, add bacon fat or grapeseed oil and heat in pan. We use grapeseed oil because it can get to 420F without scorching, unlike olive oil
   • put burgers on direct heat, cook for 4 minutes on side 1, then gently turn to avoid breaking them, and cook an additional 4 minutes
   • Turn one more time, put cheese on, cook covered for about 2 minutes.
   • Burger internal temp should be 160F, give or take. Cook to well done to kill all the pathogens and stuff.
   • Reserve burgers on a cookie sheet (or plate or whatever) and allow to rest for a few minutes
4. Lay out all the fixings and buns and let people assemble their burgers as desired.
5. Enjoy!