Burgers

Nothing too fancy this time, just a couple of burgers. I haven't cooked hamburgers in months. Mainly because I don't have a grill since moving here to San Diego. However, when one has burgers on the mind, nothing else will do. Sure, I could have just gone to one of the many great local places to get a burger around here, but then I wouldn't have something to blog about. So what to do if you want to cook and burger and don't have access to a grill? You resort to pan frying.

For these burgers I used a mix of ground beef and ground pork. This is a popular choice for gourmet burgers. The ratio I used was about 1/4th pork and the rest beef, but opinions vary. Speaking of ratios, the ground beef that's commonly found in stores doesn't have a good one. I'm talking, of course, about the ratio of lean meat to fat. It should be about 80% lean and 20% fat for a juicy burger. On the package, (if they even bother to include this information) you may notice such abysmal ratios as 4% or 10%. This is one of the many good reasons why you should grind your own meat for burgers. I don't have a meat grinder, so I didn't do it. Also, I'm incredibly lazy. In fact, I'm so lazy I'm not even going to bother finishing this paragr

Anyway! In addition to the beef and pork, I also picked up some onion rolls. They are way better than regular buns. I even make sandwiches with 'em.

Mix up the meat with your hands. Just enough to blend the meats together. You don't want to overwork it, and you have a lot more mixing to do when you add in the other stuff.

Chop up some fresh parsley to work into the meat. It adds a nice color and flavor. As for the other dry seasonings, I like to get a little heavy handed. People often rave about my "spice pockets," although they are just as often met with controversy. You can add as little or as much as you prefer. The spices I added this time were as follows: salt, fresh ground pepper, paprika, a small bit of cyan pepper, a small bit of cumin, lots of red pepper flakes, lots of dried basil.

 

For the liquid ingredients add some dijon mustard, worcestershire sauce, and small amounts of soy sauce and BBQ sauce. We're not going for a strong BBQ flavor, so keep it minimal. Too much overall liquid, and your patties will fall apart. Worcestershire sauce is a great thing to add to burgers before forming the patties, it's rich, sweet, and delicious.

Now you're ready to mix it up and form patties. Again, be careful not to overwork the meat. Don't pack them too tightly., either.

Before you get started on cooking these puppies, you'll need to prep some other ingredients. We'll be cooking up some onions and mushrooms to go on top. So, grab an onion.

Chop it up. I like to keep it in rings for burgers. (You can set some aside if you like raw onions on your burger.)

Then grab some shrooms. Take out the stems. These can be saved for use later for something else.

Slice 'em up.

Set it all aside for now, you've got more important things to worry about. Like bacon.

Fry it up, nice and crisp. I like to add pepper to both sides when I cook bacon.

Place on paper towels and set aside for now.

Now, whip up a quick sauce to act as a condiment for these burgs. For this, add the following; dijon mustard, siracha sauce, a touch of tamari, and a generous amount of mayo. Mix it all together and then drizzle in just a bit of vinegar. I chose to use brown rice vinegar for this, but I suppose any vinegar will do. Mix it up really well and set aside.

 

Now, with all that grease from the bacon, you'll have more than enough fat to cook up those onions and mushrooms. First add the onions and cook until soft, then add the mushrooms. Add just a touch  of soy and worcestershire. Keep the heat low.

With a little bit of the left over bacon grease, quickly toss the buns in to toast them. This will not take long, and the extra effort goes a long way. Set aside.

Pan frying burgers is not ideal, but when done properly, they can still be pretty good. Toss them into the hot grease. People seem to disagree on how often you're supposed to flip cooking burgers. Some people flip them frequently as they cook, and some people cook one side completely before finishing on the other side. I prefer to flip them at least a couple of times while cooking. This is even my preference when using a grill, which may sacrifice good grill marks. Even so, you can develop a good color.

When the burgers are almost done, you can add a slice of swiss cheese.

Here's a tip: Place the cheese on the patties and add just a touch of water to the hot pan. Quickly place the lid on the pan and trap in all the hot steam. This will melt the cheese perfectly, giving you that great gooey look. You have to act fast while doing this, so be prepared. It was tough to get photographs during this short window of time.

Now all the hard work and preparation starts to pay off. Time to assemble this beast! First: Burger on bun.

Then, bacon on burger.

Then onion/mushrooms on bacon.

Spread some of your zip sauce on the top bun. I also like to sprinkle a bit of parsley on top, it makes it look pretty.

On second thought, that's not nearly enough sauce. Just straight up pour some more of that good stuff right on there. The heat will melt it right into the nooks and crannies. 

With the beef and pork combination, and all the fixings, this burger will be delectable indeed. Since we used store bought ground meat, it's not safe to cook them very rare. I choose to make them just ever so slightly pink in the middle. If you grind your own meat, you can make your burgers are rare as you want safely. Now for a few more money shots.

Not only is it delicious, but it's good for you! Just kidding, this is horrible for you. There is nothing healthy about this. Enjoy sparingly! 

One final pic. I wanted to show the inside of the burger. I never cut mine in half, but my brother did, so I snapped a quick pic. I apologize for the lighting, but it was in a different room.