(Ham)Burger Heaven – Nine Easy Burger Ideas

June 23, 2010

All around this weekend the barbeques were lighted and the scent of dogs and burgers filled the air – along with major squeals from happy family get-togethers.   We happened to be down the street from my brother and sister-in-law who had a healthy 26 for the weekend.  We expanded with the kids home to a happy foursome – six if you count the dogs.  And they should be counted for slider night.

As you well know, I love the kids coming home for all the usual reason, but also because they cook for us.  With several new food magazines for inspiration – they couldn’t decide how best to celebrate the holiday.  There were too many recipes for burgers to choose from, so they decided on a variety of sliders – you know –mini hamburgers so you can eat more than one without guilt!

Amazingly, a year ago, my daughter didn’t even eat hamburger (we’re talking age 20), but now she is in pursuit of the ultimate burger!  Who says they don’t grow up?  We all sat around discussing our favorite flavors and decided on four different varieties of burgers to try.

Burger Basics

Burgers are easy to customize with a little imagination.  Just take high quality ground meat, add seasonings cut finely to mix well, some sauce or egg for binder (so it doesn’t crumble on the grill) and voila!

The men decided bacon was a must to add, that combined with barbeque sauce was one for the grill.  Another version went Florentine with spinach, garlic and cheese.  There was also a Mexican version with chili powder, Jack cheese and a little salsa. Or you can try the Mango Peach Salsa Sassy Burgers. Finally, there was the mushroom and cheese burgers with chipotle mayo – as you can tell we are largely a cheeseburger kind of family. We each had four tiny samples, but all were delicious!

Burger Tips

When making burgers use the finest quality meat, add finely diced herbs or other ingredients, add a binder such as egg, sauce or breadcrumbs to keep it whole on the grill. Taste test!  Make a tiny burger of your favorite combination and grill first for flavor check – start light!  You can always add more, but it’s harder to take out or add more meat to compensate.

Burgers Don’t Have to Be Beef

For all those years my daughter didn’t eat ground beef, that didn’t mean she didn’t eat grilled patties in a bun.  Turkey burgers were a weekly staple in our house with mustard, onion and parsley  for flavor.  We also had our fair share of salmon burgers with mayo and dill.  If you still crave meat, but want something with a little less f at, you can always use bison with a heartier flavor which is increasingly available in grocery stores.

If you can grind it, mix it and grill it  – you have a burger for a holiday feast!

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Filed under: Barbeque Recipes, Cooking Tips, Easy Entertaining, Easy Meal Ideas, Kid Friendly Food

Tags: family recipes, hamburger meat, hamburger recipe, hamburger recipes, meat hamburger, PartyLite, quick recipes