All-American Burgers

There are a few recipes that should be in everyone’s culinary repertoire.  Armed with recipes for pasta with homemade basil marinara, sautéed lemon chicken breasts, roasted herb pork tenderloin, grilled dill salmon, and All American Burgers, dinner will never be boring.

It is easy enough to grab a package of preformed burger patties and toss them on the grill for a quick dinner.  But all the patties are only plain ground beef formed into burgers.  With a few extra minutes of prep, ground beef can be elevated to a juicy and scrumptious All American Burger. 

Choose ground beef that is an 85/15 blend.  That translates to 85 percent beef and 15 percent fat.  The fat is essential in ensuring a juicy burger. A pound of ground beef will make 4 burgers.  Soft white bread is soaked in milk and mashed to a paste before adding the ground beef.  This mixture is called a panade and helps keep the burgers moist.  Finely chopped onion, salt and pepper are added to flavor the ground beef. 

Form the burgers in thin patties about 4 to 5 inches across.  Make a slight indent in the center of the burger. The indentation guarantees that the burger remains flat when grilled and doesn’t puff up in the middle. 

Grill the burgers between 2 to 4 minutes per side depending on the level of doneness desired.  Closer to 2 to 3 minutes per side results in a medium rare burger. Closer to 4 minutes per side results in a well done burger. Don’t squish or push down the burgers while they cook.  That only causes all the juices to run out and the burgers with be dry and tough. 

Top the burgers with American cheese during the last minute of grilling so that it melts to a cheesy goodness.  Toast the buns along the outer edge of the grill for a special touch.  Farm fresh tomatoes and crisp green lettuce complete the All American Burger.

All-American Burgers

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• Author: amycaseycooks
• Total Time: 20 minutes
• Yield: 4 1x

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Ingredients

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• 1 slice of soft bread
• ¼ cup milk
• 1– pound ground beef (85/15 blend)
• ½ cup finely chopped onion
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon pepper
• 4 slices American cheese
• 4 soft hamburger buns
• 8 small tomato slices
• 4 large lettuce leaves

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Instructions

1. Heat a grill to medium high heat.
2. Tear bread in to tiny pieces and place in a medium sized bowl. Pour milk over the bread and let it soak for about 3 to 4 minutes. Mash the bread with a fork.
3. Add the ground beef, onion, salt, and pepper to the bowl along with the bread and milk. Gently combine the ingredients. Form into 4 flat burgers. Slightly indent the center of each burger.
4. Place burgers on grate and grill for 2 to 4 minutes per side. For medium rare, grill for about 2 minutes per side. For well done, grill for about 4 minutes per side. Do not press the burgers down while they are grilling.
5. During the last minute of grilling the burgers, top with slices of American cheese. Place the buns cut side down on the outer edges of the grill to toast for a minute.
6. Remove the burgers from the grill and place on the buns. Top with a couple slices of tomato and a lettuce leaf. Serve.

Notes

Recipe by Amy Casey ~ 2016

© 2016 amycaseycooks
www.amycaseycooks.com

• Prep Time: 10 minutes
• Cook Time: 10 minutes
• Category: entree