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Alicia's activity angle

By Alicia Wicklund

05/29/2012

Longer evenings and warmer weather is here and with that comes outdoor BBQs. My favorite thing to grill during the summer are burgers. In a previous column I mentioned a pizza was probably one of the most versatile foods where any toppings could be added.

Burgers are about the same.

To keep the patties juicy and moist, I’ve found that adding bread crumbs and an egg in with two lbs. of meat helps greatly. Sometimes I will even shred carrots, finely chop onions and use diced black olives to help hold in the moisture. A person could also use kidney beans that have gone through the blender instead of the olives.

Depending on the consistency, you might need to add in more bread crumbs to help hold the patty together.

With two lbs. of hamburger, approximately eight burger patties can be made. I like to make a larger batch and freeze premade patties to use at a later time.

Here’s a few of my favorite burger recipes:

Honey BBQ Pineapple
Bacon Burgers

2 lbs. ground hamburger
1 egg
1 c. bread crumbs
½ envelope taco seasoning
2 tsp. Worchester sauce
Salt and pepper  
8 pineapple rounds
½ c. honey BBQ sauce
16 strips of bacon
¼ c. brown sugar
Extra honey BBQ sauce for dipping
Optional: lettuce, tomato and onions
Buns or toasted slices of bread

Prepare the grill. Mix the hamburger, egg, bread crumbs, taco seasoning, Worchester sauce, salt and pepper. Shape into patties. Rub brown sugar onto bacon. Wrap two pieces of bacon around the patty.

Place patties on grill. Once flipped, lay one pineapple round and brush BBQ sauce on top of patty. Serve on buns or toasted bread.

Stuffed burgers

2 lbs. ground beef
1 (10 oz.) bottle steak sauce, divided
2 Tbsp. fajita seasoning
2 Tbsp. dried minced onion
8 slices American cheese, divided
2 (4 oz.) cans chopped green chiles, drained
1 (4 oz.) can sliced mushrooms, drained
Optional: lettuce, tomatoes and onions
Buns or toasted bread

Preheat the grill. Mix together the ground beef, ¼ cup of steak sauce, fajita seasoning and dried onion until blended. Make into eight patties. On half of the patties, place one slice of cheese, green chilies and mushrooms. Place the other four patties over the top and press down to seal the edges so the ingredients inside don’t escape.

Place patties on the grill. Once the patties begin to brown, brush the top with remaining steak sauce.

When almost done, place the remaining four slices of cheese over the tops of the patties. Serve on buns or toasted bread.
Recipe from www.allrecipes.com.

Other burger topping options

Chili, shredded cheese
Fried egg, American cheese
Sautéed onions, mushrooms, Swiss cheese
American cheese, shredded pork, BBQ sauce, coleslaw
Chilies, tortilla chips, nacho cheese