Classic Grilled Hamburgers

Depending upon who you listen to, either May 28 or August 27 are National Burger Day. While the majority of sites dedicated to letting us know what National Day are when agree on May, one lone site continues to insist on the August date.

As you can imagine, in our house we don’t pick one day over the other. Burgers are just too darn good not to celebrate with more than one day. If you were to ask my guys, every third day would be Burger Day. The other two would be Pizza Day and Mexican Food Day. Okay, we’d also need Tri-Tip Day and Ribs Day. You get the idea.

This Classic Recipe is so simply yet so amazingly good. There are a few key elements to good burgers. First, whenever possible use fresh ground beef. Pick up your hamburger meat no more than a day or two before grilling. The fresher the better. Form your patties just a little larger than your buns, and hold in the refrigerator until your ready to grill. Well chilled patties will hold together better, making them easier to grill. Now if you can, get the tomatoes from your own garden or from a local farmer’s market. Store-bought tomatoes have been held in a refrigerator and rarely are allowed to ripen on the vine. Even home grown tomatoes, once refrigerated, will loose that distinctive tomato flavor we all love. Raw red onions give a crisp onion bite that will bite back. Keep the seasoning to a minimum, allowing the beefy flavor to come through. Now if you are using frozen patties or previously frozen meat, more seasoning may be a plus. But if the meat is fresh, less is better.

Things like cheese and pickles are purely a matter of personal choice. I like a good cheeseburger same as the next guy, but when the burger is this fresh, I say yes to pickles and no to the cheese. Kiddo on the other hand will pile on the cheese, and use Pickled Jalapeno instead of pickles. They compliment his Pepper Jack Cheese. All I can tell you is I want summer to never end. Fresh tomatoes on a fresh, juicy burger is a little taste of heavenly goodness.

Enjoy!

Classic Grilled Hamburgers
1-3/4 lb Ground Beef
Salt to taste
Black Pepper to taste
Hamburger Seasoning to taste
1 large Tomato
4 Green Leaf Lettuce Leaves
1/4 Red Onion
4 Sesame Seed Buns
Sliced Cheese, optional
Ketchup as desired
Thousand Island Dressing as desired
12 Dill Hamburger Chips

Divide ground beef into 4 (7 oz) portions. Shape each portion into a patty just slightly larger than buns. Season patties with salt, pepper and Hamburger Seasoning. Place waxed paper sheets between each patty, wrap and place in the refrigerator to chill well.

While burgers chill, slice tomato into thick rounds, set aside. Break lettuce to fit on buns, set aside. Peel and thinly slice onion into slivers. Break apart and set aside.

Heat grill to medium heat. Remove burgers from the refrigerator, place on an oiled grill. Cook about 4 minutes per side. Increase heat to high, sear burgers for about a minute per side for a nice crust. Remove from grill to a plate. Top patties, if desired, with a slice of cheese. Cover and let rest for a few minutes while the cheese melts and the juices settle.

Spread Ketchup or Thousand Island Dressing as desired on the cut side of each bun. On each bottom bun, stack lettuce, tomato and onion slivers. To each top bun, place 3 dill pickle chips.

Place grilled patties on bottom bun, top with top bun.

Serve with oven fries and enjoy.