Herb Burgers – Serves 4
Ingredients:
1 Pair of clean hands to mix the burgers
1 pound ground sirloin, chuck or 92/8 hamburger
Spices:
If dried (from your indoor herb garden of course) – If using fresh herbs, double the dried amount
½ teaspoon dried Rosemary or 1 teaspoon fresh
½ teaspoon Curled Parsley or Flat Leaf or both your choice
1 clove garlic minced or 4 to 6 leaves garlic chives chopped fine
Pinch of salt
Good grind of fresh ground black pepper
1 to 2 tablespoons of steak sauce. Mine are Heinz 57 or Kroger 1888.
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
Instructions:
If you still can get your meat wrapped in butcher paper, the mixing can be done on the paper. Otherwise put the meat in a large mixing bowl.
Using your hand, flatten the meat into a flat shape about 1 inch thick with a small indentation in the center of the big flat patty.
Sprinkle the spices over the top of the big patty.
Sprinkle the pinch salt and good grind of pepper over the patty.
Put the steak sauce and Worcestershire sauce in the small indentation in the center of the patty.
Fold over the edges of the patty on all sides to cover the sauces in the center.
Using one or both hands mix the ingredients by squeezing the meat out between your fingers. Continue mixing until you can feel the sauces, the fat in the meat and the lean parts combine into a cohesive whole. As soon as you reach this point, stop mixing.
Divide the meat into 4 equal patties about ¼ pounds each.
If cooking on the grill, cook about 3 to 4 minutes on each side with a medium flame for a medium rare. Let each burger cook on one side for the full time before turning.
If cooking on the stove. Use a medium 4 to 5 heat for electric stove. Adjust to medium heat for a gas stove if you have that kind.
Put 2 teaspoons olive oil in the pan and preheat for about 4 minutes. When you put the burgers in the pan, they should sizzle and start cooking right away. Cook about 4 to 5 minutes on one side before turning.
Cooking on one side at a time will seal in the juices and the sauces inside will keep the burgers from drying out.
Check your burger after turning it over. If it looks too rare for you, cook it one minute longer than the first round.
You can also cook the burger in the oven broiler with the broiler pan on the second slot down from the broiler element. If you have the meat too close, it will burn or worse may catch fire from popping fat.
One minute before the cooking time is expired, put a slice of your favorite cheese on top of the patty to make a cheeseburger. Or not.
When each burger is cooked to your satisfaction, serve on a toasted sesame seed hamburger bun with a good Dijon or stone ground mustard and ketchup.
Accompany with a good cole slaw, baked beans, potato salad or cooked vegetables.
This is just the way I do it. Play around with the recipe a bit. Substitute basil for the parsley or rosemary. Or try a little thyme in the mix.