Recipe of the Week: Honkin' Hamburgers

Don't you love it when you go out to a brew pub or steak house for a burger and it tastes like they pulled the meat right out of the package and slapped it on the grill? Restaurants can advertise fresh ingredients all day long, but if they don't bother to season their food, what's the point of eating it?

Not to worry. This recipe will provide you with one of the tastiest and juiciest burgers you've ever had.

HONKIN' HAMBURGERS

1½ lbs. ground beef (none of that lean crap, either)
6 fresh Kaiser buns, toasted
2 tbsp. dried chopped onion flakes
¼ cup chopped fresh red pimiento pepper
2 tbsp. chopped pickled jalapenos, plus 2 tsp. pickling juice
2 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. onion powder
½ tsp. cumin
1 tsp. black pepper
1 tsp. kosher salt
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

1. Before mixing ingredients, put dried onion flakes in a small glass and fill with water until submerged (about equal parts onion and water). This will hydrate the onions so they become soft. Drain any excess water before adding to beef.

2. Add all ingredients to a large mixing bowl. Using your hand, combine all ingredients thoroughly like you would if preparing a meatloaf.

(Note: If you're serving guests who can't tolerate spicy food, you may want to eliminate the jalapenos; but, if you can get away with adding the juice from the jar, do it because it's a key to moist burgers.)

3. Form mixture first into large meatballs, then press between your hands to form patties. If you have trouble doing this with your hands, a trick is to put the meat is a small cereal bowl and press it to the bottom. Patties should be at least ¾-inch thick.

4. Arrange patties on a lined cookie sheet and refrigerate until ready to cook. You can also freeze them for about 45 minutes prior to cooking to firm them up for the grill. This is also a good trick if you like burgers cooked medium, as the cooler center before cooking will result in a pinker center when patties are done.

5. Preheat outdoor grill or interior grill surface to low heat. Cook patties 3 to 4 minutes each side for medium, adjusting times accordingly for more rare or well done burgers. If you want to add cheese, do it after turning them.

(Note: DO NOT CONTINUALLY TURN PATTIES once on the grill. Good cooks turn their meat ONCE. Repeated fooling around with your patties will eventually lead to a poorly cooked (usually overcooked) product, not to mention begin to disintegrate the patties.)

6. When patties are cooked to your liking, remove and place on buns immediately. Garnish burgers with any condiments you like. I prefer and slab of sweet onion, ketchup, mustard, mayo, lettuce, and tomato. You can also substitute the mayo with sour cream.

Makes 6 burgers.

Comments

[KevinP]

Why dried onion flakes instead of finely diced raw onion?

Is it cooking time, or texture, or something else?

[trevor]

Diced raw onion would be just fine, too, but the onion flakes (which are hydrated prior to adding to mixture) are small and tend to stay in the patties better during grilling.

Plus, they remind me of McDonald's onions, which are just about the only redeeming feature of that restaurant anymore.

I wouldn't run out and buy onion flakes if you've got an onion lying around - in the end, it's the fact that you have them in there in the first place that makes all the difference.