Wednesday, December 2, 2009

Burgers: Go Fancy or Go Simple?

Like many other Americans, I hosted a BBQ on the 4th of July. Unlike many Americans, I was expecting some seriously finicky eaters to attend: vegetarians, food critics, and a whole posse of eco-conscious yoga instructors. Frankly, I was nervous about crafting a menu. I felt like I had two choices: Go fancy or go traditional. In other words: Pander to the need for diversity (salmon, turkey, and veggie burgers) . . . on whole-wheat buns . . . with exotic spices and condiments. Or fire up a mountain of 80% lean beef burgers, toast the regular-Joe buns, simply point at the ketchup bottle, and let the anti-carnivorous eat grilled peppers, salad, and chips and dip.

Love burgers? Check out 21 top-rated burger recipes including beef, turkey and veggie

Thanks to the input of my wife, Dorothy (a vegetarian with unusual compassion for meat lovers), we made a little bit of everything. She is Polish so this is in her blood; she makes way too much food knowing that we can always store leftovers.

But when I was taking orders from guests, I discovered that familiarity is what people want.  Nearly every guest asked for a simple burger, and not the ones made with a special blend of pork and beef. Not the ones mixed with pepper, salt, cayenne, and spices randomly pulled from the overflowing spice rack. And not the ones with pre-cooked bacon strategically placed inside the patty, which I thought would be the killer recipe of the day.

I even had someone ask me how I seasoned my burgers, and he had just eaten a non-seasoned burger. I told him the secret was in the grilling technique.

What's your killer burger recipe?

by James Oliver Cury

Pictured: Bacon Swiss Burgers with Tomato and Avocado

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From the Community…

Comments 1-9 of 9
  • Sheelah N's Avatar
    Posted by Sheelah N Wed Jul 8, 2009 1:15pm PDT

    kosher salt and coarse ground pepper. Thats all folks.

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  • chris's Avatar
    Posted by chris Wed Jul 8, 2009 3:30pm PDT

    garlic salt and pepper

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  • Laura's Avatar
    Posted by Laura Thu Jul 9, 2009 5:12am PDT

    A splash of milk in the ground beef. Very tender and jucie burgers.

    Report Abuse
  • InLove's Avatar
    Posted by InLove Thu Jul 9, 2009 7:06am PDT

    Beef, salt, pepper, A1, bread crumbs, cayenne pepper, onion powder, and garlic salt. Amazing!

    Report Abuse
  • xo's Avatar
    Posted by xo Thu Jul 9, 2009 9:30am PDT

    80/20 ground beef, made into patty's then sprinkled liberally with coarse ground black pepper and sea salt. Put them on the grill, let them grill to a nice medium, then let them rest for 2-3 minutes under an aluminum foil tent.

    Make some bacon, put a few slices on the burger and some freshly grated extra sharp cheddar cheese.

    Serve on TEXAS TOAST.

    Amazing.

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  • Pam's Avatar
    Posted by Pam Thu Jul 9, 2009 11:38am PDT

    Ground beef season all garlic pepper grill top with extra sharp cheddar lettuce tomato pickles mustard mayo ketshup on the side enjoy

    Or the same as above with blue chesse lettuce tomato & mayo extra yummy.

    Report Abuse
  • Pam's Avatar
    Posted by Pam Thu Jul 9, 2009 11:38am PDT

    forgot on a regular JOE bun

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  • LB-inator's Avatar
    Posted by LB-inator Thu Jul 9, 2009 2:20pm PDT

    What is the recipe for the ones with bacon in them? Sounds yummy.

    Report Abuse
  • Kristy's Avatar
    Posted by Kristy Fri Jul 10, 2009 2:50am PDT

    i like plain cheezeburgerssss

    yummyy =DD

    Report Abuse
Comments 1-9 of 9

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