Faux Juicy Lucy

I was watching the show Man vs. Food on the Travel Channel and the host traveled to Minneapolis to taste the famous juicy Lucy at Matt's bar. Little did I know that there is another restaurant, called the 5/8's, that also has a Juicy Lucy in their menu. There is a debate about who came up with the original Lucy and where the best one is, but just to refresh your memory, a juicy Lucy is a lot of cheddar cheese stuffed in-between two hamburgers then it's pan-grilled to perfection. I was craving this wonderful burger and I came up with my own version. Of course, it wasn't as good at the one at Matt's Bar, but it definitely calmed my craving.

INGREDIENTS (makes 1 juicy Lucy)

• 2 - 1/4 lb. hamburger patties
• Slices of Tillamook mild cheddar cheese
• Salt and pepper
• Hamburger fixin's like onion, tomato, mayo, and pickles

DIRECTIONS

Take your two hamburger patties and flatten them down just a tad bit more to 1/4" thick. Place smallish slices of cheddar cheese in the middle of one patty, leaving about 1/8" border around the hamburger. Top it with the other patty and smoosh the sides good so that it forms a tight seal around the hamburgers.

Heat a non-stick pan on medium-high and add a teaspoon of vegetable or canola oil. Season one side of the hamburger with salt and pepper and place it on the pan, seasoned side down. Season the other side while you cook for about 8 minutes (yeah, I know it's a long time, but remember you have cheese in the middle). Turn patty over and cook another 6 to 8 minutes.

Make sure the hamburger rests for at least 5 minutes before you serve it because it's hot! Serve in a hamburger bun with a little mayo, shredded lettuce, tomato and pickles.

Mikey Burgers

My brother-in-law, Michael, is staying with us for now and he had an insatiable craving for hamburgers a few days ago. Perhaps he was craving burgers because we have a new grill and the weather is quite nice here, or he's just low in iron. Nevertheless, he prepared these hamburgers for us and they were really good. He, of course, added all 5 cloves of garlic, but it's definitely up to you. We also used excellent buns we bought at Mike's new favorite place, Panchita's Bakery in Golden Hill.

INGREDIENTS (makes 6 to 7 burgers)

• 1 lb. ground chuck
• 1 lb. ground sirloin
• half a red onion, chopped
• 3 to 5 garlic cloves, chopped
• 3 to 5 dashes of Worcestershire Sauce
• Salt & pepper
• Hamburger buns, lettuce, tomato, onions, mayo, mustard, catsup, etc...

DIRECTIONS

In a large bowl add the ground chuck and ground sirloin, the chopped onions and garlic and mix, gently, with your hands until it's well combined. Add several dashes of worshy sauce and mix to combine again.

Lay out a piece of parchment on a shallow tray and start forming your patties. Place patties over parchment.

Let the patties rest 10 minutes before you start grilling.

Setup your grill for direct-heat grilling and grill patties, about 5 minutes per side, or depending on how you like them. While patties are on grill, season with salt and pepper. And if you want cheese, place a slice of American during the last two minutes of grilling.

Veggie Sliders

I am trying to cut down my meat intake and start eating a bit more vegetarian foods in between and the only thing I could come up with was a veggie burger. I'm sure there are ton of other healthy, veggie options out there, but this was the first thing that came to mind. So, I searched for an easy veggie burger that didn't require me to cook all sorts of grains and beans, and I came up with this recipe. The garbanzo bean base for the veggie pattie comes from 101 Cookbooks, but the addition of rye berries and nuts was totally my tweak. Also, the sprouts are optional, and I think I'll omit them the next time I make these. The patties were flavorful and, oh boy so filling!

INGREDIENTS (makes 12 mini patties or 6 regular patties)

• 1 (15 ounce) can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
• 1/2 cup cooked whole rye berries (to cook add 1/3 cup whole rye berries to 1 cup boiling water, cover and simmer for 25 to 30 minutes until all water is absorbed)
• 4 large eggs
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
• 2 Tablespoons grated onion
• 1 garlic clove, grated (I grate mine over a microplane)
• Grated zest of one lemon
• 1 cup micro sprouts, chopped (try brocolli, onion, or alfalfa sprouts - optional)
• 1/4 cup very finely chopped walnuts or almonds
• 1 cup toasted bread crumbs
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil (or clarified butter)
• 12 mini hamburger buns for sliders or 6 regular hamburger buns for larger patties (I used Crumpets because they were on sale...LOL)

DIRECTIONS

Combine the garbanzo beans, cooked rye berries, eggs, and salt in a food processor or blender. Puree until the mixture is the consistency of a very thick, slightly chunky hummus. Pour into a mixing bowl and stir in the parsley, onion, grated garlic, lemon zest, chopped nuts, and sprouts. Add the breadcrumbs, stir, and let sit for a couple of minutes so the crumbs can absorb some of the moisture. At this point, you should have a moist mixture that you can easily form into twelve 1 1/2-inch-thick patties or 6 regular sized hamburger patties. Place patties on a baking sheet lined with wax paper and place in the refrigerator for 15 minutes.

Heat the oil in a heavy skillet over medium low, add 4 mini patties or 2 regular sized patties, cover, and cook for 7 to 10 minutes, until the bottoms begin to brown. Turn up the heat if there is no browning after 10 minutes. Flip the patties and cook the second side for 7 minutes, or until golden. Remove from the skillet and cook the remaining patties.

Make your sliders like you would a regular hamburger, however I would omit mayo and ketchup as the patties are quite flavorful by themselves. I'd suggest you put a little bit of mustard and one or two pickes and thinly sliced tomatoes, and perhaps a slice of American cheese.

Hamburger Sliders

What exactly is a slider? Basically, it's a mini hamburger that can usually be eating in one or two bites. Sliders became quite popular after White Castle started serving them back in 1923! And now, they are even more popular with stoners around the world after the movie, Harold and Kumar go to White Castle. I actually prefer these type of mini-burgers because I feel like I'm not overeating and I don't particularly like lettuce and tomato on my burgers. Anyhoo, happy 4th of July!

INGREDIENTS (makes 12 sliders)

• 12 dinner rolls (Parker House shape, 2 1/2 inches)
• 1 pound lean ground beef
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• About 1 1/2 cup water, divided
• 3/4 cup diced white onions
• 1 beef bouillon cube
• 1/2 to 1 cup water
• 12 round pickle slices
• American cheese, optional

DIRECTIONS

Place ground beef, salt and 1/2 cup of the water in a food process, and process for a few seconds to ensure that water and salt are blended through the beef.

Place plastic wrap on the counter. Place hamburger in the middle, then place another pieces of plastic wrap on top of the meat. Roll the hamburger out to 1/4-inch thick. Remove plastic wrap; cut meat into 3-inch squares. Perforate each piece five times with a plastic straw (this forms the steam holes). Cover hamburger squares with plastic wrap. Freeze until partially frozen, but no frozen solid.

Meanwhile, place onions, beef bouillon and 1/2 cup water in a frying pan. Sauté over medium-low heat, stirring until the onions are translucent, adding more water as needed. Remove from heat until ready to cook hamburger patties.

To prepare patties, heat frying pan with the onions over medium-low heat; add water to onions just until the bottom of the frying pan is covered. Place patties in pan; cover with lid. It will only take a short time for the patties to cook on one side. Flip, place a bun bottom on top of the patty and cook on the other side for a very short time. The patties should be juicy and your buns steamy!

Add a pickle, a few of the sautéed onions then cover hamburgers and serve immediately. YUMMERS!

Cheddar-Stuffed Burgers

Can you believe summertime is almost gone? It has been so hot and humid here in San Diego lately that it seemed like summer would last forever, but last night the winds changed it's definitely getting cooler now (yes, that's like 70 degrees for us!!!). As a last hurrah, make these cheddar-stuffed burgers to remind you of summer and get you ready for the fall.

Grilling Method: Direct/Medium

INGREDIENTS (makes 6 burgers)

• 1 pound ground sirloin
• 1 pound ground chuck
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 teaspoon Coleman's dry mustard
• Kosher salt
• Coarse black pepper, freshly ground (about ¼ cup)
• 6 - 2 inch cubes of sharp cheddar cheese
• 6 hamburger buns
• 6 crisp lettuce leaves (optional)
• 6 slices ripe tomato (optional)
• Ketchup (optional)
• Mustard (optional)
• Mayonnaise (optional)

DIRECTIONS

Being careful not to over-work the meat, mix the sirloin and chuck, add the Worcestershire sauce, mustard and salt until just combined. Portion the meat into 6 equal pieces and shape each patty around one cube of cheese and set aside.

Meanwhile, put peppers on a shallow plate and roll the rim of each burger in the pepper until it is coated in a "stripe" of pepper. (The burgers can be made up to this point one day earlier and kept refrigerated.)

When ready to grill, place burgers on the cooking grate and grill until the meat is no longer pink, 8 to 10 minutes, turning once halfway through grilling time. Meanwhile grill the buns over Direct heat until lightly toasted, if desired.

Serve immediately on the buttered rolls with a lettuce leaf and tomato if desired. Serve with traditional condiments on the side.

Recipe from Girlsatthegrill.com

Blue Cheese Stuffed Hamburgers

This is my modified Emeril Lagasse stuffed hamburger recipe. These hamburgers are quite tasty but if you're not a blue cheese lover, try using cubes of pepper jack or even feta! Since I do not have Emeril's "Essence" I used grilled seasoning, but you can also use Goya seasoning or your favorite meat seasoning.

INGREDIENTS (serves 4)

• 2 pounds ground beef chuck
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/24teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon grill seasoning
• 12 ounces blue cheese
• 4 large whole wheat buns, split in half
• Desired condiments, such as sliced tomatoes, romaine, sliced onions, and avocados

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat a gas or charcoal grill. (Alternately, cook the patties in a large skillet over medium-high heat.
2. In a bowl, combine the beef, garlic, salt, pepper, and grill seasoning, and mix gently but thoroughly. Divide into 8 equal patties. In a separate bowl, crumble the cheese and form into 4 equal patties.
3. Place 1 cheese patty on each of 4 beef patties. Top with remaining 4 beef patties, pinching the edges under to seal the cheese completely.
4. Place the stuffed patties on the grill and cook to desired temperature, about 3 to 4 minutes per side for medium-rare. (Alternately, cook the patties in a large skillet over medium-high heat.)
5. Place the buns on the grill, inside down, until just warmed through, about 30 seconds. Remove the patties and buns from the grill and place on serving plates. Garnish with condiments and serve immediately.

BurgerTime

Can you believe that I got a desperate craving for a hamburger on Good Friday? Jeez! Instead, I had sushi but I found a suitable replacement for my craving with this very addicting game, BurgerTime. For you old school peeps like me, you'll remember this Atari game....or was it Intellivision? Hmmm...

Princess' Puerto Rican Burgers

Matthew woke up with a wicked hamburger craving on Sunday morning. So, instead of going out to a fast food restaurant, we decided to make it a grill day. Usually, in my family, we don't cook on Sundays. It is customary to go out to eat after church but since my parents and sister had already gone to church on Saturday instead--it's one of those Catholic loopholes--we fired up the grill at their place on Sunday afternoon. Now, what makes this a Puerto Rican burger? Well, mainly the Goya seasoning. And I just wanted to give this recipe a clever name. And who is Princess, you ask? She's our twelve year old little Chihuahua or "pinchi Princess" as we affectionately call her. She kept Matthew company the entire time he was grilling. Additionally this little doggie likes to eat cheese, grilled onions, avocados and beans. A true Mexican, if you ask me.

INGREDIENTS (6 large patties)

• 2 pounds Ground Beef (85% lean) or Ground Chuck
• 1 TBSP. Goya Adobo All-Purpose Seasoning without pepper
• 1 TSP. Salt
• 1/2 TSP. Ground black pepper
• 1 TBSP. A-1 Steak Sauce or Worcestershire Sauce
• 6 Slices of cheddar cheese or pepper-jack
• 1 package of hamburger buns
• Ketchup, Mayo, Mustard, Lettuce, Onions or any other fixin's you want.

DIRECTIONS

First, make sure your grill is clean. Lubricate the grates with oil (fold a paper towel and dab it in oil then, with your tongs, run it over the grill grates). Turn on your grill on high. Next, in a bowl, mix the first five ingredients together with your hands (make sure you take off your rings). Form 6 hamburger patties. Turn down the heat on the grill to medium high and place the patties on the grill. At this point you can also cut an onion into 1/2" rounds and place it on the grill. Since these patties are thick, grill them about 10 minutes on one side then 8 on the other for medium-well (no pink). During the last 2 minutes of cooking, add a slice of cheese on each patty. Once they are done, let the hamburgers rest on a platter for 5 minutes before serving. Also, remove the onions from the grill.

Here Matt is grilling the Puerto Rican burgers, turkey burgers, bratwurst and sliced onions.

The Grill Cam VOILA!