Dan in the Kitchen -- Ranch Burgers

Yesterday, I made a batch of brioche buns with hamburgers in mind. But, they turned out to be small and biscuit-like, so I decided to eat them for breakfast instead, maybe slathered with a little jam or cherry butter. Problem is, there are a lot of buns, and I don't actually eat breakfast much. Dan doesn't either, unless it's a muffin or bagel. Hmm.

My main concern with using the brioche buns for burgers was that they wouldn't be sturdy enough to stand up to a thick, juicy patty. Dan thought they would work though, so...hello, Dan in the Kitchen #4! I'm always happy to stand aside and let someone else cook dinner.

These ranch burgers were inspired by one of the Ranch dressing commercials -- you know, the one where a woman is cooking dinner for her family and she decides to throw a packet of Ranch powder into a bowl of ground beef to give her burgers extra flavor. Seemed like a tasty idea, so we decided to give it a try.

Honestly? Couldn't really taste the Ranch. The burgers were juicy and meaty, but I think our beef to Ranch ratio was too skewed in favor of beef to taste anything other than cow. We'll have to try using two packets of Ranch next time. (Oh, and the buns held up just fine! They're sturdier than they look.)

Ranch Burgers

Ingredients:
- 1/2 lb ground beef

- 1 to 2 packets Ranch dressing powder

- 2 brioche buns

Steps:

(1) Fire up your outdoor grill, or set your indoor grill to "high."

(2) In a large bowl, mix Ranch powder and ground beef until well mixed.

(3) Divide your ground beef into two portions, and shape them into patties.
** Note from Dan: Ground meat is really gross, and working with it by hand is not the greatest sensation. But, you have to suck it up and pack your patties firmly, or you'll end up with a crumbly burger.

(4) Grill your patties for about 4-5 minutes on each side. Resist the urge to flip constantly.
(5) Slice brioche buns in half, and lay them on the grill for about a minute.
(6) Slide your burgers onto your toasted buns.
(7) Eat hot, with all the fixings.

Loco Moco

Two of my college friends got married in Hawaii recently. (I know. So jealous.) Sadly, I wasn't invited to the wedding -- ahem, Sonia -- but I've been facebook stalking the photo albums of the people who went, so it kind of feels like I was there too. Note to self: must go to Hawaii soon.

From what I can tell, when the wedding guests weren't watching the two love birds join in holy matrimony, they were stuffing their faces with yummy Hawaiian food. Everything looked delicious, but it was the pictures of loco moco that really had me drooling. Rice, gravy, hamburger, and a fried egg? I'm so there! 

The ingredients for loco mocos are simple, the recipe is straightforward, and I was chowing down on a delicious Hawaiian meal in less than 45 minutes. The only way I could have enjoyed this more is if I were eating it in Hawaii. Sigh. (Just kidding -- congratulations, Sonia and Kevin!)

Recipe can be found here, courtesy of the Jun-blog.
** Note: I thought plain ol' meat gravy would be too boring, so I made a cream-based mushroom gravy instead. Super delicious!

Hanbagu (Japanese Hamburger Steak)

So, my friend Spike and I have been having intense gchat conversations about what we can do with all the ground beef we've got on our hands.  We each saw family-sized packs of ground beef on sale at the grocery store a couple weeks ago and couldn't resist getting in on the deal. Seemed like a pretty idea at the time, but now we've each got 5 lbs of meat in the freezer. That is a lot of meat, guys.

I used up a little over a pound of the meat for stuffed burgers a few weeks ago, and Spike made both burgers and meatballs.  Not sure what he's going to do with the rest of his meat, but I have grand plans for kimchi fried rice, empanadas, and maybe sliders. Today, though, it's Japanese hamburger steaks topped with a runny egg for lunch. Delicious! 2.5lbs down, 2.5 more to go. Oy.

Hanbagu (Japanese Hamburger Steak)

Ingredients: (Makes 2 hamburg steaks)

- 1 lb ground beef

- 1/2 cup onions, diced and cooked until soft

- 1 tbsp garlic powder

- 1 tbsp salt + more for sprinkling

- 1 tsp crushed red pepper

- 1 cup panko bread crumbs

- 2 eggs.

Steps:

(1) In a large bowl, combine all ingredients. Stir until well mixed.

(2) Divide meat mixture into two equal parts. Shape into patties.

(3) In a large pan, fry patties in olive oil until a nice crust forms on the outside -- about 2-3 minutes on each side. Place on plates and set aside.

(4) Cook two eggs sunny side up, and top each cooked patty with an egg. Sprinkle a dash of salt/pepper on the egg for flavor.

(5) Serve with some nice vegetable sides -- spinach, potatoes, carrots, etc.

Cheddar-Stuffed Jalapeno Burger

Dan was jonesing hard for Five Guy's  and Ray's Hell Burger this weekend. Who can blame him? They've got amazing burgers! But, getting to Five Guy's meant spending 30 minutes in intense local traffic, and Ray's Hell Burger is always packed to the gills on weekends, so neither option seemed particularly appealing.  We didn't want to give up burgers altogether though, so we decided to buy ground beef and make/grill our own. What a great idea that was! The smell of grilled burgers is such a nice, summery smell, isn't it? And, the homemade burgers were unbelievably yummy -- juicy and bursting with flavor. So good, in fact, that we ended up making them for dinner two nights in a row.

This picture doesn't do a good job of capturing how massive this burger was, but trust me...it was huge. Dan and I each ate half and felt completely stuffed. And just look at that crispy bacon, thick patty and oozing cheese. So. Good.

Cheddar-Stuffed Jalapeno Burger

Ingredients: (Makes one very large burger)

- 2/3 lb ground beef

- 1 jalapeno pepper, chopped into little pieces

- 1 handful of grated cheddar

- 1 tbsp onion powder

- 1 tbsp salt

Steps:

(1) In a large bowl, combined ground beef, chopped peppers, salt, and onion powder. Mix well, then divide into 2 portions of equal size.

(2) Take one portion of ground beef and shape it into a large patty, about 1/2 inch thick and 4 inches in diameter.

(3) Spoon grated cheese into the center of the patty, leaving about half an inch to 1 inch around the edges uncovered for sealing.

(4) Shape second patty into roughly the same size and shape as the first. Carefully lay it on top of the first patty, and press down on the edges to seal.

(5) Turn giant patty over and make sure there are no cracks in the meat. Shape to your satisfaction, then slap it on the grill!

(6) Grill on high for about 7 minutes, flipping after a couple minutes on each side.

(7) Serve on a large kaiser roll, with tomatoes, lettuce, and condiments of your choosing.