A1 Burgers

Burgers are one of my favorite foods and though I'm not an overly picky eater, I think many restaurants serve mediocre patties. That's why I like to save burger-eating for at home where I can customize everything.

Ingredients [serves 4]:
1-1/4 lb ground beef
5 potato buns
1/4 cup diced onions
3 cloves minced garlic
3 tablespoons A1 steak sauce (or Worcestershire if you don't have A1 on hand)
1 egg
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper

optional toppings: cheese, onions, mushrooms, jalapenos

Combine the ground beef, egg, diced onion, minced garlic, A1 sauce, salt, pepper, and 1 potato roll that's been ripped into small pieces in a large bowl. Use your hands to combine the meat mixture. Don't squeeze the meat, since that will make it tough and chewy. Instead, fold the ingredients using your hand like a paddle or scoop.


To form even patties, score the meat in the bowl (which is a trick I learned from Rachael Ray). Make an 'X'  so that you have a general idea of how much meat should go in each patty. I like making giant thick patties. Each patty will probably be around 1/4 lb after it's done cooking.

If you want to grill the burgers, go ahead, but since they're so thick and hearty, I recommend putting down some foil so they don't fall apart on the grate. Cook the patties for about 5 minutes on the first side until you get some nice color and then flip so they can cook on the second side for about 4 minutes. This is when I like to push the patties to the side and grill some onions and mushrooms to go on top. Once the mushrooms and onions are done, I flip the patties over one more time, top with cheese (I like using shredded cheese because it melts faster), and then top with the onions and mushrooms.

I think sliced jalapenos go really well with this burger too.

Place the patties on a toasted potato roll. Leave a bottle of A1 on the table for anyone who wants extra. Oh, and make sure there are plenty of napkins as these giant burgers can get messy.

This is what a burger should be - thick and hearty - and more burger than bread.

I like to serve these with the pasta salad from yesterday.