[I Grilled] Burgers!

It's grilling season! I wait for it impatiently all winter long, and expect to embrace warmer weather at any moment. April gets here, and it's still feels like winter. It didn't really get warm until May, after my parents lovingly bought me a new grill and then the next day (and the following two weeks) it rained all the time and was gross. Really?! Well, it's June now, and hotter than hell, so I am in heaven.

What do I love most about grilling? The simplicity of it. You can take about any piece of meat, throw it on those grates, and you're done. Granted, you can get fancy with all your marinades, rubs, wood chips and smoker packets. My favorite thing is just a simple burger. I threw together some burgers the other night after I got out of work late, and wanted something quick and easy. I also had to take care of a long standing burger craving.

So, I got out my 80/20 meat and made my patties. I prefer to make my own patties instead of pre-made ones. They are perfect for burgers; they are juicy, and hold up extremely well regardless of how well done like them. And to really make them hold together well, I add a little mayo. Then I add some Worcestershire sauce, garlic powder, onion powder, and McCormick's Montreal Steak grill blend. This blend gives them so much flavor. Spreading the patties out evenly is important. To help them cook faster, push your thumb into the middle of the patty, leaving an indent.

My patties are generally thick but I leave a dent in the center so they cook more evenly. (I flipped the dented side over here).

Throw those on a hot (high heat) grill, and cook on one side for about 5 minutes. Flip and cook 4-5 minutes more. If you like cheese, add the cheese in the last minute of grilling. I usually move my patties up to the top grill rack for more indirect heat and add cheese until it it gets all melty (I used white american here).

I added the burgers to a Brioche bun, with ketchup, mustard, and pickles (plural, must have lots of pickles), and done. 15 minutes later, and I have dinner. Now, go grill some burgers, you know you want one now!

I store leftover ground beef in freezer. To prep for freezing, wrap in parchment paper or plastic wrap, and then in foil. Otherwise, the frozen meat will get 'stuck' to the foil when you unwrap it. And separate it into sections for faster thawing :).

Comments

Favorite Sushi Place in St. Louis

My boyfriend did not like the idea of sushi. Cold, raw sea creatures wrapped in seaweed and other unknown things. Something cooked and warm sounded more suitable. He asked me where i'd like to go for my birthday dinner. I love sushi, so obvious choice! We were also newer to the St. Louis scene, and wasn't sure what was good. It took us a while to find this place, but once we both tried it we were hooked. He started his sushi journey with a tame maki roll; the middle roll pictured here called the Sakura Roll . The salmon is fried, with cucumber, avocado and spicy mayo wrapped in pink soy paper. Guess what part he didn't like? The soy paper was pink ;). Now it's our go-to sushi place. It's Wasabi Sushi Bar in Town and Country. It's close, and they have Tuesday $6 sushi roll specials. So, that is where we spend a lot of our Tuesdays! We powered through these last Tuesday. From left to right are the Wasabi Special, Spicy Mango , Sakura, Spicy Omega, and my favo...

I Ate: Pumpkin .....

Many people have asked me if I am obsessed with pumpkin spice. I would say that anyone who likes eating weird artificially flavored coffee, cheerios, cereal, and even pop-tarts because it has the name 'pumpkin spice' in it, or hitting up Starbucks everyday for their PSL fix is obsessed. I am not obsessed. That doesn't mean I haven't tried my fair share of pumpkin infused items that most would not rationally think would make it taste good. Let's talk about what I ate/drank recently that I would encourage anyone to try, and might change the minds of those that think us pumpkin lovers are crazy. Schlafly Pumpkin Ale This would surprise you. If the idea of eating froufrou beer turns you away from this seasonal flavor, I get it. I didn't try it until yesterday, which happened to be National Pumpkin Day. I thought, today I will try this in light of the holiday. AND it might suck. It didn't! Not overly sweet, not artificial. it's literally made from the ma...

Whiskey Cupcakes

We helped Tyler's brother move from one end of Tennessee to the other. I wanted to bring a housewarming gift, and I came up with this recipe. On one of our trips we took down there, he took us to the Jack Daniels Distillery. It was a fun experience, and enjoyed the tasting room lined with all of their hand-made oak barrels filled with their aging whiskey. This recipe is adapted from www.delectablebakehouse.com. The whiskey and coffee make them super moist and the caramel frosting makes them more unique than the average cupcake. Ingredients 2 cups flour 3/4 cup cocoa or cacao powder. I used cacao powder. It adds an intense chocolate flavor which came out wonderfully in these cupcakes. Cacao powder has it's health benefits as well (as long as you don't put them in cupcakes all of the time :) ). Because cocoa is processed at a higher temperature than cacao, the difference is the nutrients are more depleted than cacao. 2 cups sugar 2 tsp baking soda 1 tsp...

Blondie Likes Food

Search This Blog