Burger Bonanza with Event Round Up!

What’s summer without burgers on the grill?! Today I had some folks over for a burger bonanza. With a full burger ingredient bar at everyone’s disposal, we were able to make some amazing burgers.

For my burger ingredient bar, I offered an assortment of ingredients folks could mix into their burgers (turkey or beef) including: Spices: salt, pepper, italian seasoning, onion powder, garlic powder, dill seasoning, rosemary herb seasoning, citrus basil rub, peppercorn garlic rub, Thai seasoning, dried lemongrass, “Back of the Yard’s spice seasoning, Montreal steak seasoning, oregano, pastrami spice mix, cinnamon chipotle seasoning

Condiments: Chili garlic paste, fig & walnut confit, shallot confit, horseradish, French mustard, olive tapenade, soy sauce, liquid smoke, balsamic vinegar, sweet onion & blue cheese dressing, chopped garlic, french fried onions, crumbled bacon

Cheeses: Danish blue cheese crumbles, grated romano, brie, parmesan, asiagoWith so many various ingredients to combine our ground turkey and ground beef with, you can only imagine the wonderful burger combinations we came up with! After we prepared our burgers, it was off to the grill… Now with our burgers done, we all moved towards the burger topping bar I offered. The things I had out for my guests to top their burgers with included:

Cheeses: pepper jack, colby jack, mild cheddar, mozzarella, baby swiss, american

Veggies: romaine & iceberg lettuce, sliced hierloom tomatoes, sliced cucumbers, sliced red onion, sauteed mushrooms

Condiments: ketchup, mustard, relish, honey BBQ sauce, mayo, salsa

Buns: white & whole wheat

Accompaniments: chips, cheese tortellini pasta salad, fresh watermelon & Toll House chocolate chip cookies, tropical fruit spritzer & assorted beers With some leftover turkey & beef to play with, I took advantage of this time to make some burgers that I plan on serving during July 4th. Here are the burger combinations I made to freeze & enjoy later…

With ground beef:
– caramelized mushrooms, bacon, minced garlic, shallot confit, “Back of the Yards” seasoning
– blue cheese crumbles, crumbled bacon, shallot confit, balsamic vinegar, minced garlic
– cinnamon chipotle seasoning, onion powder, minced garlic, black pepper, french fried onions
– grated romano cheese, montreal seasoning, french fried onions

With ground turkey:
– italian sausage mixture, romano cheese, shallot confit, minced garlic, black pepper, salt
– pastrami spice mixture
– fig & walnut confit, black pepper, stuffed with a brie cheese center, salt
– chili garlic paste, dried lemongrass, onion powder, garlic powder, black pepper, salt

To join in the fun, we had some great blogger entries submitted for the corresponding “Burger Bonanza Blogging Event! The winner of the Burger Bonanza giveaway is Kristy of Kristy’s Recipes! She won a great burger cookbook filled with various recipes using chicken, turkey, beef, pork, seafood and vegetables to try out. Check Kristy’s entries as well as others below for additional inspiration on some burger ideas:

Blackeyed Bean Burger
submitted by Divya of Dil Se
from Los Angeles, CA

Black – eyed beans – 1 cup
Chickpeas – 1/2 cup
Onion – 1/2 chopped roughly
Ginger – 1 inch
Garlic – 3 pods
Green Chillies – 2
Cumin powder – 1 teaspoon
Coriander powder – 2 teaspoons
Gram flour / Besan – 3 tablespoons
Lime juice – 1 tablespoon
Salt to taste

Add all these ingredients and blend them together and adjust the salt and seasonings.
Add a little water if necessary while blending..The blended mixture should hold together to form patties.If it is too wet and do not hold together, add a little more flour..
Divide into equal sized balls and press them slightly to form patties of about quarter inch thick..
Refridgerate for about half an hour so that it becomes firm..
It can be cooked shallow frying, deep-frying or baking them..
If baked it should be brushed with oil..Otherwise it might dry off..They should be cooked until they turn golden brown in colour..
I baked them and topped the patties with tomato, onions, mustard sauce, jalapeno pickles and lettuce..Place these between burger buns and enjoy!

Asian Pork Burgers
submitted by Elly of Elly Says Opa!
from Chicago, IL

1 lb. ground pork
1.5 Tbsp. low sodium soy sauce
2 scallions (whites and greens), sliced
3 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
1 knob ginger, peeled and minced or grated
1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes
salt (not a lot since you have the soy sauce) and pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients together (being careful not to overmix) and form into patties. Grill until done, about 6 minutes per side.

For the slaw, I don’t have a real recipe. All I did was stir fry some veggies (shredded cabbage and carrots, bean sprouts, and mushrooms) and then stirred in a little soy sauce and fish sauce at the end).

Ground Chicken Taco Burgers
submitted by Kristy of Kristy’s Recipes

1 pound ground chicken
1 tablespoon dried minced onion
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 package dry taco seasoning mix
1 egg
salt and pepper, to taste

Combine all ingredients. Shape into hamburgers. Grill.
Top with cheese if desired.

Buffalo Chicken Burgers
submitted by Kristy of Kristy’s Recipes

1 package ground chicken
1 cup panko bread crumbs
1 can crushed pineapple, drained
1 cup Franks Red Hot Sauce
1 egg (I use All Whites egg substitute)

Combine ingredients. Pat out burgers. Grill.

Tasty Satay Beef Burger
submitted by Rita of Mochachocolata-Rita
from Hong Kong

The Satay Sauce – You could use ready made satay sauce, such as Lee Kum Keee’s Satay Sauce, dissolve a couple of tablespoons with a bit of hot water, mix in chopped corriander. Add finely chopped chilli if you like your satay sauce hotter.

The Caramelized Onions – Half roughly chopped onions, a small clove of garlic (finely chopped), saute with a bit of olive oil, add 2 tbsp soy sauce, 4 tbsp Indonesian sweet soy sauce (or replace with brown sugar or palm sugar), a bit of hot water, cook until the onions are caramelised.

The Buttery Buns – Butter your buns and heat them on a fry pan.

The Juicy Burger Patties – Minced beef, salt, pepper and chopped corriander. I browned and grill ’em until well done to get rid of any microscopic creepy crawlies. Add some satay sauce about one minute before you get them off the heat.

Pour more satay sauce on top. That’s one juicy ‘n tasty patty. Start to build your layers.

Add the caramelized onion and a bit of the sauce.

Add sliced cucumber. Fresh or pickled (acar timun : Indonesian pickled cucumber, marinated in vinegar, sugar, shallot and chilli, refrigerated overnight). Add fresh corriander.

Serve with oven grilled chips with some satay sauce and a glass of iced dry ginger ale.

Sunday Sandwiches

After sleeping in, almost through lunch, I didn’t have the energy (or desire) to do anything fancy in the kitchen – at least not yet! With my husband’s stomach growling as he watched his Sunday football, I decided to check out what foodstuff I had to work with.

I decided on turkey burger paninis on some bakery bread I had on hand. We both have different burger tastes so for my husband, I made his favorite cilantro turkey burger, with a hint of citrus seasoning. My turkey burger included some leftover roquefort cheese, a splash of balsamic vinegar and finely chopped cremini mushrooms. To accompany the paninis, a simple cesar salad was perfect!Here is my recipe for cilantro citrus turkey burger paninis:

1/2 pound lean ground turkey
1/4 cup minced fresh cilantro
1/2 tablespoon citrus seasoning
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
olive oil
4 slices of your preferred bread
preferred panini toppings

Toast your bread to your preference.
In a bowl, combine above ingredients thoroughly without over handling.
Shape into 2 patties.
Heat up grill pan or grill.
Add oil to lubricate grill pan/grill.
Cook on grill pan/grill pan until juices run clear.
Place cooked turkey burgers between 2 slices of toasted bread.
Add panini toppings if you’d like.
Using a grill pan & press or panini press, cook until toppings are warmed through.

Here is my recipe for roquefort mushroom turkey burger paninis:

1/2 pound lean ground turkey
1/2 cup crumbled roquefort cheese
1/4 cup finely chopped cremini mushrooms
1/2 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt olive oil
4 slices of your preferred bread
preferred panini toppings

Toast your bread to your preference.
In a bowl, combine above ingredients thoroughly without over handling.
Shape into 2 patties.
Heat up grill pan or grill.
Add oil to lubricate grill pan/grill.
Cook on grill pan/grill pan until juices run clear.
Place cooked turkey burgers between 2 slices of toasted bread.
Add panini toppings if you’d like.
Using a grill pan & press or panini press, cook until toppings are warmed through.

Fresh Birdie Burgers

After such a great day out with my Chicago Cooking/Baking Group gals, I wanted an easy and refreshing dinner that wasn’t too time consuming. So with that in mind, I made some cilantro turkey burgers.
The leaves of a coriander plant are variously referred to as coriander leaves, cilantro, dhania, Chinese parsley or Mexican parsley. The leaves have a very different taste from the seeds, similar to parsley but “juicier” and with citrus-like overtones. Some people instead perceive an unpleasant “soapy” taste and/or a rank smell. This is believed to be a result of an enzyme that changes the way they taste cilantro, a genetic trait, but has yet to be fully researched.

Here’s my recipe for cilantro turkey burgers:

1 pound lean ground turkey
1 half large red onion
1/4 cup minced fresh cilantro
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt olive oil

In a bowl, grate onion. This allows it to add moisture to the turkey and even cooking.
To the grated onion, add turkey, cilantro & spices.
Combine thoroughly without over handling.
Shape into 4 patties.
Heat up grill pan or grill.
Add oil to lubricate grill pan/grill.
Cook on grill pan/grill pan until juices run clear.