Every once in a while I get a craving for a giant, juicy hamburger. When I do not cave to hunger and laziness and head to the nearest In 'N Out, I make my own hamburgers. It may not be the classic cheeseburger but, trust me, it's fantastic!
Blue Cheese Hamburger
(Recipe tweaked from Pioneer Woman Cooks)
Hamburger buns (I use whole wheat to maintain an appearance of being healthy, even if it's false)
Ground beef (Once again, try to be healthy. I only buy 96% Lean/4% Fat)
Onions (I prefer red onions for this recipe)
Mushrooms (Optional)
Blue cheese, crumbled
Salad Greens
Butter or Olive Oil
Tabasco sauce or Cholula hot sauce
Mayonnaise
Salt
Pepper
Place your ground beef into a medium mixing bowl.
Did you know? A freshly cut meat surface is naturally purple in color because of the muscle protein myoglobin. As myoglobin is exposed to oxygen it becomes red (oxymyoglobin). That is why the outer surface of ground beef is red while the inside is still purple (it has not been exposed to oxygen).
1 lb. can serve two hungry people. How lean you want your meat is entirely up to you. Obviously there will be more flavor with fatter meats. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add hot sauce to taste. I am a wimp and therefore added a teeny, weeny little splash. The hot sauce adds great flavor to the burger. Mix that meat up so the salt, pepper, and sauce will be distrubuted evenly.
Set meat aside to carmelize onions. Add about 2 tbsp. of butter to a pan over medium-low heat. If using 1 pound of meat for 2 people, I reccomend using a very large red onion (unless you don't like onions. How could you???). Slice the onion and add to pan. Heat on medium heat for about fifteen minutes, allowing the onions to carmelize. Stir/toss onions occasionally. With about 5 - 10 minutes remaining, you can add the sliced mushrooms if using.
While the onions are carmelizing, we can go back to our ground beef. I am all about fairness so let's divide the hunk of ground beef into two equal parts and then form them into patties. Throw the patties onto a skillet or grill (I use something similar to a George Foreman Grill, that way it cooks both sides at once, cutting down the total time!). Cook for about 6 minutes on each side.
Toast the hamburger buns if you want. Spread with mayonnaise (one can add hot sauce to the mayo for an extra kick, too). Add any other wanted condiments. I stick mainly with mayonnaise. Place patty on bun.
Add a handful of blue cheese to the top of the burger. The way it's done in my photo is in reverse, but I've found it's easier to do the cheese first.
Hopefully by now the onions will be looking like you could eat them right from the pan. Or is that just me? Add a beautiful, heaping pile of onions on top of the cheese and burger.
Add the mixed greens on top of that.
Cover it up with the top of the bun and yay! Have yourself a delicious burger. You will need napkins for this!
Have a happy Easter tomorrow!
(Recipe tweaked from Pioneer Woman Cooks)
Hamburger buns (I use whole wheat to maintain an appearance of being healthy, even if it's false)
Ground beef (Once again, try to be healthy. I only buy 96% Lean/4% Fat)
Onions (I prefer red onions for this recipe)
Mushrooms (Optional)
Blue cheese, crumbled
Salad Greens
Butter or Olive Oil
Tabasco sauce or Cholula hot sauce
Mayonnaise
Salt
Pepper
Place your ground beef into a medium mixing bowl.
Did you know? A freshly cut meat surface is naturally purple in color because of the muscle protein myoglobin. As myoglobin is exposed to oxygen it becomes red (oxymyoglobin). That is why the outer surface of ground beef is red while the inside is still purple (it has not been exposed to oxygen).
1 lb. can serve two hungry people. How lean you want your meat is entirely up to you. Obviously there will be more flavor with fatter meats. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add hot sauce to taste. I am a wimp and therefore added a teeny, weeny little splash. The hot sauce adds great flavor to the burger. Mix that meat up so the salt, pepper, and sauce will be distrubuted evenly.
Set meat aside to carmelize onions. Add about 2 tbsp. of butter to a pan over medium-low heat. If using 1 pound of meat for 2 people, I reccomend using a very large red onion (unless you don't like onions. How could you???). Slice the onion and add to pan. Heat on medium heat for about fifteen minutes, allowing the onions to carmelize. Stir/toss onions occasionally. With about 5 - 10 minutes remaining, you can add the sliced mushrooms if using.
While the onions are carmelizing, we can go back to our ground beef. I am all about fairness so let's divide the hunk of ground beef into two equal parts and then form them into patties. Throw the patties onto a skillet or grill (I use something similar to a George Foreman Grill, that way it cooks both sides at once, cutting down the total time!). Cook for about 6 minutes on each side.
Toast the hamburger buns if you want. Spread with mayonnaise (one can add hot sauce to the mayo for an extra kick, too). Add any other wanted condiments. I stick mainly with mayonnaise. Place patty on bun.
Add a handful of blue cheese to the top of the burger. The way it's done in my photo is in reverse, but I've found it's easier to do the cheese first.
Hopefully by now the onions will be looking like you could eat them right from the pan. Or is that just me? Add a beautiful, heaping pile of onions on top of the cheese and burger.
Add the mixed greens on top of that.
Cover it up with the top of the bun and yay! Have yourself a delicious burger. You will need napkins for this!
Have a happy Easter tomorrow!
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