Foodie Friday -- Hamburgers

I mentioned a week or so ago that it is grilling season. Time to remove the yellow pollen-dusted grill cover, check the gas apertures for winter nesters (spiders) and safely fire it up. We have a natural gas grill that's connected to the house, but if you have propane or a charcoal grill, you need to do the basic checking and cleaning too. Sitting outside all winter isn't exactly the best thing for a grill as it tends to get rusty and weird stuff oxidizes on it.

Now that your grill is clean, it's time to think of what to cook. Mostly I just cook hamburgers, hot dogs, pork chops and chicken on the grill. I should cook fish, but I know the family won't eat it. And I'm not one of those big experimenting people who tries all sorts of stuff, but I might have to give it a shot this year if I keep trying to come up with Foodie Friday ideas!

Okay, y'all probably think that I make hamburgers from scratch -- I don't. I buy the pre-pressed frozen patties that come in a sleeve from Sam's club. Part of the reason is convenience and the other part is convenience. I don't know how many times I would want to make fresh burgers, but the family didn't want to eat them that day or the next, etc and the meat would go all funky on me. Anyhoo, frozen burgers are the way to go--and if you have an impromptu get-together, they are easy to throw on and cook.

But there is a secret . . . or two.

And I'm going to let you in on it.

yes, my hand

1) seasoning--find a seasoning salt and liberally sprinkle both sides of the burger when you place it on the grill. I prefer Lowry's Seasoning Salt, but sometimes my local grocery won't have it and I'll have to buy Morton's Season-All.  If you can't find either of these, then make your own (including, but not exclusive, combination of black pepper, chili powder, salt, onion powder, paprika, garlic powder) OR just use salt and pepper. Use about this much ALL OVER each side of the patty.




2) technique--When I was in college I worked at a local ice cream store called Braums. After a week or so of training, they put me on the grill and fryer. Soon I was flippin' patties like Spongebob!
But there is a technique to flipping burgers.
1) heat the grill. If you have a temperature gauge, then it should be between 400-500 degrees F.
2) Place the frozen patties on the grill and close the lid. If you don't have a lid, that's okay, it just might take a little longer to cook.
3) REFRAIN FROM THE URGE TO FLIP THEM, until the juices rise out of the top of the burger, about 3-4 minutes depending on the heat of the grill.

no, not my grill

4) flip the burger. It should be easy now as the juices (grease) and char on the marks have allowed the meat to release from the grill. Wait until juices rise to the surface AGAIN.
5) flip the burger for a second time and add cheese if desired or remove from grill.
6) Eat burger with as many or as few condiments as desired.

And sorry, but most of the pics have been gently filched from the Internet. I don't cook hamburgers this early in the morning . . . sorry.