| Burgers | | | | ground pork burgers. |
| Hamburgers are best if you grind up the meat | | | | To make a stuffed burger, roll the ground meat into |
| yourself, this allows you to monitor what goes into | | | | a ½ in. thick loaf. Lay your stuffing (ham, |
| them. The recommended mix is 80% meat and 20% | | | | cheese, onion, peppers, etc) onto one patty then |
| fat. Kitchen Aid has a grinder attachment that works | | | | cover it with another patty "sandwich style", but with |
| well for home use. | | | | the meat on the outside. Seal the edges well, and |
| Cut the meat into about one inch cubes, separating | | | | freeze. |
| the lean from fatty pieces and season both piles. | | | | Burgers are grilled not bbq'ed as they will need to |
| Then put the cubes in the freezer. When they are | | | | cook at a high heat directly over the flame. The |
| about half frozen they are ready to grind. | | | | amount of flare up will depend on the fat content. |
| Feed them into the grinder one at a time, adding as | | | | Covered grills that have air dampers on them are |
| much or little of the fat as you want. Once all of it is | | | | best for this. |
| ground, run it through one more time. Remember | | | | Many folks flip them 3 times, that way they can get |
| that fat is where a lot of the flavor is so unless you | | | | the cross hatch grill marks on both sides. I find the |
| are a purist, throw some in there. | | | | best method is to flip them only once, they are |
| A trick to making perfect patties is to form the | | | | juicier and easier to flip without falling apart. This is |
| meat into @ a 1 inch tall loaf. Pack it down well, we | | | | not a competition entry, so I am not so concerned |
| want tight burgers. Using a large glass like you would | | | | about grill marks here. |
| a cookie cutter, cut the burgers out. | | | | Once the meat is placed onto the hot grill, the meat |
| Freeze the patties on a plate covered with | | | | will stick, leave it alone. When it is ready to flip, it will |
| parchment paper or saran wrap for at least an hour. | | | | loosen easily from the grate. |
| Any time after that, they are ready to go onto the | | | | Cooking time varies on how much fat you used, |
| grill with no thawing needed. | | | | what meats, how you want them cooked and how |
| Hamburgers made this way give you many options | | | | close to the fire you are. Flip them when they appear |
| as to their make up. If you use only lean meat add | | | | to be a little over halfway cooked. Toasting the buns |
| bacon for the fat, this makes a great bacon burger. | | | | along side of them as they finish cooking adds flavor |
| Pork or sausage can be added, or you can just make | | | | to the bun. |