Burger Night

We eat homemade burgers. Often. My husband has to have one about once a week--he just is a meat-and-potatoes kind of guy. We have the fortunate circumstance of being able to go visit our beef cows in the field down the road, so I don't feel as badly about the health issues associated with store-bought beef. We know what goes into ours!

We like a good, formal--as in fully dressed--burger. . .lettuce, tomato, pickle, peppers, avocado, mushrooms, cheese--cheddar or pepper jack, ketchup, mayo--spicy or plain, mustard--one of several varieties, BBQ sauce. . . all may make an appearance on our burger board any given night. The challenge is to see how high it can be piled without falling apart.

Rough recipe for burgers(NOT grillable! The mix is a bit slooshy, but cooks up tender and delicious!):
In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the dough hook or flat beater, combine
1.5-2 lbs. LEAN grass-fed beef
approx. 1 c. plain bread crumbs(freeze bread of choice, run through the food processor, voila! bread crumbs!)Soak the crumbs in just enough milk to moisten them well. You don't want it RUNNY.
1 egg
1/2 tsp. ONION powder(garlic powder leads to indigestion--don't go there)
2T. olive oil(it is very lean beef we use)
1 tsp. yellow or spicy brown prepared mustard
1/2 tsp. liquid smoke(optional)
1/2 tsp. salt
1 T. soy sauce--I use low sodium
dash of good red pepper sauce(optional)
I put about 10 grinds of the pepper mill on a fine setting also.

Flip the switch and mix, mix, mix till it is WELL-combined. Spray a large shallow(jelly roll) pan with cooking spray or mist with oil, form patties by hand to slightly larger than a deck of cards with a SLIGHT indentation in the centers, and slap them onto the pan(I usually just kind of make a ball, pop it onto the pan, THEN smoosh it flat, as it's a bit less messy that way--on the size, think about the size of the buns you're using!).

Low broil for 8-10 minutes, flip. Broil again for 5-6 minutes. You can bump to high on the last broil and cut the time if you want a browned burger.

They're delicious. WAYYYY easier than filling the house with mosquitoes to use the grill. Faster, too.
You will barely have time to toast the buns and get the fixins ready before they come out of the oven--be sure to stash them in a covered dish if you're not quite ready to eat yet, so they won't dry out.

Enjoy!