Spinach and Feta Chicken Burgers (aka Spanakopita Burgers) with Grilled Halloumi, Roasted Red Peppers and a Spinach and Feta Sauce

Spanakopita is a tasty Greek phyllo spinach and feta pie and I was thinking that the flavours would also be amazing in burger form; just perfect for summer grilling! I kept the patties nice and simple and yet packed them with flavour starting out using chicken for the base, though turkey would also be good, and I mixed in plenty of spinach and feta, along with some dill and green onions. Now these spinach and feta patties are super tasty just like this and I could easily eat them alone, or in burgers with lettuce, tomato and red onion as I had planned but I could not resist kicking things up a bit.

First off, I feel that every good burger should have bacon but it did not really fit the theme of these burgers so I went for the next best thing, grilled halloumi, which is almost as good as bacon and also an ingredient commonly seen in Mediterranean cuisine. Up next was a no brainer, roasted red peppers; and with that I thought that I was done but something kept nagging me... where was the cheese sauce? <spookyvoice>This burger needs a cheese sauce...</spookyvoice> Alright so I added a cheese sauce, a spanakoptia themed cheese sauce, starting with a bechamel base adding plenty of melted feta along with spinach and dill. With that final component my spanakoptia themed burgers, aka my spinach and feta chicken burgers with grilled halloumi, roasted red peppers and a spinach and feta sauce, were complete!

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Moussaka Burgers

With the long weekend coming up I have been thinking about grilling and in particular about these moussaka burgers. Moussaka is a tasty Mediterranean dish that is typically made with layers of eggplant, meat, a tomato sauce and a cheese bechamel sauce and I have been wanting to try making burgers with these flavours for a while now. I started the burgers off by making a tomato sauce with the hints of cinnamon and allspice that moussaka often has and then I moved on to make a simple bechamel sauce with plenty of melted melted cheese. Up next were the patties which I kept nice and simple, once again seasoning with hints of cinnamon and allspice, and the last component was slices of eggplant that I grilled along with the patties.

All said and done these burgers are amazingly good and they definitely taste like moussaka, only better! These burgers take a bit of time to make but you can easily make the sauces and patties a day ahead and then just warm the sauces and grill the patties and eggplant of the day of your get together with minimal effort. I served the moussaka burgers with a fresh Greek salad.

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Teriyaki Shrimp Burgers with Grilled Pineapple Salsa, Bacon and Blue Cheese

I have been completely enamored by homemade shrimp burgers ever since I first tried them a short while ago and since they have been on my mind a lot I had to make some more! One combo that I particularly enjoy is juicy shrimp and a sweet and salty teriyaki sauce which goes fantastically well when wrapped in bacon and grilled on skewers along with some sweet and tangy pineapple and I was thinking that a burger version would be amazing! I kept the shrimp patties pretty simple with large chunks of shrimp, a few seasoning including garlic, ginger, sesame oil and teriyaki sauce, in addition to some breadcrumbs to help hold things together. Although you could easily use a store bought teriyaki sauce it is so easy to make your own and doing so gives you the opportunity to customize it for the dish that you are using it in like in this case where you use pineapple juice. I filled the burgers out with some bacon and instead of using slices of grilled pineapple I kicked things up a bit and went with a grilled pineapple salsa. I often like to include a cheese in my burgers and after thinking about it for a while I came to the conclusion that a touch of creamy blue cheese would go perfectly well with all of the other flavours going on in these burgers! I might just have found my new all time favourite burgers in these teriyaki shrimp burgers with pineapple salsa, bacon and blue cheese and I have to admit that I made them two times last week!

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Pad Thai Shrimp Burgers

My next tasty new burger this grilling season is inspired by the flavours of shrimp pad Thai, aka shrimp pad Thai burgers. As many of you know, I am a huge fan of pad Thai and I always enjoy using pad Thsi flavours in different dishes and with burgers being on my mind a lot lately it struck me to combine the two. Pad Thai, a stir-fried noodle dish, can be made with any meat but my favourite has to be shrimp and a shrimp burger patty sounded like a fabulous idea. When I think of a shrimp burger I think of large chunks of juicy succulent shrimp bursting in your mouth with every bite and not some kind of texture-less shrimp patty so I decided to start with some fairly large shrimp and to cut them into a few big pieces. The only question was how to hold those large chunks of shrimp together and the obvious solution seemed to be to grind up a small portion of the shrimp in a food processor and to use shrimp to hold the shrimp chunks together. I do not really like to use 'fillers' like egg and breadcrumbs in burger patties so these shrimp burgers are simply large chunks of shrimp held together by some shrimp paste along with a few pad Thai flavours including garlic, shallots, fish sauce, lime zest and cilantro.

Up next was the condiments for the pad Thai burgers and I had to start with the sauce. Pad Thai is normally made with a tasty sauce consisting of sour tamarind, sweet sugar, salty fish sauce and spicy chilies so that is where I started but this sauce is a little too thick for what I wanted so I thinned it down a bit with the addition of some coconut milk. I could have stopped there with the sauce but I could not resist adding some peanut butter, which is not commonly used in pad Thai, but since pad Thai is often topped with chopped peanuts I figured adding some more peanut flavour could only make things better. I filled the pad Thai burgers out with some of the vegetables in pad Thai including bean sprouts and shredded carrots along with plenty of fresh cilantro and I finished them off with some chopped peanuts and crispy fried shallots.

I have to say that these tasty shrimp pad Thai burgers exceeded all of my expectations and that the pad Thai flavours work really well in burger form! I was also really pleased by how well the shrimp patties tuned out! The texture of the large chunks of shrimp was quite amazing and I am looking forward to making many more shrimp burgers in the future!

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Buffalo Chicken Burgers

With the warmer weather here I have been thinking about grilling more and burgers definitely come to mind! When I went over all of my burger recipes I noticed a glaring omission; where were the buffalo chicken burgers? I am a huge fan of all things buffalo chicken and it is always a treat to grill up some buffalo chicken burgers in the summer. I like to start my buffalo chicken burgers off by grinding some boneless and skinless chicken in the food processor to which I add some buffalo chicken flavours including carrots, celery, onions and blue cheese in addition to the buffalo hot sauce. In general I like to avoid fillers like egg and breadcrumbs in burgers which means that the patties are a little more delicate but as long as you flip them gently they still hold together quite well. Once the patties are assembled all that is left is to grill them until cooked and slightly charred before serving them up in a bun with your favourite condiments. For buffalo chicken burgers I like to keep the condiments simple and my faourite topping is a blue cheese slaw whether it be a cabbage slaw or as in this case a broccoli slaw. These tasty buffalo chicken burgers are all set to impress at your barbecues this summer!

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Mushroom-Farro Burgers with Tomato-Onion-Peanut Chutney

Mushrooms are easily one of my favorite ingredients. They appear here frequently in dishes of Italian, Chinese, Thai, Spanish, Mexican, or American origin, and I’m sure I’ve forgotten something. When I was offered a shipment of a variety of fresh mushrooms from Kitchen Pride Mushroom Farms, I was quick to say yes. Their mushrooms are cultivated nearby in Gonzalez, Texas, and they’re what I always buy at the grocery store and at the farmers’ markets. It didn’t take long for me to locate a recipe with mushrooms that was on my to-try list. These burgers are from Masala Farm by Suvir Saran, and I’d marked the page when I first read the book. They take some time to make if you don’t happen to have any leftover, cooked farro or potatoes, but you could always space out the steps by prepping some things a day ahead. I also made the Tomato-Onion-Peanut Chutney from the book, and that could definitely be made in advance and refrigerated for a few days. The burgers get a crispy outside surface from the panko coating and being browned in olive oil, and the mushrooms and farro give them a nice, chewy texture inside. The chutney cooks down to a jam-like consistency, and it’s sweet, spicy, savory, and more complex and interesting than ketchup could ever hope to be. I only made half the chutney recipe to go with the burgers, but in the future, I’ll make the full quantity and store any extra in the freezer.

Speaking of storing things in the freezer, I should learn to cook extra farro and store it there too. For the burgers, you need to cook farro and peeled red potatoes separately, and then let them cool before adding the other ingredients. The mushrooms were finely chopped and cooked in butter with rosemary and thyme before being transferred to a large mixing bowl with the farro and potatoes. Then, finely chopped shallots were sauteed, and the pan was deglazed with white wine. The shallots were added to the mushroom mixture with Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese. The mixture was mashed together with a potato masher, and burgers were formed. Each burger was pressed into a plate of panko breadcrumbs on both sides and set aside. While these steps were happening, I was also simmering the chutney. The chutney was started by cooking curry leaves, dried chiles, mustard seeds, and cumin seeds in canola oil. Turmeric was added followed by onion and then peanuts. After a few minutes, chopped, fresh tomatoes, and I used cherry tomatoes, tomato paste, sugar, curry powder, cayenne, and salt were added. The chutney simmered for about 40 minutes until thick. The burgers were browned in olive oil over medium heat until golden and warmed through.

These aren’t the kind of burgers you can throw on the grill, but they’re fantastic burgers just the same. They’re not sturdy enough to sit on or be flipped on the grill grate, and grilling wouldn’t result in the same crispy, browned surface you can only get from cooking in oil. They had great, savory flavor from the mushrooms, shallots, parmesan, and herbs. You could serve them on buns, but I chose to pair them with salad for a delightfully different take on burgers and ketchup.

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Bacon Wrapped Jalapeno Popper Burgers

With grilling season here I have been thinking about burgers a lot more and this idea for jalapeno popper burgers has been haunting my dreams all winter! The basic idea behind these burgers was to include all of the flavours of jalapeno poppers, which I am totally addicted to, and serve them up in burger form. Jalapeno poppers are jalapenos that are stuffed with cream cheese and/or cheddar that are coated in bread crumbs and fried until crispy and golden brown. Stuffing the burgers with cream cheese seemed like the natural place to start but that left the question about how to incorporate the jalapenos. I was thinking about mixing them right into the cream cheese but raw jalapenos are crispier than I wanted so I decided to roast or grill them first to tenderize them and add a nice smokiness.

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Chicken Satay Burgers

I am back from my short vacation in Vegas and just in time to enjoy some amazing warm weather right here in Toronto! In fact it has been almost warm enough to be full on summer and that means that it is time to get some grilling on! I have had the idea for these chicken satay inspired burgers on my mind for months and now that with the warmer weather it was time to make them! The basic idea behind these burgers is to include all of the flavours of tasty Thai style chicken satay right down to serving them topped with a spicy peanut dipping sauce! In chicken satay the meat is normally marinated in a marinade before being grilled so I started out by seasoning the ground chicken for the burgers with a slight variation of the satay marinade along with an egg to help hold things together. After the chicken has been seasoned it is formed into patties and grilled and these burgers are just that easy to make! I served the burgers topped with one of my favourite guilty pleasures, a spicy peanut sauce along with some Thai inspired slaw to provide a contrast in textures though you could easily go with other options like cucumbers and onions.

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Fajita Burgers

Not too long after I last made fajitas I came across this recipe for fajita burgers on Good Life Eats which sounded really good. I always enjoy playing around with different flavours or themes for burgers and I particularly liked the sound of a tasty texmex burger topped with tender sauteed onions and peppers. With the days starting to get cooler, it was time to get the burgers in and this weekend I got the chance to make them.

These burgers start out with all beef patties that are flavoured with salsa, taco seasoning and a healthy does of fresh cilantro which I covered with slices of pepper jack cheese that were added just at the end of cooking. Next up was the sauteed onions and peppers which I flavoured with even more taco seasoning. At this point the burgers are good to go but you don't have to stop there as you can easily add any of your favourite fajita or taco fillings and I went with some roasted tomatillo and avocado salsa. Luckily corn is still in season and I served the burgers with some fresh corn on the cob topped with cilantro lime butter.

Fajita Burgers

Tasty all beef burgers served fajita style with sauteed onions and peppers and your fajita toppings of choice.

Servings: makes 4 servings

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 25 minutes

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 pound medium ground beef
• 1 tablespoon taco seasoning or 1/2 package of store bought
• 1/4 cup salsa
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 handful cilantro, chopped
• 1 tablespoon oil
• 2 onions, sliced
• 1 green bell pepper, sliced
• 1 red bell pepper, sliced
• 1 tablespoon taco seasoning or 1/2 package of store bought
• 1/4 cup water or broth
• 1 handful cilantro, chopped
• 4 buns
• 4 slices pepper jack cheese
• 1 cup salsa (optional)
• 1 cup guacamole (optional)
• sour cream (optional)

Directions

1. Mix the ground beef, taco seasoning, salsa, Worcestershire sauce and cilantro.
2. Form into 4 patties 3/4 inches thick and press your thumb into the middle to form a depression on top prevent bulging.
3. Brush the patties with oil, place on grill and cook until golden brown and slightly charred, about 3-5 minutes per side.
4. Set aside, cover and let rest for 10 minutes.
5. Meanwhile heat the oil in a pan over medium-high heat.
6. Add the onions and peppers and saute until tender, about 4-7 minutes.
7. Mix in the taco seasoning and water and simmer until most of the liquid has evaporated.
8. Assemble burgers with condiments of choice and enjoy!

Similar Recipes:
Fajitas
Taco Burger
Salsa Verde Turkey Burger
Buffalo Chicken Burgers
Bacon Wrapped Jalapeno Popper Burgers
Wagyu Burgers

Smoked Salmon Burgers

You saw this coming, didn’t you? I couldn’t rave about those brioche hamburger buns and then not tell you about a burger. The fact is that, probably, just about any burger would be delicious with one of those buns. I know this because I’ve used one of those buns for a completely boring, frozen, garden burger and quite enjoyed it. But, that was a later use of a brioche bun. For their debut, I wanted to whip up something special in the way of a burger that would be truly worthy of them. Just when I finally decided to try making those buns, this salmon burger recipe was on the top of my to-try stack. I couldn’t ignore that kind of coincidence. The burger is from the June issue of Living magazine, and it’s made from fresh salmon fillets, cold-smoked or cured salmon, and dill. They’re quick to make and hold together well. If you’d like to grill them though, you might want to use a fish or vegetable tray on top of the grill rack just in case. And, if you choose to brown them in a skillet, they cook in just a couple of minutes per side.

The recipe calls for one pound of fresh salmon and two and a half ounces of thinly sliced smoked salmon. The fresh salmon is cut into large chunks which are chilled before being pulsed in a food processor. The goal is to chop the big chunks but not to a smooth state. The smoked salmon was finely chopped by hand and then stirred into the chopped fresh salmon. Last, chopped fresh dill was added, and the patties were formed. It’s suggested that four patties be formed from the salmon mixture, but since I was dealing with some rather large buns, I divided the mixture into three portions for a better fit. After heating a little oil in a skillet, the burgers cooked for a scant two minutes per side. They just begin to brown, and the salmon barely cooks through. They were topped with mustard and arugula.

The mix of fresh and cured salmon gave these burgers a nice mix of flavors which the dill accented well. And, chopping the fresh salmon just enough but not too much is the key to great texture. For three simple ingredients, they combined perfectly for a very worthy burger.

Banh Mi Burgers with Vietnamese Caramel BBQ Sauce

The long weekend was the perfect time to get some grilling done and I took full advantage of it! Burgers were on the top of my list of things to grill but I wanted to try something a little different. The last time that I made a banh mi sandwich I remembered thinking that a burger with all of the flavours and condiments of a banh mi sandwich would be a good idea.

I decided to go with pork as the meat and I built the flavour using ingredients from my favourite Vietnamese dishes including garlic, ginger, fish sauce, cilantro, green onions and a birds eye chili for some heat. I have been hooked on Vietnamese caramel shrimp ever since I discovered it and I find that the sweet and savoury caramel sauce works particularly well in a banh mi sandwich and I could not resist making a caramel sauce to both use in the patties and to smother the burgers in. I finished the burgers off with some pickled carrots and daikon radish, cool and juicy cucumbers, spicy jalapenos, cilantro and mayonnaise to complete the medley of flavours.



The banh mi style burgers turned out amazingly well! In addition to being super easy to make they tasted fantastic! I really enjoyed the combinations of flavours and all of the fresh ingredients were definitely fit for summer. I served the burgers with a side of mayoless sesame and ginger coleslaw.

Banh Mi Burgers

Pork burgers filled with the fresh flavours of Vietnamese banh mi sandwich.

Servings: makes 4 servings

Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 pound ground pork
• 1 tablespoon garlic, grated
• 1 tablespoon ginger, grated
• 2 green onions, sliced
• 1 handful cilantro, chopped
• 1 tablespoon fish sauce
• 1 tablespoon cramel sauce (see below)
• 1 teaspoon lime zest
• 1 birds eye chili, sliced
• 1/4 cup caramel sauce (see below)
• 4 buns
• 1/2 cup pickled carrots and daikon radish
• 12 slices cucumber
• 2 jalapeno peppers, thinly sliced
• cilantro to taste
• 4 tablespoons mayonnaise

Directions

1. Mix the pork, garlic, ginger, green onion, cilantro, fish sauce, caramel sauce, lime zest and jalapeno.
2. Form the mixture into 4 patties.
3. Grill over medium heat until cooked, about 4-6 minutes per side.
4. Assemble burgers and enjoy.

Vietnamese Caramel BBQ Sauce

A Vietnamese caramel sauce seasoned with fish sauce, lime juice and shallots

Servings: makes 1/4 cup

Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 25 minutes

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup sugar
• 2 tablsepoons water
• 2 tablsepoons water
• 2 tablespoons fish sauce
• 1 lime (juice)
• 1 birds eye chili, sliced
• 1 clove garlic, chopped
• 1 shallot, finely diced
• 2 teaspoons cornstarch
• 1 tablespoon water

Directions

1. Melt the sugar into the water over medium heat and simmer until it turns a deep golden brown.
2. Mix the water, fish sauce and lime juice and carefully add the water, heating until the caramel dissolves.
3. Add the chili, garlic and shallots and simmer to reduce by half, about 3-5 minutes.
4. mix the cornstarch into the water, mix it into the sauce and simmer until it thickens, about a minute.

Similar Recipes:
Vietnamese BBQ Pulled Pork Banh Mi
Vietnamese Caramel Shrimp Banh Mi
Thai Peanut Turkey Burger
Cuban Burgers
Vietnamese Caramel Salmon Banh Mi
Pad Thai Shrimp Burgers

Cuban Burgers

My next concept burger experiment of the summer is inspired by the cuban sandwich consisting of roast pork, ham, swiss cheese, pickles, mustard and/or mayonnaise. Given that the primary meat in the sandwich was pork, using ground pork to form the patties only seemed natural. Very often the roast post for the cubano sandwich is seasoned with mojo so and I included some of the flavour elements from mojo seasoning in the burgers including garlic, cilantro, lime, oregano and cumin. With that the cuban burgers were pretty much done.

One of the things that I like so much about burgers is that it is pretty much as easy as mixing a few ingredients into the ground meat, forming patties and then throwing them on the grill for a few minutes. Another thing that is nice about burgers is that even though you can make the patty itself super tasty like this one, you don't need to stop there as you can continue on and fill the bun with even more flavours. In this case I added the sliced deli ham along with some melted swiss cheese, the pickles and some mustard. I added one final, not so secret ingredient, a roasted garlic mayo that I had made for the side that I served with the burgers and it really took them over the edge adding to an already amazing flavour combination!

Cuban Burgers

(makes 4 servings)
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:
2 cloves garlic (chopped)
1 handful cilantro (chopped)
1 teaspoon lime zest
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon cumin (toasted and ground)
salt and pepper to taste
1 1/2 pounds ground pork
4 cloves roasted garlic (mashed)
4 tablspoons mayonnaise
4 teaspoons dijon mustard
4 hamburger buns
8 slices swiss cheese
4 slices smoked ham
8 slices dill pickle

Directions:
1. Mix the garlic, cilantro, lime zest, oregano, cumin, salt and pepper into the pork.
2. Form the pork into 4 patties about 3/4 of an inch thick.
3. Grill (or broil or pan fry) the burgers until cooked, about 3-5 minutes per side.
4. Mix the roasted garlic and into the mayonnaise.
5. Assemble burgers and enjoy.

Serve with:
Tostones with Roasted Garlic Mayo

Similar Recipes:
Cuban Sandwich
Cuban Grilled Cheese Sandwich
Roast Pork and Peameal Bacon Sandwich
Salsa Verde Turkey Burger
Roast Pork Sandwich with Apple Chutney
Jamaican Jerk Burgers with Pineapple and Banana Relish
Banh Mi Burgers with Vietnamese Caramel BBQ Sauce

Jamaican Jerk Burgers with Pineapple and Banana Relish

Being well into summer I figured it was high time that I continued my experiments with burgers. At its base a burger is ground beef that is formed into a patty and grilled to perfection. But, why stop there? Why not take the opportunity to add flavour? Over the last few summers I have been enjoying experimenting with various burger flavours and concepts and I had been itching to try a few more. The next burger that I wanted to try was one that was seasoned with a Jamaican jerk spice blend.

I went with beef for the meat, though chicken would also work well. For the jerk spice blend I modified the jerk marinade recipe that I used a while ago and reduced the amount of liquids in it so that it was more of a paste than a marinade. The scotch bonnet or habanero pepper in the jerk paste was bound to make things a little bit spicy so I decided to fill out the bun with a cool, juicy and creamy pineapple and banana salsa to help mellow things out and to build on the feel of the tropics in the burger. I served the jerk burgers with pineapple and banana salsa with some home made sweet potato fries.

Jamaican Jerk Burgers with Pineapple and Banana Salsa

(makes 4 servings)
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons jerk seasoning paste (your favorite brand or see below)
1 pound ground beef
1 cup pineapple and banana salsa
4 buns

Directions:
1. Mix the jerk seasoning into the ground beef.
2. Form the beef into 4 patties about 3/4 of an inch thick.
3. Grill (or broil or pan fry) the burgers until cooked, about 3-5 minutes per side.
4. Assemble burgers and enjoy.

Jamaican Jerk Paste

Ingredients:
1/2 scotch bonnet or habanero pepper or 2 jalapeno peppers (seeded and chopped)
2 green onions (sliced)
2 teaspoons thyme (chopped)
2 cloves garlic (chopped)
2 teaspoons allspice
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon orange (zest)
2 tabespoons white vinegar

Directions:
1. Mix all of the ingredients in a food processor.

Similar Recipes:
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Jerked Pulled Pork Wraps with Mango and Banana Relish
Salsa Verde Turkey Burger
Taco Burger
Cuban Burgers
Jerk Fish on Coconut Rice Topped with Banana and Pineapple Salsa
Grilled Jerk Shrimp and Pineapple Skewers

Biftekia Gemista (Feta Stuffed Burgers)

When I was thinking about food for the long weekend the first thing that came to mind was burgers. I had been wanting to try these biftekia gemista or Greek feta stuffed burgers for a while and this seemed like the perfect opportunity. Biftekia yemista are essentially just beef patties seasoned with Greek flavours and stuffed with a big slab of feta. You really can't go wrong with a huge piece of feta wrapped in tasty meat! These burgers are a breeze to make and they are nice and moist and juicy and really tasty even without the feta but the feta stuffing makes them great! You could easily serve these burgers in a bun but this time I served them just as patties along with a plate of feta fries and a side of a roasted cubanelle pepper and feta salad making for one tasty meal.

Biftekia Gemista (Feta Stuffed Burgers)

(makes 4 servings)
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:
1 pound ground beef
1 small onion (grated)
1 clove garlic (chopped)
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon hot smoked paprika
2 tablespoons parsley (chopped)
1 tespoon lemon zest
salt and pepper to taste
1 egg
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/4 cup bread crumbs
1/4 pound feta

Directions:
1. Mix the beef, onion,garlic, oregano, paprika, parsley, lemon zest, egg, oil and bread crumbs in a large bowl.
2. Grab 1/4 of the mixture, form a ball, flatten it to about 1/4 inch thick, place a slab of feta on one side, fold over to cover and seal the sides.
3. Grill, broil or pan fry until cooked, about 5 minutes per side.

Similar Recipes:
Greek Lamb Burger
Wagyu Burgers
Bacon Wrapped Jalapeno Popper Burgers

Taco Burger

Last week while I was enjoying my tacos I thought that a taco burger would be a good idea and this weekend I got around to making them. I kept the burger patties themselves pretty simple just seasoning them with the taco seasoning and grilling them up. Near the end of the grilling I topped them with some cheddar cheese which melted nicely. From there I proceeded to construct the burgers using some of my favorite taco condiments including salsa, lettuce, tomato and avocado. At first I was thinking of using guacamole but then I decided to go with a mixture of avocado and mayo as I often enjoy mayo on my burgers and this way I would get the best of both worlds. The taco burgers turned out great! The patties were nice and moist and juicy and so full of flavour! All of the taco flavours worked really well in burger form though the burgers were a bit messy.

Taco Burger

(makes 4 burgers)
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:
1 pound ground beef
3 tablespoons taco seasoning
4 buns
4 slices cheddar cheese
salsa
guacamole
tomato
lettuce

Directions:
1. Mix the taco seasoning into the ground beef.
2. Form into 4 patties 3/4 inches thick and press your thumb into the middle to form a depression on top prevent bulging.
3. Brush the patties with oil, place on grill and cook until golden brown and slightly charred, about 3-5 minutes per side.
4. Set aside, cover and let rest for 10 minutes.
5. Assemble burgers to taste.

Similar Recipes:
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Salsa Verde Turkey Burger
Taco Rice
Taco Salad
Taco Pasta
Jamaican Jerk Burgers with Pineapple and Banana Relish
Taco Pizza
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Taco Stuffed Shells
Bacon Wrapped Jalapeno Popper Burgers
Texmex Sloppy Joes

Wagyu Burgers

It seems that I have been on a bit of a quest for the ultimate burger lately and I think that I may have found it. Last time I tried getting a nice high quality fatty ground beef and paying attention to the details when preparing and cooking the burgers. Although the burgers turned out great I had another idea to try; wagyu beef. Wagyu is a breed of cattle whose meat is predisposed to fatty marbling. The fat is important for burgers as it adds flavour and it helps to keep the burgers nice and moist and juicy when they are cooked. The wagyu beef promised to make a juicy and tasty burger indeed!

When making burgers I often spice them up a bit and one of my favorite ways to do that is with Montreal steak spice. This time however, I wanted to get the full wagyu beef experience so I seasoned them simply with just salt and pepper. Despite the simple seasoning the wagyu burgers turned out great! I enjoyed the first one topped simply with lettuce and tomato so that I could really taste the wagyu beef. (Of course if you prefer you can top the burger any way you like and certainly the bacon and cheese version makes for a much better photo.) The wagyu burger was nice and juicy and tender and it was easily the best burger that I have ever had! Because the wagyu beef is a bit more expensive I don't think that I will be using it all the time but it will certainly be making appearances for special occasions.

Wagyu Burgers

(makes 4 servings)
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:
1 1/2 pounds ground wagyu beef
salt and pepper to taste
4 buns
lettuce (optional)
tomatoes (sliced, optional)

Directions:
1. Season the ground beef with salt and pepper.
2. Form into 4 patties 3/4 inches thick and press your thumb into the middle to form a depression on top prevent bulging.
3. Brush the patties with oil, place on grill and cook until golden brown and slightly charred, about 3-5 minutes per side.
4. Set aside, cover and let rest for 10 minutes.
5. Assemble burgers to taste.

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Burgers Smothered in a Caramelized Onion, Mushroom and Blue Cheese Sauce
Bulgogi Burgers
Biftekia Gemista (Feta Stuffed Burgers)
Fajita Burgers
Bacon Double Cheese Burger Dip
Bacon Double Cheese Burger Salad

Burgers Smothered in a Caramelized Onion, Mushroom and Blue Cheese Sauce

Burger season is finally here and I have been waiting for it! A while ago I made a steak tenderloin in a mushroom and blue cheese sauce and while I was eating it I thought that the sauce would go great on a burger. I have just been itching to try the burgers with caramelized onions, mushrooms and blue cheese sauce ever since. Normally when I make burgers I make them with a theme where I add lots of flavours and ingredients directly to the burgers to add flavour and help keep them moist when they cook. This time however I wanted a basic, unflavoured burger so that the flavours of the sauce would not get lost. In an effort to make sure that the burgers stayed nice and moist I went with a fattier ground beef at about 70/30. The burger recipe itself is quite basic, being just the ground beef seasoned with some salt and pepper. The key to adding flavour here is to cook the burgers on high heat to caramelize or slightly char the outside while leaving the inside nice and moist. The burgers with caramelized onions, mushrooms and blue cheese sauce turned out nicely! The sauce was so tasty and it went really well on the burgers. Caramelized onions, mushrooms and blue cheese is such a great flavour combination! The burger patties themselves were nice and moist despite the high heat cooking. I served the burgers on slightly grilled whole wheat buns with a side of sweet potato fries.

Read the recipe »

Sloppy Joes

When I was a kid, one of my favorite meals was sloppy joes. It had been a long time since I had last had sloppy joes and I had been craving them for a while. Sloppy joes are basically ground beef cooked with onions, a sweetened tomato sauce and various other seasonings and they are served in buns. After looking at a bunch of recipes the common ingredients in the sauce seem to be ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, vinegar, mustard and brown sugar. Now a days I like to add vegetables to anything that I can and I wanted to add some to the sloppy joes. I had some celery in the fridge that needed to be used so I decided to go with my three favorite base forming vegetables, onions, carrots and celery. Next up was the bean decision. There seems to be a bit of controversy as to whether beans should be included in sloppy joes or not and I decided to try them both ways and I split the recipe in half and added beans to one and not the other.

From there you have a bit of playing room with the flavours. The sloppy joes would be great just like that but I was thinking of adding some Texmex flavours and a bit of heat with some smokey chipotle chili powder and some ground cumin. That was the plan anyways. I don't use my ketchup very often and as I was digging to the back of my fridge to get it I came across my gochujang (a Korean fermented chili and bean sauce) and I thought that using that in the sloppy joes would be a great idea. So on the spur of the moment I switched from Texmex flavours to Korean flavours.

Of course the sloppy joes were super quick and easy to make. (This meal is easily doable on a weeknight.) The sloppy joe sandwiches were pretty messy, and I really filled those buns with the sloppy joe filling, but they tasted great so the mess was well worth it. I like the way that the gochujang worked in the sloppy joe both with regards to the flavour and to the heat. As for the beans, I enjoyed the version with the beans and I added the second half of the can of beans to the batch without.

Sloppy Joes

(makes 4+ servings)
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:
1 pound ground beef
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 cup onion (chopped)
1/2 cup carrot (chopped)
1/2 cup celery (chopped)
2 cloves garlic (chopped)
1/4 cup ketchup
2 cups tomato sauce
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon mustard
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons gochujang (optional or 1 tablespoon chili powder and 1 teaspoon cumin)
1 (19 ounce) can kidney beans (optional)
salt and pepper to taste
4+ hamburger buns

Directions:
1. Brown the ground beef in a large pan and set aside.
2. Heat the oil in the pan.
3. Add the onion, carrot and celery and saute until tender, about 10-15 minutes.
4. Add the garlic and saute until fragrant, about a minute.
5. Add the ketchup, tomato sauce, Worcestershire sauce, vinegar, mustard, brown sugar, gochujang, beans, salt and pepper and simmer for a few minutes.

Use leftovers in:
Sloppy Joe Grilled Cheese Sandwich

Similar Recipes:
Texmex Sloppy Joes
Bulgogi Burgers

Thai Spicy Peanut Sauce Turkey Burger

Shortly after I started food blogging I tried using peanut butter in a savory dish for the first time and I really enjoyed it. Recently, when I came across the concept of a Thai style burger with peanut sauce I knew that I would have to try making some. I wanted to try making the burgers with turkey as I had enjoyed it so much the last time. Since the most important ingredient in these burgers was the peanut sauce I decided to go with the peanut sauce from the moo satay that I had liked so much. I have also been enjoying using fresh herbs in my burgers this summer so I added some green onions and cilantro to these burgers. The spicy peanut burgers came together easily and this time they held together nicely. I served the burgers with even more yummy peanut sauce poured on them. I might have used a little too much peanut sauce as it was dripping all over. The burgers were so moist and tasty that it hardly mattered that they were a little messy. I just can't seem to get enough of that peanut sauce! I wonder what I can use it with next?

Ingredients:
1 pound ground turkey
1/4 cup peanut sauce (or your favorite store bought brand)
1/4 cup green onions (chopped)
1/4 cup cilantro (chopped)
1 egg
1/4 cup panko bread crumbs
1/2 cup peanut sauce (or your favorite store bought brand)
buns
lettuce
tomatoes

Directions:
1. Mix the turkey, peanut sauce, green onions, cilantro, egg, and bread crumbs in a large bowl.
2. Form 4 patties and place on a broiling pan.
3. Broil until cooked, about 10-15 minutes flipping once in the middle.
4. Assemble the burger, pouring some peanut sauce onto the patty in the bun.

Similar Recipes:
Chicken Satay Burgers
Curried Chicken Burger
Salsa Verde Turkey Burger
Bulgogi Burgers
Greek Lamb Burger
Burgers Smothered in a Caramelized Onion, Mushroom and Blue Cheese Sauce
Thai Peanut Pork Noodle Saute
Thai Curried Zucchini Fritters with Spicy Peanut Sauce
Chicken Satay with Spicy Peanut Dipping Sauce
Chicken Satay Quesadillas with Spicy Peanut Dipping Sauce
Banh Mi Burgers with Vietnamese Caramel BBQ Sauce

Curried Chicken Burger

Summer is the perfect time for enjoying burgers and this summer I seem to be on a burger kick. I have made a few different burgers so far using a different meat in each one. I wanted to try making chicken burgers next and I was thinking that curried chicken burgers would be really tasty. I started out with the ground chicken and added a heaping tablespoon of my favorite curry powder followed by some ginger, garlic and some chili heat. I also wanted to try making the burgers with some herbs in them and cilantro sounded perfect. I could not resist dressing the burger up with some spicy mango chutney and some cool and creamy curried mayonnaise. The chicken burgers turned out pretty good. They were nice and moist and they held together well. Most importantly, they were really tasty! The mango chutney and mayonnaise went well with the chicken burgers adding even more flavour. I served the chicken burgers with some curried potato salad with peas and some mango and black bean salsa. It was a really nice summer meal.

Ingredients:
1 pound ground chicken
1 tablespoon curry powder
1 teaspoon garlic (grated)
1 teaspoon ginger (grated)
1 teaspoon chili sauce
1/4 cup green onions (chopped)
1/4 cup cilantro (chopped)
1 egg
1/4 cup panko bread crumbs
4 buns
curried mayonnaise
lettuce
tomatoes
mango chutney

Directions:
1. Mix the chicken, curry powder, garlic, ginger, chili sauce, green onions, cilantro, egg, and bread crumbs in a large bowl.
2. Form 4 patties and place on a broiling pan.
3. Broil until cooked, about 10-15 minutes flipping once in the middle.

Similar Recipes:
Thai Peanut Turkey Burger
Salsa Verde Turkey Burger
Bulgogi Burgers
Greek Lamb Burger
Chicken Satay Burgers