The Best Homemade Burger Recipe on the Planet.

One of the reasons that I’ve been sitting on this recipe for the past 13 months is that I just haven’t been able to think of a name for it. There are a lot of specific ingredients in this recipe that make it so deliciously tasty, I don’t think I’d be able to fit them all into the title! For a while, I was thinking: Caramelized Onion Cranberry Turkey Burgers, but then the store I bought my meat from didn’t carry ground turkey for a while, so I used chicken… and, not surprisingly, it worked brilliantly. Eventually, I needed to make burgers when I only had ground pork or beef in the freezer, and guess what? Still tasted super amazing. 

The recipe I’ve been adapting for the last year…I was so afraid I’d lose it!

And I feel that leaving Balsamic vinegar & sharp cheese out of the title is a real slight to them, since they really contribute a lot to the final product… so, rather than name every single ingredient in the title, I just decided to call it what it actually is: The Best Homemade Burger Recipe on the Planet.

These burgers received overwhelming praise at our neighbourhood BBQ!

We love dinners on the BBQ here in this house, pretty much year-round. (I really wish that I had a picture of it, but during the winter after one of our MANY snow storms, my husband shoveled a path through the 5′ high snow banks to reach our bbq…) However tasty those thick & juicy fancy stuffed burgers you find in the freezers at grocery stores everywhere are, I just cannot justify spending $12 on 6 or 8 burgers. Add onto that the buns – $3.50-$5 for a package of 8: THAT’S A LOT OF MONEY FOR A MEAL YOU NEED TO MAKE YOURSELF! (Or am I just really cheap??) 

So, there’s this butcher’s shop about 20 minutes away from our house called “Farmer Al’s”. It’s not popular with everyone… a lot of people don’t like the fact that it smells like…well, a butcher’s shop. Which, by the way, it is. They sell pig heads. And cow feet. And other animal parts that many people (including me, by the way) would rather pretend are never used in any sort of food. However. The meat is good. They sell ground pork for $1.99/lb and ground beef for $2.29/lb (when you buy them in 10lb bags) – so, every few months, I make a trip out there, run past the random animal parts, and grab my large bags of ground meat. From a 10lb bag of ground meat, I can get somewhere around 30 burgers. Not so bad, I’d say!!

I’ve been making my own buns, as well, because they really do taste so much better than store-bought – and when we’re having burgers for dinner (and I’ve already made & frozen the burgers), I don’t have as much supper prep to do. I recommend this recipe over here. Although, if you have a favourite bun recipe, I’d LOVE it if you left the link in the comments below! 

The Best Homemade Burger Recipe on the Planet

2014-07-08 12:50:36

A truly impressive burger recipe that works well when made with chicken, turkey, pork, OR beef - or a mixture of the above! You'll never want to buy those over-priced store bought burgers again!

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Ingredients

1. 3 lbs ground meat (chicken, turkey, pork, or GB)
2. 1/2 cup seasoned bread crumbs
3. 1 egg
4. 2 tbsp dried parsley
5. 1/2 tsp salt
6. 95g finely shredded very sharp cheddar cheese
7. 1 tsp dijon mustard
8. 1/4 cup balsamic (preferably a fruity balsamic, like (the now discontinued) PC Raspberry & Lemon Balsamic.
9. 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
10. 3 Tbsp butter
11. 1 medium onion (preferably red, but it doesn't have to be)
12. 2 Tbsp minced garlic
13. 1 handful dried cranberries

Begin by preparing the caramelized onion mixture

1. Melt butter in a griddle / frying pan over med low heat.
2. Add roughly chopped onion and a pinch of salt and stir to cover in melted butter.
3. In order to allow the onions to caramelize, only stir every few minutes - we want them to brown, but not to burn.
4. If the onions are getting too dry and are starting to stick to your pan too much, add a couple tablespoons of water. When your onions are entirely browned and smelling sweet, add the garlic and cranberries and let cook for another five minutes, stirring a little more frequently.

Then make the burger mixture

1. Add all ingredients to a large mixing bowl, and mix well with your hands or a stand mixer (until ingredients are evenly distributed in the meat).
2. Cut or tear about fifteen 5" squares of wax or parchment paper.
3. Using a large spoon, scoop a healthy amount of your burger mixture into your hand. Form a ball, then place on a square of wax/parchment, and flatten to about 1/2" thick. Place burger (& paper) on a cookie sheet. When the sheet is full, stick in freezer. Store frozen burgers in a ziplock freezer bag.
4. Thaw a little before cooking on the BBQ.

Notes

1. If you're using the burgers right away, they don't have to be frozen first - however, the burgers will stick less on the grill if they have been refrigerated or cooled in the freezer for a while first.

By Jenn vanOosten

You Pinspire Me https://youpinspireme.ca/

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Jenn vanOosten

I live in Hamilton, Ontario, and love my city. I'm a Netflixer, choral music geek, bookworm, inventor of recipes (I take Artistic Licence on EVERYTHING that I make), wife of one, mother of two, and owner of a neurotic Schnauzer. I respect people who respect others. I love good food that's well done, but my favourite lunch is KD & hotdogs. With ketchup. I'm addicted to Clearance Shopping. I will ALWAYS get the product that I want at the price that I want, eventually.

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