American Hamburger

American Hamburger Recipe

Ingredients:
1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef (hamburger)
Salt and pepper
4 hamburger buns or Kaiser rolls
2 tablespoons butter, melted
Accompaniments (see below)

Preparation:

Preheat barbecue grill; brush and oil the grates.

Lightly wet your hands with cold water; gently form ground beef into 4 patties, about 1-inch thick and larger than your bun. When forming patties, handle as little as possible. Loosely packed burgers are crisper on the outside and juicier inside. Poke a hole in the center (this will stop the hamburger from rising in the center. The hole will close while cooking). Season with salt and pepper.

Place patties onto hot grill. Cover barbecue with lid, open any vents, and cook 4 to 5 minutes; turn patties over and cook another 4 to 5 minutes (only turn patties once) or until cooked to desired doneness (do not press patties with spatula while cooking as juices will escape and the meat will dry out). Remove from grill and transfer onto a serving plate. 

Brush the hamburger buns or Kaiser rolls with melted butter; toast them on the grill, cut side down for 30 to 60 seconds. remove from grill and place on individual plates. Place the cooked meat onto the bottom slice of the bun and add accompaniments of your choice (see below).

ACCOMPANIMENTS IDEAS:

4 slices Cheddar cheese
8 slices cooked bacon
4 fried eggs
1 tomato, thinly sliced
1 small onion, thinly sliced
Lettuce, cut into 1/4-inch slices
Sweet pickle relish
Ketchup
Mustard
Mayonnaise 

Makes 4 servings. 

Burger recipe

First introduced in 1968 by Jim Delligatti, a McDonald?s franchise owner in Uniontown, Pennsylvania, the Big Mac has forever changed the way Americans think about hamburgers?we now consume 550 million Big Macs annually. In honor of this American icon, we?ve included all the essential elements in our Big CHOW: two all-beef patties, American cheese, and, yes, even our own special sauce. Satisfy your next Mac attack at home.

INGREDIENTS

For the burger:

• 2 tablespoons Thousand Island Dressing
• 1 teaspoon sweet pickle relish
• 3 ounces lean ground beef
• 2 (4-inch) bottom halves of 2 sesame seed buns
• 1 (4-inch) top half of 1 sesame seed bun

To assemble:

• 1/4 cup shredded iceberg lettuce
• 1 slice American cheese
• 1 tablespoon minced sweet onion
• 4 (1/8-inch-thick) dill pickle slices

INSTRUCTIONS
For the burger:

1. In a small bowl, mix dressing with relish until evenly combined; set aside. Shape beef into 2 (4-inch-wide) patties (the patties will be very thin). Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
2. Heat a griddle or a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. When hot, add patties and press on them with a metal spatula to flatten. Cook until patties are almost done through and most of the red has turned to brown, about 4 minutes.
3. Flip patties and move to one side of the pan until second side is browned, about 1 minute more. Meanwhile, place bun halves cut side down on burger juices in the pan to lightly toast while burgers finish cooking.

To assemble:

1. Spread 1 tablespoon of the dressing mixture on 1 of the bottom bun halves, then top with 1/2 of the lettuce and cheese. Lay 1 burger patty on top of this.
2. Place remaining bottom bun on first burger patty, then spread remaining dressing mixture on the bun. Top dressing with onion and remaining lettuce. Finish off with pickle slices, remaining burger patty, and top half of the toasted bun.