The good ole classic All-American Burger to me means a good ground chuck beef burger, pickles, tomato, grilled onion, mayo, mustard and ketchup on a toasted bun & topped with bacon and cheese, if you like.
Grilled All-American Burger
Saturday was a gardening day so supper had to be simple. Grilled burgers and southern style potato salad. Grilled corn on the cob would be good too, but we just had that the night before {and yeah, I know, that's a lot of starches} so I settled on the burger and tater salad and it was plenty.Oh, well, there might have been a bit of leftover banana pudding involved there too.
Since I've previously put up posts for a classic onion burger (love, love) and my pepper jack stuffed burger, I thought I'd do a post for what I consider to be a basic, all American burger.
Nothing fancy or outrageous here, just a simple, classic, ground beef patty, with a light brushing of butter, a sprinkle of salt and pepper, and dressed with mayonnaise, ketchup, mustard, pickles, tomato and lettuce all on a toasted bun. Throw a little cheese on there, and you've got your classic cheeseburger. Add some bacon, and you got yourself a nice bacon cheeseburger. Ain't nothin' wrong with that!
I didn't get a photo of the buns but use the melted butter to brush the insides on all of the buns first, reserving the leftover butter. Stick them back together and back into the bag or just wrap them up in something; set aside.
Cut the onion into about 1/2-inch-thick rings, keeping the rings together.
Shape the burger patties - but take care not to over handle them. You really want to just gently press them down and shape around the edges without handling them too much. Handling ground beef will rob your burger of its tender juiciness and toughen it, so just sort of push the ground beef gently into a patty shape, about 4 inches across. Make a slight indentation in the center of each patty.
Brush the burgers and the onion slices very lightly with some of the remaining melted butter, but only on the top side. Sprinkle the burgers and the onions with salt and pepper on that same side. Reserve the rest of the butter for when you turn the burgers.
Oil the grill grates and put the burgers on the grill, indented and buttered side up, and grill for about 4 minutes. Do the onions off on the side, checking and turning those as they brown.
Brush the remaining butter and add salt and pepper to the top side of the burgers and turn them to finish cooking. Toast the buns on the top rack of the grill if you have one, if not, grill them on the grates themselves, but it'll only take seconds so keep an eye on them.
Don't press on the burgers as they cook - just resist the urge! That'll compact them and press out all those nice juices that help to keep your burger moist.
Once they're ready, to build an all-American burger, first brush both sides of the bun with a light layer of mayonnaise. Did you know that the fat contained in the mayo when spread on the bottom bun, forms a barrier that helps to keep the bun from absorbing juices from the burger and going soggy on ya?
Add a grilled burger, then ketchup and mustard.
Couple slices of pickles - I am totally digging these Wickles pickles I recently discovered - sort of a sweet and spicy, garlicy pickle - just perfect for burgers - though I have admittedly snacked on most of them right out of the jar. As a matter of fact, they would have been pretty darned good in that potato salad I'll bet... that is, had there been enough of them left for me to use.
A product of Alabama, I found them at my local Rouses market. Mmmmm.... so good, and yes. I am now hooked on them. But back to the burger... top that with a thick slice of tomato. Use dill or use sweet. Use what YOU like!
Add a chunk of lettuce - romaine is usually what we have in the house - but use iceberg, or whatever you like or have. Add the top of the bun and a side of baked beans, grilled corn and southern style potato salad, and devour. Ooops! I forgot the grilled onion!
Oh no I di'nt!!
Now that ladies and gents, is what I'm talkin' about! Heellllooooo beautiful.
Unable to view the printable below with your device? Tap/click here.
Grilled All-American Burger
Yield: 6 burgers
Prep time: 15 MinCook time: 10 MinTotal time: 25 Min
The good ole classic All American Burger to me means a good ground chuck beef burger, pickles, tomato, grilled onion, mayo, mustard and ketchup on a toasted bun & topped with bacon and cheese, if you like.
Ingredients
- 12 slices cooked bacon,(2 slices per burger), optional
- 6 hamburger buns
- 2 tablespoons butter, melted
- 2 pounds (80/20) ground chuck
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
- 3 tablespoons chili sauce
- 3 tablespoons ice water
- 1 large Vidalia or yellow onion, optional
- Sliced sharp cheddar cheese, white or yellow American, Swiss or your favorite cheese, optional
Condiments and Dressing:
- Mayonnaise
- Ketchup
- Mustard
- Sliced dill or sweet pickles
- Thick sliced tomato
- Lettuce
Instructions
- Preheat grill to high.
- Cook the bacon in a skillet until crisp, drain on paper towels and set aside.
- Brush the inside of the buns with the melted butter, stack back together and wrap to keep fresh. Set aside and reserve the remaining butter.
- Using a fork, mix together the ground beef, salt, pepper, chili sauce and iced water. Divide the meat evenly into 6 even balls, and handling as little as possible, shape into equal sized patties.
- Make a slight indentation in the top and brush the top of the meat patties lightly with the remaining melted butter.
- Cut onion into 6 thick slices, keeping the rings intact.
- Oil the grill grate.
- Place the burgers, indented butter side up, and the onions on the hot grill and grill with the lid open for about 4 minutes.
- Place the buns, butter side down, on the top rack or over indirect heat.
- Brush the other side of the burger with the butter, sprinkle with additional salt and pepper and turn, cooking for another 4-5 minutes for medium, or until done.
- For a cheeseburger, cook 4 minutes, flip the burger, grill for about 2 minutes, add the cheese, close the lid on the grill, and continue cooking for 2-3 minutes or until cheese is melted and burger cooked through.
- Add mayonnaise on both sides of the bun. Add burgers to bottom buns and top with ketchup, mustard, pickles, one of the grilled onions, a thick slice of tomato, and lettuce.
- Serve with a side of baked beans, potato salad and some grilled corn on the cob. Devour.
Notes
In my opinion, ground chuck is the best option for a great burger. It has 20% fat, and, unless you overcook it, produces a nice, juicy burger. You can use a leaner beef, however, it does cook faster than a higher fat burger, so check it early to ensure that you do not overcook it. The freshest and best ground chuck for burgers comes from purchasing a roast and having the butcher at your store grind it for you. The bonus for grinding your own beef, is that you can know that it is safe to cook your burger more to a medium rather than having to cook it well done. Substitute steak sauce or barbecue sauce for the chili sauce.
More Cookout Foods
Images and Full Post Content including Recipe ©Deep South Dish. Recipes are offered for your own personal use only and while pinning and sharing links is welcomed and encouraged, please do not copy and paste post or recipe text to repost or republish elsewhere such as other Facebook pages, blogs, websites, or forums, or any print medium, without explicit prior permission. All rights reserved.
Material Disclosure: Unless otherwise noted, you should assume that post links to the providers of goods and services mentioned, establish an affiliate relationship and/or other material connection and that I may be compensated when you purchase from a provider. You are never under any obligation to purchase anything when using my recipes and you should always perform due diligence before buying goods or services from anyone via the Internet or offline.
.
