Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Classic Cheeseburgers on Homemade Buns

If you truly want a rest from your labors this Labor Day, then plan ahead for a big and easy burger cook out. I've got three scrumptious burgers to share with you this week: a classic and juicy beef cheeseburger, a tomatillo turkey burger with a creamy avocado sauce, and a brown rice and black bean vegetarian patty with zingy southwest veggies. Make all three for a big burger bash, or choose one for a small get together. I won't be able to help you choose which one; so help me, I love them all. Whichever one you choose, be sure to make these homemade hamburger buns for an over the top burger experience. (I'll post some whole wheat hamburger buns later in the week, per the request of my favorite Hawaiian blogger Deb.)
Sample Labor Day Menu:
Grilled Burgers on Homemade Buns
Gourmet Kettle Chips (I'm addicted to the Spicy Thai-try um!)
corn on the cob
veggies and dip
watemelon
Ice Cream Torte (scroll down to yesterday's post for recipes)
Money Saving Tips: Every grocery store in town is going to have ground meat, condiments, chips and ice cream on sale for Labor Day. Take advantage and stock up. If the meat is a really good deal, buy a big package, portion it up at home, and freeze it for another day.
Classic Cheeseburgers
Estimated Cost: $8.00 for four
Notes: I make a condiment rich crunchy lettuce salad for these burgers, and then I skip condiments on the bun.
1 and 1/3 pound ground beef (not too lean)
1 egg
1 teaspoon minced garlic, or 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
sliced cheese, (sharp cheddar or swiss work best)
3 cups chopped romaine lettuce
1/3 cup mayonnaise
3 tablespoons yellow mustard
sliced tomatoes,
sliced dill pickles
sliced red onion

In a medium bowl, lightly combine meat, egg, garlic, Worcestershire, pepper, and salt. Shape into patties. (Patties can be covered and refrigerated for up to 24 hours, if desired.) Preheat grill for medium hot cooking. Grill patties about four minutes per side, topping with cheese for last minute of cooking. Let rest, covered, for five minutes, to finish cooking from residual heat. Meanwhile, combine lettuce, mayonnaise and mustard in a medium bowl; season to taste with salt and pepper. To make burgers, layer lettuce mixture, patty, tomato, pickle and onion on bottom buns. Cover with top buns and serve.


Homemade Hamburger Buns
Estimated Cost: $2.00 for 10
Notes: These buns will take your burger from so-so to unforgettable. Make them a couple days ahead and freeze them, or bake them up fresh. Use all purpose flour for a soft rich bun.
1 cup milk plus 1 tablespoon, divided
1/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons butter, plus more for buttering bowl
1 teaspoon salt
1 egg, yolk and white divided
2 and 1/4 teaspoon yeast (I use SAF)
3 cups flour

In a microwave safe small bowl, combine 1 cup milk, sugar and butter. Heat until butter just melts and mixture is warm but not hot. If it is hot, wait until it is lukewarm to proceed. In a large bowl, combine salt, egg white, yeast, and flour-one cup at a time, to form a soft dough. (In a separate small bowl, combine remaining egg yolk and tablespoon of milk). Knead dough briefly, about three minutes. Butter same bowl, replace dough, cover and let rise for about 1 hour, or until doubled. (At this point, you could punch the dough down and refrigerate it for up to 24 hours, or until ready to proceed.) Shape dough into 10 separate round buns. You can roll them out and cut them with a biscuit cutter, or you can simply shape them into 10 round buns. Let rise on a greased baking sheet for about 45 minutes, or until light and risen. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Brush buns with egg yolk mixture. Bake for about 15-18 minutes, or until nicely browned. Coming Tomorrow:
A Brief Break from Burgers for Barefoot Thursdays
Grilled Lemon and Rosemary Chicken Tenders and a Bonus

45 comments:

  1. Erin, only you could make me crave a cheeseburger at 8 o'clock in the morning!!! Yummo!

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  2. Nice buns! (I just had to say it!) Seriously they look so good and might make me consider baking and using yeast! Two things I'm not comfortale with. Have you ever made them with whole wheat flour?

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  3. I think it's the first time I see an hamburguer and a watermelon piece in the same plate... I like classic, these seem great to me, can't wait for the others! Debinhawaii is right, nice buns, lol!

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  4. This is the way my mama fixes cheese burgers! Except she has never made her own buns. That would be a real treat.

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  5. Prudy, great post! I tried making my own buns a month (or so) ago and loved them, despite the fact that they were not nearly as voluptuous as yours. My mom always sticks some ground oatmeal in her burger mix--the insoluble fiber in the oatmeal helps maintain a juicy mouthfeel even if the burger is cooked to that desired 160F or higher temperature.

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  6. ive never made my own burger buns before- will have to give it a try. you can't beat a good cheeseburger

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  7. Your hamburger buns look great! I'll have to try those sometime.

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  8. I think I will go with the veggie burger for me and probably the cheeseburger for my hubby, heck why not throw in a 3rd as well? These look delicious and perfect for a holiday weekend. I will let you know how it goes!

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  9. Deb:
    I have made these with whole wheat, and I love them that way too. Maybe I'll squeeze in a whole wheat batch and post about that before the weekend.

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  10. Wow I've never made my own buns and never thought about it, but it would be a great home-made treat at my next bbq. Great post!

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  11. Prudy,
    I just saw your granola recipe in the Food section. How fun! and what great publicity for your blog. It is more exciting to read your stuff now that I kinda know you!

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  12. Deb in Hawaii:
    I'm making some wheat hamburger buns today so I can post about them a little later. I just want to double check how much wheat I can cram in and still get a soft roll. See how much I love you?:)

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  13. We are planning on grilling out this weekend..thanks for the recipes!!

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  14. Looks great for a holiday weekend! I am a sucker for a big homemade burger. And look at those buns girl! Nice.

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  15. that is a gorgeous burger! granted, i'd have to unhinge my jaw to fit it into my mouth, but i'd do it in a heartbeat. :) meanwhile, i can hardly wait for that tomatillo turkey burger...and avocado sauce. :)

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  16. Oh my how YUMMY!!!!! Those buns look delicious!! As much as I cook I never once thought about making my OWN Hamburger buns! I MUST try this next time :)

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  17. I loveeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee cheeseburgers. And I lovveeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee this dish. When can I come over for dinner?

    New Miss Pickles up!

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  18. I have to admit. I don't do lettuce and tomato on a burger. There's something about wilted lettuce that just turns my stomach. I do, however do coleslaw on my burger... and this looks similar to a coleslaw type thing. I might just try that. The homemade buns... fabulous. Can you do a step picture series on how to make the cool decorative blip on top?
    ~Cat

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  19. Mmmmmmmmm...looks good! Thanks for the recipe for homemade buns and for the lettuce slaw...what a great idea! Can't wait for the tomatillo turkey burger and veggy burger. Thanks! =)

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  20. I love a good cheeseburger and your homemade buns make these burgers look mouth watering good. I haven't tried the Thai Kettle Chips before but I will now. Great looking meal.

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  21. Those homemade buns DO look scrumptious!! We love to grill burgers any chance we get!! Can't wait to try these:)

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  22. Cat's Pajamas:
    I sure wish I could but it only happens by accident. I wish someone could show me what I did. I was aiming for round, but I got a little lazy and they were a bit ragged. Somehow it came out looking swirled. I'll try again, but how do you recreate an accident?

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  23. I really love the look of the homemade buns! I'm going to have to give them a try next time we are having burgers.

    I really enjoy your blog and your tips for saving money while making great food!

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  24. Hello Burger! I love burgers. Your homemade buns look great! I have to get on this bread making kick that I keep thinking I'm going to have!

    I'm looking forward to your wheat version - thank you!

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  25. Your burger looks so good. I love your homemade buns too. I will definitely give this a go!

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  26. I wrote about my hamburger and hot dog buns (called "burgers & dogs" for short hereabouts) after 4th of July. I think you could make a craptastic burger taste pretty good with fresh lettuce, tomato and a homemade bun!

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  27. Classic Americana - I love it!

    -DTW
    www.everydaycookin.blogspot.com

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  28. I know you love me but I think it was really the "nice buns" comment that really made you go to all that extra work! ;-)

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  29. Prudy what great burger recipes! I am always trying out new veggie ones but my hub never likes them . . . I am going to try this one! Your buns are awesome! Brilliant!

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  30. I love beef, worcestershire sauce and cheese in a recipe!!! These look so good Prudy and I love the corn and melon, so yummy!

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  31. How can you resist a delicious meal such as a cheeseburger...with a homemade bun, no less. They look fantastic and so does that ear of corn. I am so addicted to corn right now.

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  32. Those homemade burger buns look great! The burgers look really tasty as well.

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  33. As per your request: Please feel free to use my salsa verde turkey burger photo. If you would like a larger version let me know. My email address in on my blogger profile page.

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  34. Oh that looks so good! Your buns are divine! (either ones- take your pick! heehee) I can't wait for you to post the black bean and rice patty, that was so delicious! Annabelle misses Sailor. too! We all do. I'm sorry we didn't get to say goodbye, Paul had to rush home for an appointment, that canceled on him! Sigh.

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  35. um, YUM! I am sooo going to try to make those buns.

    btw, did you apply to the LDS MOFs after seeing a bunch of click throughs from there? :) That's my moms group - we were sharing our favorite food blogs today. I shared you. :)

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  36. i wanna come to your house. i miss you. and your food. and our gab sessions . . .

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  37. I feel the same as Michal. I need a week at your house to feed off of your food and your aura.....Both are equally amazing :).

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  38. Does it get any better than that? A cheeseburger with a homemade bun, YUMMY!

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  39. Those buns look amazing! I will definately be making those! Thanks for the recipe!

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  40. Your burger looks fabulous! I can't wait to try it. I have too many things on my "to try" list! lol. Thanks for all the great recipes!

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  41. What a fabulous burger.
    Everything looks so fresh and homemade.

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  42. I think I'm just going to come over to your house to eat this weekend. You are serving up some yummy grub :)

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  43. In a microwave safe small bowl, combine 1 cup milk, sugar and butter. Heat until butter just melts and mixture is warm but not hot. If it is hot, wait until it is lukewarm to proceed. In a large bowl, combine salt, egg white, yeast, and flour-one cup at a time, to form a soft dough. (Quote)

    When do you add the microwaved milk, etc? It seems to have been left out of the instructions. Either that or I'm blind '-) The buns look great so I'll have to try them.

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  44. خبز برجر Pretty good post. I just stumbled upon your blog and wanted to say that I have really enjoyed reading your blog posts. Any way I'll be subscribing to your feed and I hope you post again soon. Big thanks for the useful info.

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