Birthday Burgers

To me, nothing screams 'Summer' quite like a barbecue. Cold beers, good friends, something tasty sizzling on the grill - it's a perfect evening. To make up for the blogging drought (thank you, my all-absorbing career) I've selected an especially successful recipe.

For my birthday last month, a friend and I hosted a joint barbecue party with a few friends and a boatload of food. The following recipe details what I found was the most popular item on the grill:

(A quick word about the proportions - I made enough for 30 people so any photograph will show far more of everything than the recipe suggests.)


Southwest Burgers
Total prep and cooking time: 3 hours + refrigeration.
Makes 12-15 burger patties

1 Red onion, coarsely diced
2 Jalapeño peppers, sliced fairly thin
2 Heads garlic, whole
3 lb beef mince
3 eggs
1 cup packaged breadcrumbs or 2 cups fresh
2 T + 6T Soy Sauce
2 T + 6T Balsamic Vinegar
5 T Light olive oil
3 T Worcestershire Sauce
1 T Freshly ground black pepper


For the Vegetable Base:
(1 hour)
Preheat the oven to 400F. Set the garlic on a baking tray and pour 1 T of olive oil over each head. Put the garlic in the oven for 35 minutes or until the skins turn golden. Saute the onions in 2T olive oil over medium-high heat until they begin to brown, then douse them in 2 T soy sauce and let them soak up all the flavor. Move the onion to a medium-sized bowl as soon as the pan is dry.
Saute the jalapeños over high heat for 2 minutes, then douse them in 2 T balsamic vinegar. Add the jalapeños to the onion, then squeeze the roasted garlic on top. Mix these three into a rough paste using a wooden spoon or a fork (see photo at right.)


For the Meat:
(1/2 hour)
In a large bowl, combine the hamburger meat with Worcester Sauce, soy sauce and black pepper to taste. The ratios listed above are good guidelines. Mix these around with a wooden spoon or by hand, if you're up for it. Combine the meat with the vegetable paste and mix thoroughly. Let these sit covered in the fridge for as long as you can, up to a day ideally. I prepared mine the evening before and 20 hours or so later the meat had taken on a warm, sweet, tangy smell which made me consider going instead for steak tartar. Briefly.


For the Patties:
(45 min)
About an hour before cooking time, take the meat mixture out and add the eggs one at a time, mixing them in with some breadcrumbs until all the eggs and crumbs have been added. This can be quite tiring, so separating the mixture into two or three batches can be helpful.
Grab an appropriate handful of the burger mix and fashion it into a patty of whatever size and thickness you wish. If you like your burgers on the rarer side, thicker may be better. Store the completed patties on a tray covered in wax paper, stacking them if need be on another layer of wax paper.


Cooking:
(30-45 min)
I dare not intrude on anyone's grilling style, so I'll keep this to a few tips:
Clean the grill thoroughly before cooking, and brush a little olive oil over the grill to prevent sticking and to get those strong black lines your guests will love.
Make sure the fire has died down to smoldering coals before cooking for a more even and controllable temperaure.
Leave an area of the grill free from coals so that burgers that cook faster can be moved and kept warm without burning.
Flip the burgers with a sturdy, long-handled spatula to avoid burns, and to avoid casualties always pick the burger up by sliding underneath it parallel to the grill.
Fire-toasted rolls add a crisp, authentic element to the burger.
Have plently of toppings on hand - lettuce, tomato and relish are always popular, but try delicious alternatives like guacamole, hot sauce, fresh onion or cucumber.


Have a fantastic Summer and let me know how your barbecues go!