Cooking Hamburgers
Great Ideas on Cooking Burgers
One of the backyard barbeque banquets includes the grand old art of cooking burgers. For a long time, this meant hamburgers, but in today’s health conscious society can mean much, much more.
Few can deny that there are greater pleasures than biting into a thick, juicy hamburger piled high with a variety of condiments. There is just something about the flavor and the convenience that makes the hamburger one of the most eaten items in the United States. But there are some who have decided that this old standby just doesn’t cut the mustard with them any longer, and have stopped cooking burgers in the traditional sense by adapting this wonderful sandwich to meet their own needs.
Ground chicken or turkey white meat makes excellent patties, and are nutritious and health conscious as well. Cooking burgers made with poultry can tend to be dry if not carefully cooked because of the much lower fat content. Adding plain or flavored applesauce, shredded apple or shredded zucchini along with the breadcrumbs and seasonings to the meat will help it to retain its juicy goodness as well as add some really great flavor. When cooking burgers made with chicken or turkey, any of the methods of grilling, baking or pan-frying will work well.
For a more gourmet and Middle Eastern touch on the barbeque, cooking burgers of lamb may be more your style. Ground lamb combined with fresh herbs of mint, oregano, cilantro and garlic along with a variety of spices is formed into patties and then grilled for just about 4-5 minutes each side. Instead of the standard hamburger bun, serve these delectable treats with pita bread and feta cheese.
If meat is totally not in the picture, a great alternative to cooking burgers traditional style is a meatless version. That’s right, veggie burgers. With these burgers, the creative imagination can run wild on ingredients. Chickpeas, black beans, portabella mushrooms, lentils, multi-colored peppers….any vegetable can be used in any combination for a delicious result.
To add protein, try adding crumbled firm tofu into the mix; a wonderfully healthy ingredient to accumulate health points. One word of advice: cooking burgers veggie style can result in a dry patty if the right mix is not incorporated. Eggs or egg whites, citrus juice and should be included for a moist and flavorful combination.
Cooking burgers is a new culinary adventure these days; one that should be embraced as the wave of the future for backyard barbeques. While the homey picture of Dad flipping hamburgers over a flaming grill is still one that we treasure, alternatives to the standard beef patty can easily be added to bring a delectable, and sometimes healthier, versatility to your backyard barbeque using poultry, lamb or vegetables.