The sun is shining brightly today and the days are stretching longer. Last night, I noticed the sky was still a deep, dusky purple after 9 pm! There are fat robins plucking worms out of the ground every morning, the grass is greening up and the trees are leafing out. That means spring is here, but summer is coming… and I am ready!
So, today, because I just can’t wait until it is actually summer, I am sharing one of my favorite, tried-and-true summer recipes with you: Scrum-delicious Burgers. And yes… they truly deserve the name scrum-delicious! I can almost feel the warm sun on my back, the fresh breeze wisping the hair around my face, and the smell of a grill that comes with summer. And these burgers fit right in.
While there is nothing really new about the ingredients in these burgers (I mean, we’ve all had burgers with variations of cheese, mushrooms, bacon, and onions) there is just something about the way these come together that makes them different than any other burger I have ever eaten. And when I say different, um… I mean amazing. Like no other burger out there…
I think there are two things in particular that take this recipe over the top: one is the minced fresh onion mixed in to the burger; and the second is that the topping ingredients are all mixed together and then melted on top of the cooking burger. These two steps add so much intense flavor and keep the burger from being dry. The topping has a unique flavor because all the ingredients are mixed and melted together. This technique creates a different flavor profile than you get when the individual ingredients are layered independently as in most traditional burgers. So, I guess what I’m saying here is that even though the ingredients look fairly traditional and maybe even ho-hum for a burger, ignore that completely. Because, these burgers are just plain better than the sum of their ingredients.
So, in conclusion, you really have to try these burgers. Have. To. Like, today.
- 1½ pounds lean ground beef
- 4 tbsp finely chopped onion
- ½ tsp garlic salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
- 1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
- 6 bacon strips, cooked and crumbled
- ⅓ cup sliced mushrooms (canned, or fresh sauteed)
- ¼ cup mayonnaise
- 6-8 hamburger buns
- Lettuce leaves and tomatoes, if desired
- In a medium bowl, combine the ground beef, onion, garlic salt and pepper. Using your hands, gently mix until all ingredients are incorporated. Shape into 6-8 patties, about ¾ inch thick. Set aside, or cover and refrigerate until ready to cook.
- In a small bowl, combine the cheese, bacon, mushrooms, and mayonnaise; refrigerate until ready to use.
- Grill the burgers over medium-hot coals for 8-10 minutes, turning once. During the last 3 minutes of cooking, spoon about ¼ cup of the cheese mixture onto each burger. Cover and cook until cheese is slightly melty.
- Serve on buns with lettuce and tomato, if desired.
You can use canned sliced mushrooms, or if you prefer, you can saute some fresh mushrooms lightly prior to adding it to the cheese/mayo mixture.
I usually use Canola oil mayo, which has half the calories of regular mayo and tastes great.
If you don't have a grill, you can cook these on the stovetop over medium high heat for about 4 minutes on each side.
Recipe slightly adapted from Taste of Home.
Laura, Love the idea of your blog!! I can’t seem to get subscribed and wonder what I am doing wrong. I put my email address where requested and click on the subscribe, but that’s the end of it. Any suggestions?
With that delicious hamburger, we are going to make them tomorrow evening using fresh bison burger that we get from one of my cousins who has a big buffalo farm about 6 miles from us!! Am anxious to try the other recipes as well.
Hope you’re having a lovely spring out there. So beautiful here as Cedar Falls has so many flowering trees and bushes in bloom and of course all the usual spring flowers. I love spring with everything awakening from a long winter!
“HI” to Jason!
With Love,
Aunt Elaine
Hi Elaine – I think you just have to check your email account. You should receive an email with instructions on how to confirm your subscription to the blog. Then, you should get notification in your email every time I post something new.
Glad you like the idea – hope the burgers turn out great! Jason says Hi to you!
Laura 🙂
I guess I did get a little impatient as I did get subscribed later that day! Burgers were fantastic!! Do you have access to bison meat? It is so good for a person and more flavor than beef!! And getting it from my cousin we are assured of pure organic natural meat. He says that as far as he knows all buffalo farmers raise their animals that way as people are demanding REAL food more each day.
Eighty degrees today and beautiful!
Glad you liked them! I will have to try them with bison meat sometime!