What’s more American than a barbeque on the Fourth of July? Whether your grilling up hamburgers, hot dogs, steaks or seafood there’s nothing quite like gathering around a picnic table and eating off red, white and blue paper plates to get you into the spirit of Independence Day.
This year our country celebrates 232 years of pride and glory. The cheeseburger hasn’t been around quite as long, yet people are constantly trying to update it by adding unique ingredients and tooling with the basic recipe.
The following recipes are ones that add a clever twist to the old favorite. The first one will put some real zing into your Fourth of July grill fest. The other one shakes up the American classic with a surprise filling of pesto, sun-dried tomatoes and mozzarella.
SMOKING HOT JALAPENO CHEESEBURGER
Ingredients:
2 lbs. ground beef
1/2 cup KC Masterpiece Barbecue Sauce (or your favorite BBQ sauce)
1/8 cup KC Masterpiece Barbecue Seasoning
1/4 cup jalapeno peppers, thinly sliced
1 yellow onion, sliced in large rings
8 slices pepper jack cheese
1/8 cup butter
8 hamburger buns
Directions:
Preheat grill.
Combine 1/4 cup barbecue sauce, seasoning and jalapenos in a small bowl.
Incorporate spice mixture into ground beef and form into 8 patties.
Brush grill grate with oil or coat with nonstick cooking spray.
Grill burgers for 12-16 minutes on a covered grill until burgers are cooked through, turning once. In last 6-8 minutes of grilling time, place onions on grill.
Top burgers with cheese during last minute of cooking time. Lightly spread butter on bun. Grill bun, buttered side down, until lightly toasted.
Serve burgers on buns and top with grilled onions, barbecue sauce and your favorite toppings.
Serves 8.
MOZZARELLA IN THE MIDDLE BURGER
Ingredients:
1-1/2 lbs. lean ground beef
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
4 teaspoons prepared pesto sauce
1 tablespoon prepared pesto sauce for topping
2 tablespoons minced sun-dried tomatoes in oil
4 slices (1/4″-thick) mozzarella cheese
4 hamburger buns
4 lettuce leaves
4 slices ripe tomato
1/4 cup mayonnaise
Directions:
Preheat grill.
Stir together ground beef, salt and pepper.
Form into 8 patties.
Spread 4 teaspoons of the pesto over 4 of the patties, leaving a 1/2-inch border clear. Top the pesto with the sun-dried tomatoes and mozzarella. Top the filling with the remaining burger patties, pinching the edges well to seal.
Grill the burgers until just cooked through, about 5 minutes per side.
Mix mayonnaise with the remaining 1-tablespoon pesto.
Set the burgers on the buns, top with the lettuce and tomato. Spread the top bun with the pesto-mayonnaise before topping off the burger.
Serves 4.
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