Summer is here! The longest day of the year has recently passed and it’s time to get those grills fired up. I don’t have a grill at my apartment in California, so now that I’m home in NY it’s time for some serious grilling, because there’s nothing quite like an outdoor BBQ in the summertime: friends, family, fun, the fourth (of July) and fabulous food (from fire and flames).
The one dish that reminds me most of summer is raspberry brownie. Anyone that’s been to my house on July 4th knows what it is and has never forgotten it. I’m pretty sure that’s the only reason everyone comes back to our party every year. I won’t taunt you any further with it, because I’ll be posting the (unbelievably simple) recipe the week before the Fourth. Other than the aforementioned delectable dessert, cheeseburgers are my second favorite summer food. And here’s a great way to jumpstart your summer, some flavored hamburgers.
I’ve been making these ever since I got a burger cookbook a few years back. The book has some great recipes in it, but I’ve only made this one – once you taste them, you’ll see why. I usually make them with beef but decided to try pork this time and was pleasantly surprised. If you can’t find lean ground pork, ask the butcher to grind up a pork tenderloin for you, it’s the same thing. The tenderloin is the most tender part of the animal and makes these burgers melt in your mouth.
I always think I have the quantities memorized but I’m always way off from the original recipe. The way I make it has a lot more spinach, cheddar and seasoning which I think makes for a tastier burger anyway. Now I think it goes something like this…
Print
20 oz (1.25 lb) lean ground pork, beef or soy-based “beef”
1 cup shredded nonfat cheddar cheese
1 (10oz) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
1 packet dry onion soup mix
Instructions:
Quite simple, really. Mix the ingredients together very well, form into 6 or 7 patties and grill or broil until well done. The cheese crisps up very nice and adds a great texture to the burger. I usually dress the burger up with a slice of cheese, shredded cabbage (far superior to lettuce in my opinion) and ketchup.
When I don’t have grill access, I’ll cook it in a pan on medium heat. It takes a little longer too cook all the way through, but it comes out super crispy.
Additional Info:
I’ve never actually tried it with a soy-based “beef” like GimmeLean, although I’ve been meaning to. If anyone gives it a whirl, let me know. I think the lean pork is more tender than lean beef and still has a great flavor, and the onion soup mix adds a wonderfully intense flavor.
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Those look delicious! There is nothing better than a good grilled burger. I eat them sans bun of course. Love the spinache in there.
Summer IS most certainly here – hooray!!
Wow, that is one stacked burger!! :0)
this is definitely one of my favorite things to make with you! dont forget to mention that i recently didnt have all of the things to make a burger, so just put it on top of a pita pizza and it was SOOOOOO good and quick!
Sounds Yummy! I’ll have to give it a try!
Denise
looks great nick! i love home-made burgers because you can do so much with them. we just had a barbie on the balcony with pork & beef burgers, pear chutney and caramelized onions. yum!
Carol, I agree. The best part about these is you get your meat, dairy and veggies all in one! Not too shabby if you ask me!
veggiegirl, I hope I didn’t disgust you with the burger close-up! Let’s pretend that it’s a bean burger!
to my fan(s), I nearly forgot about that. I should post (make) our favorite pizza using that instead of regular ground beef….
dee, pork and beef combo is delicious. I would have made those, but then I’d need to buy at least a pound of each, and I’m only cooking for one at my place, although these do freeze very well. Your pear chutney intrigues me…
bring on the raspberry brownies!!!
No worries, Nick – I’m tolerant of others’ food :0)
Okay, how yummy does that look? Yummier than yummy, that’s how yummy it looks! Nice work!
I’m anxiously awaiting this raspberry brownie recipe. I’ll adapt it to gluten-free. Peanut butter, too? Hurry up, Nick! Burgers are fine, but raspberry brownies. Now you’re talkin’!
Melissa
Dani, Melissa, Oh they’re comin’ next week, a double batch to feed the crowd! Not even homemade pies and tarts can compete with the raspberry brownie, it always gets eaten first…. Sorry for the tease, but you gotta have dinner before dessert, right?
veggiegirl, Excellent, I’ll be sure to add beef to the raspberry brownie then…
Wow, I love spinach. Wish the rest of my posse’ did too. I’m going to bookmark this one.
This looks amazing. Gonna try it! The combination of spinach, and onion soup should be yummy!
Dry onion soup mix makes any hamburger taste great! Add spinach…sounds even better. Thanks for a great recipe!