When the weather is nice outside and you’re looking for an excuse to fire up the grill for a quick and easy meal, homemade grilled burgers are always a good call. Add friends and family and maybe even a few “cold drinks” to make the experience even better.
I like to make small quarter pound burgers to stretch a couple of pounds of ground meat, which usually yields around ten burgers. This size burger is perfect if you plan to pair it with some classic barbecue side dishes, such as: potato salad, pasta salad, barbeque beans, corn on the cob, or hot French fries …just to name a few.
In this recipe you’ll notice that I use a burger press when preparing the burgers for the grill. This has been a game changer! It’s so easy to use and takes less time to form the burgers rather than doing it by hand. If you don’t have one, I highly recommend getting one.
For my ground meat, I used about 1/3 ground deer and 2/3 ground beef (73% lean). Typically, if I wasn’t incorporating deer meat, I would normally use 80% lean ground beef.
Let’s get to grilling! Here’s what you’ll need…
Ingredients:
- 2 lbs. ground meat
- 2 tsp. Cajun seasoning
- 2 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tbsp. garlic, minced
- 1-2 tbsp. jalapeno pepper, minced (optional)
- 1 cup bread crumbs
- 1 egg
- 5 slices of American cheese, halved
- 10 small hamburger buns
Topping Suggestions:
- lettuce, shredded
- tomatoes, sliced
- onions, sliced
- jalapenos, sliced
- dill pickles, sliced
Instructions:
1. In a large bowl, mix ground meat, Cajun seasoning, Worcestershire sauce, garlic, jalapeno (optional), bread crumbs, and egg using a meat masher or clean hands.
2. Divide the ground meat into 10 meatballs weighing 3.5 oz. each.
3. Place a meatball in between two sheets of wax paper and smash with a burger press. Repeat with the remaining meatballs.
4. Place the burgers on the grill at medium heat and grill each side for 4-5 minutes while being mindful of flame ups.
5. Place a half slice of American cheese on each burger and place cut-side of the hamburger buns faced down directly onto the grill. Cover grill to allow to cheese to melt and the buns to toast for a couple of minutes.
6. Take everything off the grill and serve immediately with toppings of your choice. Enjoy!
A Dash of Mel
Grilled Burgers
This burger recipe makes 10 small quarter pound burgers to stretch a couple of pounds of ground meat. This size burger is perfect if you plan to pair it with some classic barbecue side dishes.
- food scale
- burger press
- grill
- 2 lbs. ground meat
- 2 tsp. Cajun seasoning
- 2 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tbsp. garlic (minced)
- 1-2 tbsp. jalapeno pepper (minced (optional))
- 1 cup bread crumbs
- 1 egg
- 5 slices American cheese (halved)
- 10 small hamburger buns
Topping Suggestions:
- lettuce (shredded)
- tomatoes (sliced)
- onions (sliced)
- jalapenos (sliced)
- dill pickles (sliced)
In a large bowl, mix ground meat, Cajun seasoning, Worcestershire sauce, garlic, jalapeno (optional), bread crumbs, and egg using a meat masher or clean hands.
Divide the ground meat into 10 meatballs weighing 3.5 oz. each.
Place a meatball in between two sheets of wax paper and smash with a burger press. Repeat with the remaining meatballs.
Place the burgers on the grill at medium heat and grill each side for 4-5 minutes while being mindful of flame ups.
Place a half slice of American cheese on each burger and place cut-side of the hamburger buns faced down directly onto the grill. Cover grill to allow to cheese to melt and the buns to toast for a couple of minutes.
Take everything off the grill and serve immediately with toppings of your choice. Enjoy!
