It’s officially burger season until the leaves start changes colors, and that crisp, chilly feeling starts to develop in the air, and especially this weekend now more than ever!
Happy 4th of July Diamonds! We all know that burgers are going to be all the rage at every kind of party, and cookout this holiday weekend, but why not level your burger game up a bit? Sometimes we consider doing that, but imagine that it’s going to take up an immense amount of time, and effort in the kitchen; taking ourselves away from the action to be tending to food creating, instead of having a blast like everyone else while socializing is happening! Fortunately, that’s exactly why I created this smoked beauty! I wanted to be able to influence you Diamonds to serve something totally flavorful and different, while having it remain super simplistic, so that you can spend just as much time enjoying the day as all of your loved ones are.
This cheeseburger is inanely delicious. It’s going to leave all of your guests feeling satisfied, and wanting to know exactly how you concocted each and every step in the entire burger making process. All everyone has to know is that the steps are minimum, but very important in themselves. The dijon horseradish sauce is the secret to making these babies so beyond addictive that everyone will want more to dip along the side, or possibly even to dip their veggies in from the crudités that you put out for everyone to pick on while you tended to the grill. Speaking of the grill.. I didn’t cook these burgers on the grill. The reason I decided not to do so was because I felt that there was such a perfect amount of smokiness already, that if I would have grilled them they would have gotten such an intensified flavor of smoke! If you feel as though grilling them is less messy, easier, and leaves you able to be part of the gathering while still being a hostess, than that will still be perfectly fine!
You can buy frozen burgers already made, but I love the way I make my burgers! They’re excellent, and it constantly leaves the meat juicy, and tender after being cooked no matter which way you cook them. They are filled with savory onion flavors as well which is exactly what I love, and what you definitely won’t be able to get if you buy them already made.
- Depending on how many people you’ll be having over to entertain, you’ll want to use that many pounds of meat. I only used 1 pound being that that’s all I needed!
- You get 6-8 patties out of 1 pound of meat depending on how big you make/form them.
HOW TO MAKE THE MEAT MIXTURE:
- 1 pound of 80/20 ground beef.
- 1/4 cup of ketchup.
- 8 dashes of Worcestershire sauce.
- 1 teaspoon of steak sauce.
- 1 tablespoon of dried onion flakes.
- Granulated garlic to taste
- Salt and pepper to tase.
The combination of all these flavors makes for a mouthwatering burger! Now, I know there are people out there who just “love to taste the meat”, and only add salt and pepper, but I promise if you give these a go you will make them for the rest of the summer. The great thing I love about making your own burgers is that you can form as many patties as you want fresh, and layer between parchment paper, so you can put in a big storage bag to freeze.
If you’re not making the burgers right away, but you’re not freezing them for another day.. after you’ve layered them with parchment to keep them separated from each other, place the pile on a plate, and put in the fridge for a few hours. You want to do this most times anyway when making protein because you want to be able to handle them well, and the coldness of the meat will make it easier for you to do that.
While you are letting the burgers set, you can go ahead and cut one small red onion, or multiple depending on how much you need, or want. You’ll want to also slice your smoked gouda cheese. Even if you don’t love this cheese with a cracker, you will adore it melted over top of this scrumptious, caramelized burger.
The caramelized onions need to cook low, and slow. That’s the key, so what you want to do is let them sauté in a small sauce pan on medium low heat. You always need to start the process with real, salted butter. That makes all the difference! Since butter burns quick, combine two tablespoons of it with one tablespoon of olive oil to insure that your onions will caramelize perfectly.
Once the fat is all sizzled up, throw in your sliced red onion!
This is after 15 minutes of getting translucent. After 15 minutes I like to turn my heat down to low, and let them go for another 30 minutes. You don’t have to cook them as long, but onions in this form takes time. Low and slow is the trick, and you want the end result to kind of resemble a “jam” in some way.
I don’t always love a toasted bun, but for this type of burger, with so much gooey ingredients on it, I think it’s very necessary! It also gives it another type of texture, being that there will be many soft textures happening in your mouth, so the crunch of a good toasted bun is a nice touch!
- Butter both the top and bottom!
You can surely put these buns out on the grill to get really wonderful charred marks on the inside of them, but I put mine on a flattop on medium low heat; checking them every few minutes to reduce the risk of getting too dark.
As I said before, if you’re taking the adorable things out to the grill, go right ahead! I turned a huge sauté pan up to medium-high heat, sprinkled with olive oil, and placed four patties inside. Cook the burgers on each side for 3-5 until they are browned, and slightly charred in certain areas. That’s when you know they are going to be incredible when you get that hit of crispiness in your burger bite!
Don’t hate me Diamonds.. but I almost love burgers a little more when they’re done stove top, and not on the grill because I just love that crisp diner taste when enjoying a burger. The oil gets absorbed into the burgers leaving the outside to get nice and buttery tasting from the meat soaking in all the flavors of what’s in the pan.
When you have about two minutes left of cooking on the last side, place the gouda cheese over each individual patty so that the gouda burgers can bring themselves to life!
If the cheese is not pretty much translucent, and almost see-through, DO NOT take these burgers off the heat! No one wants a burger with unmelted cheese on it, I promise you that.
You can serve these smoked gouda cheese and caramelized onions burgers with anything you’d like, but seasoned steak fries are ultimately where it’s at with these puppies! This fry and seasoning combination compliments the smoky flavors so insanely well, so you’ll definitely be missing out if you don’t give this a shot! Aside from the fries, the most important missing puzzle is the creamy, dreamy, tangy dijon, and horseradish aioli. It is decadent, and literally makes your taste buds wanting more, so it ends up being iconic for dipping those fluffy fries into!
- Seasoning for the steak fries- Salt, pepper, granulated garlic, onion powder, sugar, cayenne pepper, paprika, and chili powder.
- Dijon horseradish aioli- 1/2 cup of mayo, 2 tablespoons of dijon mustard, a drizzle of honey, a few dashes of tabasco, 3 dashes of Worcestershire sauce, and a tablespoon of fresh horseradish. I never skip on seasonings because seasonings really do bring so much flavor, to something along with bringing out the actual flavor of the food itself, so don’t forget to add salt, pepper, and garlic powder into all that creaminess!
If you’re not having your guests build there own burger, make sure to put a good layer of the aioli on the top, and bottom parts of the bun because you’ll really regret it if you don’t considering it’s deliciousness! This sauce completes the burger for sure!!
I hope every single one of you Diamonds have a safe, and yummy 4th of July! Enjoy the weather, your loved ones, your back yard, and most importantly.. these outstanding cheeseburgers! The food at a party is everything. It is the star of course, and center of attention. Without food.. there is no party, let’s be real! Enjoy all the food as much as you can, and have as much fun as you can, while still being safe. 🙂
HAVE A GREAT HOLIDAY WEEKEND DIAMONDS!
XOXO
Deepfrieddiamonds 