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There are some who say stuffing a hamburger is downright sacrilegious. That filling a burger up is an affront to a hundred years of American hamburgery. I can’t say that I entirely disagree, but at the same time the idea of having sacred cows when it comes to making hamburgers is so ironic if I think about my head might explode. So let me give you the rundown on stuffing burgers real quick.

Firstly no cheese. I know, that’s the first thing we want to stuff into anything and 90% of stuffed burger recipes call for it. But remember that cheese has to be melted very carefully and usually within some kind of sauce like a fondue. Big hunks of cheese floating in your burger have a tendency to separate into sludge and super hot oil that will burst out and burn your mouth with the first bite. It’s just not worth it.

What you want to stuff your burgers with is fresh herbs and vegetables. Stuff that would disintegrate from the direct heat of the grill. I usually take some grape tomatoes, quarter them, toss with fresh basil(pics) in a little olive oil and stuff a burger with that.

Or if you’re in the mood for a stronger flavor I make some fresh pesto with this recipe:

• 1 cup fresh basil and parsley mixed
• 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese(too dry to melt)
• 1/4 cup chopped walnuts
• 1 large garlic clove
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 1/8 tsp pepper
• 1/3 cup of olive oil

Throw the whole thing in the blender or food processor and there you are.

Now the key to stuffing a burger with either of these concoctions is be gentle and not over stuff. Make your regular burger patty with 5 oz of meat then make a large indent in the center. Place a small amount of whatever you want to stuff with in the indent and then gently work the last ounce of meat over the top into a ‘cap’ of sorts. Then cook like you normally would and you’re golden.

Tags: burger, burger series, hamburger

This entry was posted on Friday, July 4th, 2008 at 1:59 am and is filed under Tips, tricks and facts. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.