The season of the burger

As the mercury rises, the opportunities to cook a greater number of meals on the grill increases. For many people, there’s nothing like the smoke-kissed flavor of meats, poultry and vegetables seared over an open flame.

Hamburgers are a grilling staple in many households. Burger flavors and toppings are only limited by a home cook’s imagination.

The Great American Hamburger and Cheeseburger

From “Mastering the Grill: The Owner’s Manual for Outdoor Cooking” by Andrew Schloss

(6 servings)

2 pounds ground beef chuck, 85 percent lean

5 tablespoons ice-cold water

1 teaspoon ketchup

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

Oil for coating grill grate

12 slices good-quality American, provolone, or cheddar cheese (optional)

6 hamburger buns, split

1. Heat the grill to 425 F for gas or achieve light ash for charcoal or light ash for wood.

2. Using your hands, mix the beef, water, ketchup, and pepper in a bowl until well blended; do not overmix. Using a light touch, form into 6 patties no more than 1 inch thick. Refrigerate the burgers until the grill is ready.

3. Brush grill grate and coat it with oil. Put the burgers on the grill, cover and cook for 7 minutes, flipping after about 4 minutes, for medium-done (150 F, slightly pink). Add a minute per side for well-done (160 F).

4. If you are making cheeseburgers, put 2 slices of cheese on each burger 1 minute before the burgers are going to be done.

5. To toast the buns, put them cut-sides down directly over the fire for the last minute of cooking.

6. If serving the burgers directly from the grill, serve on the buns. If the burgers will sit, even for a few minutes, keep the buns and the burgers separate until just before eating.

The best garnishes for burgers are the classics: a slice of ripe beefsteak tomato, a mound of sautéed onions, a leaf of romaine lettuce, a dollop of coleslaw, or a few slices of dill pickles.

Best Burger With Blue Cheese Butter

Courtesy of Eric Treuille and Birgit Erath’s “Grilling”

Serves 4

1 pound ground chuck steak

2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon black pepper

4 1/2-inch slices blue cheese butter (see below)

4 sesame hamburger buns, halved

Combine ground steak with salt and pepper. Divide into 4 equal-sized pieces and gently shape into 4 burgers about 1-inch-thick. Grill burgers and warm buns according to instructions below. Top burgers with butter and serve hot in sesame buns.

Outdoor Cooking

Grill over hot coals for 3 minutes per side for rare, 4 minutes per side for medium rare, or 5 minutes per side for well done. Place buns cut side down on grill until warm and lightly golden, 1 minute.

Indoor Cooking

Preheat a ridged cast-iron grill pan over high heat. Cook for 3 minutes per side for rare, 4 minutes per side for medium rare, or 5 minutes per side for well done. Place buns cut side down on grill pan until warm lightly golden, 1 minute.

Blue-Cheese Butter

Makes 15 servings

16 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

4 ounces (1 cup crumbled) blue cheese

2 teaspoons black pepper

Place ingredients in a food processor or blender; pulse until well blended. Wrap in foil. Place in the freezer until hard, about 45 minutes. To serve, roll back foil and cut into 1/2-inch slices. When slicing from frozen, warm the knife under hot water first. After slicing, always tightly rewrap the unused flavored butter roll in the foil before returning to refrigerator or freezer.

Best Burger Variations

Herbed Burger: Add 2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves or 1 teaspoon dried thyme, 1 crushed garlic clove and 1 tablespoon finely chopped onion to the ground steak.

Spicy Burger: Add 1/2 teaspoon tabasco, 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce and 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard to the ground steak.

Think Ahead

Shape burgers up to 1 day in advance. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate. Overhandling the meat when shaping will result in a tough, dry burger. To guarantee a juicy burger, handle the meat as little as possible.

Barbecue Chipotle Burgers

Serves 4

1 pound ground beef (93 percent lean or leaner)

1/2 cup beer

2 tablespoons brown sugar

2 tablespons ketchup

1 tablespoon minced chipotle peppers in adobo sauce

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

4 slices frozen Texas Toast

2 spears pickled okra, sliced

To prepare barbecue sauce, combine beer, brown sugar, ketchup, chipotle peppers, and Worcestershire sauce in saucepan; bring to a boil. Simmer 8 to 10 minutes until sauce is thickened; set aside.

Lightly shape ground beef into four 1/2-inch thick patties. Place patties on grid over medium, ash-covered coals. Grill, covered, 8 to 10 minutes (over medium heat on preheated gas grill, covered, 7 to 9 minutes) until instant-read thermometer inserted horizontally into center registers 160 F, turning occasionally. (Cooking times are for fresh or thoroughly thawed ground beef. Ground beef should be cooked to an internal temperature of 160 F. Color is not a reliable indicator of ground beef doneness.)

Meanwhile, prepare Texas Toast according to package directions. Cut each piece of toast in half. Fresh Texas toast, buttered, may be used instead of frozen product.

For each sandwich, spread 1 tablespoon barbecue sauce over one toast half. Top with burger, another tablespoon sauce and okra slices. Close sandwich. Dill pickle chips or pickled jalapeño peppers may be substituted for pickled okra.

Tasty Tuscan Burgers

Makes 4 servings

1-1/2 pounds ground pork or turkey (a white meat works best with the other flavors)

1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese or pecorino romano

1/3 cup Italian-seasoned breadcrumbs

1 cup thinly chopped or grated zucchini

1 to 2 plum tomatoes, chopped

8 chopped basil leaves or teaspoon of prepared pesto

4 slices fresh mozzarella

4 slices red onion

4 leaves romaine lettuce

4 medium ciabatta rolls, split and lightly toasted

Salt and pepper

Garlic aioli garnish (recipe follows)

Mix together the ground meat, zucchini, breadcrumbs, grated cheese, tomatoes, and basil leaves together in a bowl. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Divide mixture into four equal portions and form into patty shapes, roughly 1 inch thick.

Cook burgers via desired method (broiler, grill, stove top) until the bottoms are browned, about 6 minutes. Carefully turn over to cook the other side, another 4 to 5 minutes. Use an instead-read thermometer to determine doneness if you are unsure, depending upon whether you used turkey or pork.

Turn off heat and top each burger with a slice of mozzarella. Allow to just melt slightly.

Spread garlic aioli over ciabatta rolls and place a slice of red onion and lettuce on each bottom. Top with the burgers and finish off with the roll top. Enjoy with rosemary-seasoned potato wedges as a nice complement.

Basic Garlic Aioli

3 cloves chopped garlic

1 cup mayonnaise

1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 tablespoon chopped fresh Italian parsley

Salt and pepper to taste

Use an immersion blender to combine all the ingredients in a small bowl. Wrap and refrigerate for around 30 minutes to enable to flavors to develop. Serve with burgers or other sandwiches.

Hamburgers With Stilton Cheese, Caramelized Shallots And Mushrooms

Courtesy of Lines+Angles

Makes 4 servings

For caramelized shallots:

2 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons olive oil

1-1/2 lbs. fresh shallots, peeled and sliced

Salt, to taste

1 tablespoon sugar

For mushrooms:

2 tablespoons butter

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/2 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

1 clove of garlic, minced

8 ounces fresh mushrooms, sliced

For hamburgers

1-1/2 lbs. ground sirloin, chuck or round

Coarse salt, to taste

Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

4 slices Stilton cheese (Gorgonzola, Roquefort and Maytag Blue cheeses are all acceptable subs for Stilton)

4 hamburger rolls or sandwich rolls

1 tablespoon melted butter

Lettuce leaves

For caramelized shallots

1. Melt butter with olive oil in a thick-bottomed pan until the oil is shimmering. Add the sliced shallots and stir to coat. Cook, stirring on occasion, for 7 to 10 minutes. Do not let the shallots burn or dry out. Sprinkle the salt and sugar over the shallots.

2. Cook for about 30 minutes, stirring frequently. If shallots seem to be drying out, add a little water or oil to the pan. Shallots should be brown but not burned. Continue to cook and stir; scrape up all the browned bits stuck to the bottom of the pan, until the shallots are a deep, rich, browned color.

For mushrooms

Melt butter with oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Stir in balsamic vinegar, garlic and mushrooms. Saute for 20 minutes, or until tender.

For hamburgers

1. Moisten your clean hands with cold water and divide the ground beef in 4 equal portions. Form into a flattened ball. Season with salt and pepper.

2. Refrigerate until ready to cook.

3. Prepare the grill and preheat to high. Brush the grill grate with oil.

4. Place the prepared burgers on the hot grill grate. Grill for 5 to 7 minutes per side for medium, or until an instant read thermometer inserted through the side of the burger into the center reaches 160 F.

5. Brush the rolls with melted butter and toast them on the grill for about 45 seconds. Assemble the burgers, with lettuce leaves, Stilton cheese, caramelized shallots, and mushrooms. Serve.