5 tasty ways to celebrate National Hamburger Month

Pssst. Your barbeque is calling. Warm weather is on the way, not to mention the first long weekend of the season. Whether your entertaining at the cottage or in your own backyard, it’s never too early to fire up the grill — and no better way to start than with some classic grub for the grill.

To celebrate National Hamburger Month this May, we’ve put together some tasty ideas to try.

Tandoori Beef Burgers with Tangy Slaw (pictured above)

Try a new twist on the classic hamburger with flavourful tandoori and a colourful coleslaw.

Serves: 4
Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 15 minutes
Total time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:

1 cup (250 mL) grated apple, skin on
2 cups (500 mL) red cabbage, grated
1/2 cup (125 mL) sweet white onion, very finely chopped
2 tbsp (30 mL) cider vinegar
1/4 cup (60 mL) mayonnaise
1 lb (500 g) ground beef
1 egg
1/4 cup (60 mL) plain bread crumbs
3 tbsp (45 mL) plus ½ cup (125 mL) VH Tandoori sauce
4 hamburger buns
Pam grilling spray

Directions

1. Stir together apple, cabbage, onion, vinegar and mayonnaise. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

2. Blend together beef, egg, bread crumbs and 3 tbsp (45 mL) VH Tandoori sauce. Form mixture into 4 equal patties.

3. Spray grill with Pam grilling spray and heat to medium-high. Cook burgers while basting with ½ cup (125 mL) Tandoori sauce, about 7 minutes per side.

4. Place grilled burgers on buns and top with slaw.

Tip: If burgers are cooked on the outside, but not yet on the inside, lower the heat, cover the grill and let them finish cooking with indirect heat.

(Source: www.newscanada.com. Additional recipe ideas are available online at www.VHsauces.com.)

Next: the Rickard’s Cottage Burger

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The Rickard’s Cottage Burger

Looking for an easy way to dress up your burger? Spare a can of brew for a tasty sauce with this recipe from Rickard’s and Broil King BBQ.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lbs ground beef, preferably chuck
4 hamburger buns
1 1/2 cup BBQ sauce
1/4 cup brown sugar, packed
1 can of warm Rickard’s Red beer
2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper

Six steps to a tender, juicy burger:

1. Combine the brown sugar and Rickard’s Red beer with the BBQ sauce in a saucepan and heat to boil. Reduce to low to simmer.

2. Season the beef with salt and pepper and divide into four equal portions. Gently shape into patties similar in shape and size to the buns you will be serving.

3. Place patties in fridge for 15–20 minutes, this will help keep patties together when grilling. When ready to grill, use your thumb to create an indent in the centre of each patty on one side. This will help keep your patties flat and not round up like large meatballs!

4. Preheat barbecue on HIGH, and oil the grids generously to avoid sticking. Place the patties on the grill, and reduce heat to medium.

5. Grill approximately six minutes per side, taking care not to press down on the meat (unless you have a thing against juicy burgers).

6. Serve with your Rickard’s Red BBQ sauce.

(Source: www.newscanada.com. For more recipe ideas, visit www.rickards.ca.)

For more easy ways to grill up something new, try 6 ways to dress up your burger.

Next: the Mozzarellissima Mushroom Burger

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Mozzarellissima Mushroom Burger

Not your typical cheeseburger! Packed with cubes of cheese and sliced mushrooms, these tasty burgers get a finishing touch of grilled radicchio.

Prep time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes
Serves: 4 to 6

Ingredients:

7 oz (200 g) white mushrooms, thinly sliced
6 to 7 green onions, finely chopped
olive oil, to taste
2 tbsp (30 mL) white wine
salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
2 lbs (1 kg) ground beef
8 oz (250 g) Saputo Mozzarellissima cheese, cut in small cubes
1 head radicchio
4 to 6 hamburger buns

Directions:

1. In a pan, sauté mushrooms and green onions in a drizzle of olive oil. Deglaze with white wine. Once the wine has evaporated, remove the vegetables from heat and let cool. Add salt to taste.

2. In a bowl, mix ground beef, cooked vegetables, the Mozzarellissima and a drizzle of olive oil. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

3. Shape the ground beef mixture into balls and flatten them to form hamburger patties.

4. Cut the radicchio in half and brush with olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste.

5. Cook the radicchio on the barbecue for 2 to 3 minutes on each side, and the hamburgers for 5 to 6 minutes on each side, or according to your personal cooking preference.

6. Finely mince the grilled radicchio to garnish your hamburgers once they are cooked.

Tips: You can replace the white mushrooms with shitake or porcini mushrooms. You only need a small quantity of porcinis, as their flavour is fairly strong. You can also substitute the white wine with brandy.

(Source: www.newscanada.com. More recipes can be found at saputo.ca.)

Next: Tex-Mex Black Bean Burgers

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Tex-Mex Black Bean Burgers

Want an alternative to beef? Ground turkey, sweet roasted corn and black beans offer a flavourful protein-packed punch.

Prep time: 40 minutes
Serves 4

Topping:

1/2 cup (125 mL) tomato, diced
1/2 cup (125 mL) cucumber, diced
2 green onions, sliced
1/2 tsp (2.5 mL) oregano
1 tbsp (15 mL) lime juice
2 tsp (10 mL) olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup (125 mL) guacamole (optional)
1 cup (250 mL) shredded lettuce

Burgers:

1/2 cup (125 mL) onion, finely diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 cup (125 mL) cooked corn (fire roasted if you can)
1/2 cup (125 mL) black beans, drained and rinsed
1 1/2 lbs (680 g) ground Ontario turkey
1 egg
1/4 cup (60 mL) bread crumbs
1 tsp (5 mL) paprika
2 tsp (10 mL) chili powder
salt and pepper to taste

Combine all topping ingredients in a bowl and set aside.

Heat grill on medium.

In a large bowl, combine all burger ingredients and mix until just combined. Do not over mix.

Divide mixture evenly into four and make patties approx 1 to 1 ½ inch in thickness. Grill burgers 5 to 7 minutes each side or until the internal temperature reaches 170ºF (77ºC).

Spread some guacamole on the bottom half of each bun, top with shredded lettuce, the Tex–Mex burger and a few spoonfuls of the tomato topping mixture. Enjoy.

(Source: www.newscanada.com. Visit turkeyrecipes.ca for more turkey recipes.)

For another tasty turkey burger idea, try Homemade Herbed Turkey Burgers.

Looking for some vegetarian options instead? Try Brown Rice Cuban Burgers and Portobello Mushroom, Goat Cheese and California Walnut Sliders.

Next: Mini Ice Cream Sliders

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Mini Ice Cream Sliders

A hamburger for dessert? Lookly closely — this recipe from Smucker’s puts a sweet twist on the traditional burger with chocolate ice cream and donuts.

1 cup (250mL) chocolate ice cream
8 mini cinnamon donuts (15g/0.5oz each), sliced in half
1/4 cup (50mL) Smucker’s Sundae Syrup Strawberry Flavoured Syrup
2 strawberries, thinly sliced
2 tbsp (30mL) whipped cream
Sliced kiwi for garnish, optional

First divide ice cream into eight patties and freeze if necessary. To assemble, place the bottom half of a donut cut side up on a surface. Top with ice cream patty, strawberry slices, whipped cream and syrup. Then top with remaining donut half and place kiwi on a toothpick and place in the donut top. Preparation time is just 10 minutes and the recipe makes eight sliders.

Tip: To make ‘fried onions’, toast sweetened, shredded coconut in a 350°F (180°C) for 8-10 minutes, stirring once. Let cool.

(Source: www.newscanada.com)

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