Hamburgers are a favorite of many and are pretty easy to prepare. Here
in South Louisiana we're always taking the usual and making it unusually
good. Homemade Hamburgers are subject to this treatment! We'll twist
this one up some and see if we can make our taste buds smile the Cajun
way!
As a general rule it takes about 1/2 pound of meat to make a decent
sized burger that will fit on a large bun.
Let's start with 2 1/2 lbs. of ground beef and 1/2 pound of homemade
pork sausage (both raw). This amount will yield about 6 burgers. Be sure
to follow all food safety rules when handling raw ground meats.
Remove the sausage from the casing and combine both meats in a bowl. Now
let's season it. Adjust the following to your taste.
1 tsp. Worcestershire
1 tbs. your favorite steak sauce (optional)
2 tbs. catsup or barbecue sauce
Few dashes of Louisiana Hot Sauce
3 - 4 drops of liquid crab boil
1 tsp. powdered garlic
2 tsp. creole seasoning
1 med. onion minced
1/2 med. bell pepper minced
1/4 cup water
2 lg. eggs
Combine everything with the meat and mix well. Let the mixture rest in
the ice box for about an hour to let the seasonings dissolve some. Read
more on keeping those burgers together.
Form the hamburger patties as usual and make them about 3/4" larger than
the bun. The burgers will shrink so doing this will give you a
"bun-fitting" hamburger patty.
Cook the hamburgers on a high heat on each side for about a minute,
then, finish them on a med low heat until done. The USDA says to cook
hamburgers until an internal temperature of 160ºF is achieved.
When they're done spray them on both sides with a water mist and
sprinkle a little salt on them. Put the patties in a pan with enough
water to cover the bottom. Keep them covered so they don't dry out.
Doing all of this will give you a slightly moister hamburger patty.
To change this up even more use French bread instead of hamburger buns.
Consider spreading a thin coating of butter on the bun and warming them
over the fire.
You can also sauté some thinly sliced onion in butter and Worcestershire
on the side for extra flavor. Also consider making a little onion gravy
to spoon over the hamburger patty.