Stuffed Burgers

There are many advantages to making a stuffed burger instead of the traditional patty burger. First of all, a good burger is made over high heat so putting your spices on the inside of a burger protects them from burning. Second, many soft cheeses have great flavor to match with your burger however they often tend to be too runny when melted on top. Finally seasoning, salt is not going to burn on the outside of your burger but you may want it on the inside anyways because on the outside it will dry out your burger; salt breaks down cell walls and allows water to exit the cell more easily, if this process happens on the inside of the burger then you can grill a juicier burger.

Step 1 Thawing

Fresh ground beef is the best but a lot of us have to buy in bulk and freeze. If you can get some nice fresh beef that would be nice, but if you are working with frozen beef you are going to want to treat it correctly to ensure the best quality.

To Freeze: Seal your beef in a water tight container with as little air as possible. Either sealable freezer bags or a plastic container with a tight lid would work well. If you use a container, try to fill it as much as possible so there will be no air. Bags of course should be easy to seal with very little air.

Never use a warm method to thaw meat. Warm/Hot water = BAD. Microwave = BAD. On the counter overnight = Poor.

Option 1: Thaw over night in the refrigerator. This is a slow process but is the best way to thaw... anything that needs to be thawed, not just ground beef.

Option 2: Place a sealed bag/container of meat in a bowl of COLD water and put the bowl in your sink with a slow trickle of COLD water dripping into the bowl so it overflows into your sink. This will thaw a pound of beef in under 15 minutes, and has results about the same as Option 1. I think this works because of convection: currents of water at different temperatures circulating in the bowl thaw the meat without having to risk a change in texture or quality.

Comments

[bFusion]

I made these today, they were fantastic!

[bFusion]

The images didn't attach for some reason. They were really incredible. Thanks!

[Radiant Creator]

I never knew that other people did stuffed burgers too. A good stuffing is BLUE CHEESE!!! My dad makes the best stuffed blue cheese burgers E-V-E-R in the world!!! (I put BBQ sauce on everything) Famous Dave's sassy chipotle BBQ sauce RULES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[LivingDread]

i agree, blue cheese is very good in a burger, not only is it runny when melted, but a little strong for my tastes when right out on top. inside the beef pocket overpowering cheeses work a lot better, IMHO also, if you have the skills to make a stuffed burger, you should be able to make a great BBQ sauce cheaper and better than you could buy. I'm not super impressed with the BBQ sauces on instructables, so i will make that my second instructable in a couple of weeks (in the process of moving, so i cannot right away). chipotle sauce is no problem

[Radiant Creator]

c Im getting ready for dinner and im havin pizza so I have a thought BBQ PIZZA

[Mr. Rig It]

I do something like this in a different recipe for meatloaf It works pretty well. The only problem I see with your instructable is that you have made square burgers and I can't find square hamburger buns (ahhh! what ever shall I do?). Good job.

[LivingDread]

Ahh, but potato rolls come squared because they are crowded in a pan and are slightly smaller than hamburger buns, I've recommended sub 1/4 lb burgers. Put them together and what do you get? that's right, a slider! go ahead and enjoy a couple of them, their small.

[hitokiri_808]

I been meaning to try burgers this way after seeing it on TV. I would stuff them with onions and peppers, in addition to the usual spices and worcestershire sauce.

[LivingDread]

yeah, i should have mentioned other stuffings like onions, peppers and mushrooms. all great options. i would recommend sauteing such additions to keep things from getting too drippy. if you reduce your veggies a bit the flavors will concentrate, sugars will caramelize and you wont soak your bun to soggyness.

[aliceownsj00]

Oh wow, I always knew when my mom would just leave stuff on the counter to thaw is was just bad lol Those look delicious! Great job!

[LivingDread]

I hope you all enjoy this technique. i want to reiterate the importance of consistency, both from burger to burger, and in each burger itself. Happy grilling, we certainly have the weather for it this summer in California.

[martymunch]

These look cool. I might try this one out later this summer. Good idea!

[LinuxH4x0r]

Yum, these look really good!