Cole Cooks: Custom Stuffed Burgers
There is this restaurant in San Diego that lets you add all kinds of items into your hamburger. This gave me the idea to create custom burgers where everyone can pick what they want to add. This is my recipe for build your own stuffed burgers.
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The restaurant in San Diego where you can add stuff to your burgers is called Boomerangs Gourmet Burgers. I have been coming here since I was a kid, but only now since I am a teenager have I got into the stuffed burgers.
At Boomerangs you can choose from a list of up to 3 ingredients that they will mix into your burger. This includes crazy ingredients like dried cranberries and jalapenos.
I decided to prepare a whole bunch of ingredients and then give people the option of what they wanted in their hamburger. I did not do as many options as Boomerangs. The options I included were:
- Crushed Garlic
- Cooked Bacon
- Diced Pepperoni
- Jalapenos
- Dried Blueberries
My dad and I both went all out and tried a burger with everything. My mom was cautious and only wanted jalapenos. My sister just wanted a normal burger with nothing. However, I convinced her to try one with bacon.
To make the hamburgers, my dad taught me how to grind my own beef. I thought it would be gross but it was actually fun. We bought a large chuck roast and cut it into pieces and feed it into the meat grinder. It only took a few minutes.
I took a cooking class and learned about cross contamination. In our family we cut raw meats on a plastic cutting board and use the wood cutting board only for vegetables. Also I fully cooked the bacon to make sure it was safe.
I used two pounds of ground beef which was enough to make four large burgers. You simply add the ingredients to the ground beef and shape into a hamburger. Of course, everyone picks different ingredients.
To cook the burgers we heat them on a hot skillet for 2 minutes per side. You put salt and pepper on one side before adding to the skillet. You then put more salt and pepper on the other side when you put them on the skillet.
WARNING: One note about cooking on the skillet. The jalapenos can be really strong. This happens whenever my dad cooks hot peppers. The whole family starts coughing from the hot pepper fumes. We think it is kind of funny but be careful.
They are not cooked at this point so we put them in a dish and heat them in the oven at 400 degrees. Before putting them in the oven you add cheese.
Hamburgers need to come to an inside temperature of 130 degrees for medium. Because we ground our own meat, my dad said we could cook them to only medium. If we bought ground beef we would want to cook to a higher temperature. This is because when other people grind beef you don’t know if it got bacteria.
You are supposed to check them after 5 minutes. We have a thermometer that tells the exact temperature of the inside of the hamburger. However, after 5 minutes they were not done. They were not even done after 10 minutes. It took about 13 minutes in the oven to reach 130 degrees.
For hamburgers my mom has showed me how to cut up lettuce, onions, pickles and lettuce. We serve these on a plate in the middle of the table so every one can add their own toppings.
I like to toast the buns in the toaster oven until they are crunchy.
The burgers were served with fries. I wanted to make my own fries like my mom does. However, she said that was too messy. My dad and I bought two kinds of frozen fries that we heard were the best. One was a skinny fry like McDonald’s the other was a large steak fry that my mom loves.
This recipe came out awesome. Everyone loved their stuffed burgers, even my sister. The dried blueberries were actually really good.
The next time I make stuffed burgers I plan to add more items people can choose from.
The full list of items at Boomerangs includes:
Artichokes, Bacon, Cajun Spice, Carrots, Cilantro, Garlic, Green Olives, Green Peppers, Fresh Horseradish, Kalamata Olives, Onions, Pepperoncini, Red Onions, Red Peppers, Yellow Peppers, Sun-Dried Cranberries, Sun-Dried Tomatoes, Green Onions, Celery Salt, Black Olives, Sauerkraut, Green relish, Pineapple, Jalapenos, Ham
Custom Stuffed Burgers
Ingredients
- 2 pounds ground beef
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 2 teaspoon salt
- Add-ins of choice include Crushed garlic Cooked bacon, Diced Pepperoni, Jalapenos, Dried Blueberries, grated cheese
- Hamburger buns
Instructions
- Heat oven to 400. Separate ground beef into half pound balls. Ask your guests what add-ins they want in their burger. Place specific add-ins for burger on top of ball and mix to form a hamburger patty.
- Right before cooking add ¼ teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon pepper to top of each burger. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a skillet. Place burger salt side down in skillet. Cook in skillet for two minutes per side. While cooking season top of each burger with ¼ teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon pepper.
- Add cheese and place burgers in oven proof casserole dish (or leave in skillet). Place burgers in the oven and cook for 5 to 10 minutes. Cook to a temperature of 130 degrees for medium, 140 degrees for well-done.
- Remove and serve on buns with choice of condiments.
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