Take your Fourth of July burgers up a notch
The year 2020 is one few people will soon forget. Life changed dramatically and perhaps forever in 2020, when the
outbreak of the novel coronavirus COVID-19 forced billions of people across the globe to make sacrifices in an effort to prevent
the spread of the potentially deadly virus.
The sacrifices made in response to COVID-19
are perhaps most noticeable on holidays, when people accustomed to gathering with family and friends were unable to do so,
or only able to do so on limited terms.
Despite those restrictions, people continued to
celebrate on holidays like Easter and Memorial Day, and the Fourth of July does not figure to be any different. Fourth of
July celebrations often take place in the backyard by the grill, and this year marks a perfect opportunity to expand your
culinary repertoire. This recipe for “Best Burger With Blue Cheese Butter” courtesy of Eric Treuille and Birgit
Erath’s “Grilling” (DK Publishing) offers a new take on a backyard barbecue staple.
Best Burger With Blue Cheese Butter
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.
