I may have written my cookbook for my son, but that doesn’t mean he can’t occasionally teach me a thing or two in the kitchen and on the grill. Richard lives with the typically tight budget of a 20 something year old, but, just like his mom – he loves to entertain. When he proposed his amazing skinny square burger concept to me, I was fairly impressed. I mean we all like a delicious thick burger made with the best of ground beef – but for a crowd pleasing, quick to grill, affordable, and easy to prep party dish - you won’t beat this recipe.
Last weekend, as we planned our trip to the Smoky Mountains for the 4th of July, I proposed some exciting menu ideas, like barbeque ribs, or a big steak and seafood grill, but these ideas were met by Richard and his crowd with a stony silence. They wanted the now famous skinny square burgers for the 4th and couldn’t believe I would suggest otherwise.
Of course they also wanted baked beans, stuffed eggs, slaw, blueberry and strawberry shortcake, homemade pickles, etc…….. so I let my kid handle the burgers.
Let me tell you, this is a pretty clever technique. First the meat gets seasoned. Richard is VERY particular about this, initially insisting that it was a secret, but I don’t believe in secret recipes and he doesn’t believe in irritating his mom so I have the rundown if not the exact measurements. Next is the best part, a pound of seasoned meat goes into a large baggie, it’s flattened and fitted to the corners.
Richard uses a finger to “draw” the four burgers and the baggies go in the freezer.
An hour or so later, each baggie is ready with four perfectly frozen, perfectly seasoned, perfectly square burgers.
Three or four minutes on each side of a hot grill (skillet in a pinch) and you have burger perfection! I never thought I would want a double, but it’s exactly what I wanted and you will too.
This recipe is now elevated to being a staple in our house and we’re going to stock a couple of baggies in the freezer for a quick dinner. It’s definitely hip to be square – and I’m happy to pass along a great trick from a young chef. Can’t wait to see what he comes up with next!
I’ll be cooking on Talk of The Town tomorrow (7/8/2015) 11:00 AM CDT, making a great side dish, Butterbean and Grilled Corn Salad, for this recipe. Enjoy!
Ingredients
2 lb ground beef
1 Tbsp red wine
1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp garlic salt
1 tsp Montreal Steak seasoning
1 tsp Italian seasoning (mix of basil and oregano)
¼ tsp red pepper flakes
2 gallon size sealable baggies
Serve with buns, cheese if desired and the usual condiments, plus lettuce, tomato and onion slices.
Directions
In a large bowl, combine meat with wine and Worcestershire sauce.
In a small bowl mix dry seasonings.
Add dry seasoning to meat mixture, using hands to combine.
Put 1 lb of beef in each baggie, press to flatten, pushing meat into every corner.
Squeeze out any extra air in each baggie, seal, and draw lines with your finger to mark four patties. (See picture)
Put baggies in the freezer until frozen, about 1 hour.
Remove patties from baggies and place on a hot grill. These cook quickly so check after a minute or two and flip.
Top with cheese if desired and serve!
