Summer Cookout Recipe Idea: Grilled Mini Burgers

Sometimes you discover a new recipe or idea and really wonder what took you so long to try it!  Our latest kitchen addictions are grilled mini burgers—we’ve made them two weekends in a row now.  They are small, can be created several ways all on one grill—and the kids (and grown ups) have fun building their own mini-burgers just as they like them.  Plus—since they are small—the grown ups are able to sample more than one seasoning and topping combination without blowing the week’s calories on two (or three) full sized burgers.  We’ll be making these for the 4^th of July—it’s a super easy way to satisfy the different tastes of a crowd without a lot of work!

Ingredients for Grilled Mini Burgers

1 ½ lb. Ground Chuck—or Ground Turkey—divided into 12 equal mini-patties

1 Package of 12 “Slider” Style Sandwich Buns

Seasonings.  We use 4 different mixtures—but, the choices are unlimited.
(1) A mixture of salt, pepper, and garlic powder
(2) McCormick Montreal Steak Seasoning
(3) Mrs. Dash Table Blend Seasoning or Lawry's Seasoned Salt
(4) Mrs. Dash Extra Spicy Seasoning Blendor Montreal Extra Spicy Steak Seasoning

Cheese:  An assortment of sliced cheese—American, Swiss, Cheddar, PepperJack, etc.

Toppings and Condiments:  Ketchup, mustard, mayonnaise, Kraft Secret Burger Sauce, tarter sauce, A-1 Sauce, Guacamole, pickles, relish, sliced jalapenos, sliced or diced tomatoes (we use Roma tomato slices), sliced or diced raw onion, grilled onions, grilled mushrooms, sliced black olives, shredded lettuce—or whatever your usual burger lovers desire. 

Colored toothpicks—or a better memory than my own—for labeling the differently seasoned burgers!

Instructions for Grilled Mini Burgers

Gather the burger toppings and condiments.  This will actually take longer than cooking the burgers—so, I generally chop and contain all of my vegetables and grill onions and mushrooms.  I store them away in the serving containers that will “grace” our burger building “station”.

Season, grill and label the burgers.  Season both sides of the burgers and place on the preheated grill in an organized fashion.  I do rows of burgers with the same spice mixture so that we can pull them off onto serving platters and quickly i.d. with a designated toothpick color so that we don’t accidentally offer an ultra-spicy burger to a guest expecting a steak burger.   Grill to desired doneness.  Add the cheese to the hot burgers and allow to melt.

Grill the buns.  I love grilled or toasted buns—they totally change the taste of cookout burgers.  Generally we just place the buns cut side down onto a grill pan for a minute or so until slightly toasted—but, you can certainly brush on a little melted butter for added browning and flavor.

Serve the burgers and let guests build their own creations.  We set up the toppings on their own little table and let the guests sample away.  Our girls love doing this as much as they love taco and pizza “bars”.  Here are our favorite, topping combinations:

Burger #1—Garlic, Salt and Pepper.  Absolutely anything goes on this burger.  It’s mild—the kids love it and guests can do anything they want to it without competing flavors.

Burger #2—The Steak Burger.  Grilled onions, grilled mushrooms, swiss cheese, lettuce, tomato and either A-1 Sauce or Mayo are our favorites for this burger.  This is actually my favorite version of the four.

Burger #3—Mrs. Dash Table Blend or Lawry’s Seasoned Salt.  Tarter sauce, sliced onion and lettuce are my favorites for this burger—but, the seasoning mix is another “anything goes” for cheese and toppings as well.

Burger #4—Spicy Burger.  Cheddar or PepperJack Cheese with guacamole and jalapenos create my husband’s favorite burger of the four.

Oddly enough—these are great ways to change the pace of the cookout—and get out of a same-old-same-old, burger rut.  Guests compare notes and have fun sampling different combinations—on a smaller scale--without the worry of ruining their lunch or dinner entre with one, not-so-pleasing, flavor combo!