Time To Bite Into “National Burger Month!”
I love celebrating America’s national sandwich – the burger!
Yes, it’s a month to celebrate for sure, and I plan to make a “subtle” cheeseburger like this one:
As you guessed, this post is going to celebrate burgers of all shapes and sizes, and share some great recipes as well!
First, a question:
WHAT THE PACHISLO???!!???
I love this picture. My daughter Jessica posed in front of an ad for the “Green Peas Pachislo Burger” when we were in Tokyo…we don’t know what it was, but in hindsight we should have walked in and ordered one, just to get a real picture of it!
Tokyo loves their “towering burgers” like this one:
It seems to have everything you need on it…and I mean EVERYTHING!
See all of the ingredients here:
Back in the US, a big shout out to “Taylor’s Refresher” in St. Helena, California for their great bacon cheeseburger…you can read all about it here – as well as their wild “burger battle!”
I am going to profile a few of America’s best burger joints as I showcase some great burger recipes….
Building A Better Burger!
Look at this picture above. Your basic hamburger uses good quality ground beef with at least 15% fat content, to ensure lots of juicy flavor. I add minced onion and garlic, pink hawaiian sea salt, pepper, and a bit of Worcestershire sauce….boom, you are ready to grill!
The All-American Bacon-Cheeseburger!
What can you say? Build your better burger this way and you are golden:
Top Bun
Cheese – melted and dripping
Bacon! Bacon! Bacon!
Slider Patty
Tomato
Pickle
Mayonaise, mayonaise, mayonaise!
Bottom Bun
See that? DO NOT DEVIATE – this is perfection.
OK, you can deviate a little…since my daughter and I were in Tokyo earlier, let me share this japanese burger!
The Japanese Wasabi-Avocado Burger!
Make your patty as usual, but this time top it with sliced avocado, and a heavy dose of wasabi mayonaise. Trader Joe’s sells it, or buy some great mayo and wasabi and mix it together to the strength you can handle…this is delicious with a Sapporo!
And what about this? Mr. “Hamburger America” himself cooked for me!
Take a look:
George Motz wrote the book “Hamburger America”, hosted the show “Hamburger America”, and now makes burgers at his own shop in New York’s West Village…this is his signature grilled onion burger, which layers raw onion on top, then flips it to caramelize underneath…it’s mesmerizing to watch!
Motz honors America’s greatest burgers this way:
Hamburger America showcases a different regional burger every month as a special – and this was my favorite so far!
Click here for a truly original and delicious topping on a burger!
I am a fan of bending the “burger rules” as necessary to offer up a unique taste sensation…and what better sensation to celebrate than “Sriracha!”
The Sriracha Burger Recipe!
I love giving a traditional burger a jolt of flavor, like this delicious “Sriracha Burger” recipe I found online!
3 pounds ground beef (preferably chuck, 80/20)
1/4 cup soy sauce
10 tablespoons Sriracha
4 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
4 slices thick-cut bacon
2 large sweet onions
3/4 cup blue cheese dressing
8 sesame seed buns
8 thick slices Swiss cheese
1 large beefsteak tomato, sliced
Arugula or romaine lettuce
In a large mixing bowl, make your burger patties with the ground beef, soy sauce, 5 tablespoons of the Sriracha and pepper.
Grill the burgers, and while they are cooking, combine the blue cheese dressing with the remaining 5 tablespoons Sriracha to use as a topping!
There you go: a cheesy, oniony, spicy, bacon-y thing of greatness!
I have been lucky to explore new burger spots around the country, like this unique “slooooooooooowwwwwww” grilled onion burger in Hackensack New Jersey:
This incredible cooking process was fascinating to watch and of course eat as well..click here to see what makes it so special:
Speaking of greatness, have you read this terrific history of the hamburger?
Sef Gonzalez is the “Burger Beast”, and he celebrates this sandwich every day of the year – and wrote the history of it too!
Here’s what he posted about “National Burger Month” – with tons of useful information all around the country!
I love Sef’s website and his commitment to the history of the burger. See his website and more about his terrific book here!
Back in LA, who wants a very messy homage to the Big Mac?
Behold The “Big Mec!”
Yes, two wacky Chefs came up with this messy homage to McDonald’s – click here to see what they did!
And speaking of “GREATNESS”, how about a bacon-covered macaroni-and-cheeseburger!
A Bacon Macaroni-and-Cheeseburger With Tater Tots!
Once you’ve tried this, you will never go back to a plain old cheeseburger again!
It’s easy! Instead of cheese, cover your burger with mac’n’cheese! Throw some bacon in there and make sure your tater tots get under the bun as well!
Or, just pile on the mac’n’cheese everywhere you can!
Here are some of the best way to “mac up” your burger:
And if you really want to get weird, try my favorite burger of all:
Behold The French Fry Burger!
My favorite burger of all is this: just add french fries to the top of the burger, then a bit of tartar sauce, and top it off with cheddar cheese – a burger and fries all in one! In this cast I put some bacon underneath!
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No matter which recipe you try, spend “National Burger Month” doing what all Americans should be doing: celebrating a national treasure!
Categories: Bacon, Bite Eat Swallow, Bite! Eat! Repeat!, Burgers, Cheeseburgers, Chef memoirs, Cookbooks, Eat This!, Fast Food, Food, Food Pictures, Food Porn, Food Travel, Recipes, Restaurants, Sliders, Travel, Wacky Food, World's Wildest Food
Bite! Eat! Repeat! 
And there’s even room in the month for a black bean burger!
💞
We had a great burger on our last day in Tokyo. It wasn’t unusually big but it was very tasty.
I think a burger works better when the patty isn’t too big…it can overwhelm the balance of flavor…thanks for the comment!
Looking forward to many different burgers this month
So am I and I look forward to sharing those with you! Send me pics of any you try and I will add them to a story as well!