MEGAN FRANCES LLOYD
// writer

Better Your Burgers

BETTER YOUR BURGERS

Originally published by Tramontina USA

Wilted iceberg lettuce. Store-bought sauces full of mystery ingredients. Overpowering raw onions. Mushy pickles. Cold, stale buns. No thanks! You deserve better than a run-of-the-mill burger.

From top bun to bottom bun, every ingredient matters when it comes to your cookout. Five simple changes to your normal burger spread can make the biggest difference in flavor and texture, and we’re not even talking about the patty. This is all about the extras.

The Night Before

Pickle the Pickles

Ditch the crunch-less jars of fluorescent nonsense and make pickles for people who don’t like pickles. Throw these together the night before and let them chill overnight to sit in their juices. When you put them out to serve, leave them in the jar so everyone knows how hard you’ve worked on them.

Makes: 1 qt   |   Prep Time: 10 min   |   Cook Time: 10 min

INGREDIENTS 

  • 1 lb. cucumbers, sliced ¼-in thick

  • 3 sprigs dill

  • ½ cup distilled white vinegar

  • 1 Tablespoon kosher salt

  • 1 teaspoon sugar

  • 1 teaspoon black peppercorns

INSTRUCTIONS

  1. Place cucumber and dill in a quart jar.

  2. Bring vinegar, salt, sugar, and peppercorns to boil in small saucepan.

  3. Pour hot liquid into prepared jar and let cool. Cover and chill.

  4. Note: Because these pickles are not canned, they’ll only keep in the fridge for up to two months.

Caramelize the Onions

Raw onions can be overpowering. Instead, add natural sweetness to your burgers without the offensive odors. You can even cook them the night before and warm them up right before serving. There won’t be a single sliver left at the end of the day.

INGREDIENTS

  • 3 yellow onions

  • 2-3 Tablespoons olive oil

  • Salt to taste

INSTRUCTIONS

  1. Thinly slice onions. This may seem like a lot, but they will cook down.

  2. Heat oil in large sauté pan on low heat and add onions and salt.

  3. Cook on low for 1 hour, stirring occasionally. The key to sweet, candy onions is time and patience. Low and slow is the way to go!

  4. Cook until golden, translucent, and syrupy.

Make the Mayo

While waiting for your onions to caramelize, blitz together a surprisingly simple homemade garlic mayonnaise. Bonus: You can use half the  mixture for making other sauces like honey mustard, homemade ranch, or chipotle mayo.

INGREDIENTS

  • 1 egg yolk

  • 1 Tablespoon lemon juice

  • 2 garlic cloves

  • 1 Tablespoon water

  • 1-1¼ cups light oil (avocado, light olive, canola, grape seed)

  • Salt to taste

INSTRUCTIONS

  1. Bring all ingredients to room temperature.

  2. Place egg, lemon, garlic, and water in food processor or mixing bowl if using immersion blender. Process until garlic is well blended. While machine is running slowly add oil (as slowly as you possibly can) until mixture becomes emulsified.

  3. Add salt to taste.

The Day Of

Dress the Greens

Every ingredient deserves to be seasoned. You wouldn’t eat an undressed salad, so why put that dry-as-a-bone garden on your juicy burger?

INSTRUCTIONS

  1. Drizzle a splash of olive oil and your choice of vinegar over a bowl of arugula, mixed greens, or butter lettuce.Careful not to overdress—you want the greens to barely glisten—as it could be sitting out for a few hours and will wilt if it’s too drenched.

  2. Add a few pinches of salt and pepper.

  3. Put salad directly on burgers or use them as part of a burger salad for all your gluten-free guests.

Butter the Buns

You wouldn’t buy shabby bookends to hold your collection of antique novels. So don’t use bad bread to hold your perfectly crafted burger. Cold bread tears and melts into your meat in a gooey mess if not given the proper tender loving care. Let your buns stand proudly and hold the fillings without becoming a part of them. The toasted buttery crunch adds a depth and completion to all your hard work.

INSTRUCTIONS

  1. Melt a few tablespoons of butter, lightly brush it on the inside and outside of each side of your buns.

  2. Heat grill, griddle, or sauté pan on medium-high. Place buns on cooking surface inside down to toast for about a minute, or until deep golden brown.

  3. Flip them to get a light toast on the outer side, though the inside is the most important.

Build Your Burger

You don't have to be professional to work this kind of magic, but your family and friends may confuse your humble backyard cookout for a gourmet burger shop.