“Poor Man’s Cheese Burger…with a Spear of a Pickle.”
Memiors
When I a teenager back in the day, I would get tickled to death by that Wendy’s commercial and that old lady who would pull apart her hamburger buns and shout out loud; “Where’s the beef?!” Hmm, come to think of it…I don’t think I was even in my teens yet? Oh well, in a hundred years who is gonna care anyway.
Why?
“Why call this burger a poor man’s burger?” Well, we all make due with what we have don’t we? At the time of grilling these burgers I only had a pair of hamburger buns, and no tomatoes or lettuce. Not having all the ingredients should not stop us form grilling, in fact; if we were lacking the beef in our burgers…we could have cooked grilled cheese sandwiches. That sounds pretty good to me.
To the Firing Pit…or Grilling Pit.
Remember to start you barbecue pit at least 30 minutes in advance so that the coals ash over before you throw on the beef on the grill. Meanwhile prepare the hamburger beef to make patties. I use the 80/20 hamburger beef; it is tasty and doesn’t shrink as much. So…I have grated about 1 tablespoon of onion “sniff-sniff”, 1 tablespoon of garlic, (keeps vampires at bay…by the way; plus has many benefits), 1/2 teaspoons of the following; paprika, Cheyenne pepper, freshly grounded black pepper, Sweet Baby Ray’s barbecue sauce, and lastly; a dash of coarse salt. You can use any type of barbecue sauce or even omit it all together. That is why it totally rocks to be your own cook! You chose what to add or omit in the recipes.
Work it baby
Press the burgers just a little bit bigger then the size of the buns so that when cooked they end up at just the right size as the buns. Mine burgers usually end up being 3/4 to 1 inch thick when cooked. I like pressing them into shape, but you can use a hamburger press if you like.
Off to the grill we go…
Cook on a medium to high heat grill for 8 to 10 minutes for medium turning over once past the 5-6 minute mark. Leave a little longer if you don’t want to see any pink juices; about 2-3 minutes longer. Go ahead and toast the buns as well, they taste so much better that way. I finished the hamburger with a 1/2 – 1 tablespoon Miracle Whip and a spear of a pickle.
This cheese burgers are really not poor at all...they are rich...rich in flavor that will make beggars of the people who eat them. "I want more please!"
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon of grated onion
- 1 tablespoon of grated or chopped garlic
- 1/2 tablespoon Cheyenne pepper
- 1/2 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2 tablespoon paprika
- 1/2 tablespoon of Sweet Ray's barbecue sauce or other
- 1/2 tablespoon coarse salt
- 1/2 pound of 80% ground beef
- 1 slice of your favorite cheese
- 1 pickle spear
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients into a large bowl and mix together forming into a ball shape and press flat to a size a little bit bigger then the hamburger buns.
- Cook over direct heat for 8-10 minutes for medium turning once past the 5-6 minute mark.
- Place hamburger buns on grill and the slice of cheese on top of the patty in the last minute of grilling to lightly toast and melt the cheese.
- Remove patties and buns from grill and prepare buns by lightly applying Miracle whip or other chosen dressing.
- Garnish with A pickle and enjoy!
Notes
The prep time is the waiting time for the coals to ash over, so start that process first. I have clocked myself in the prepping time for the patties at around 10 minutes and 20 minutes taking my sweet time.