Cheese Burgers

The Origins of the Hamburger

Why is it called a HAM Burger, when it doesn't contain any ham?? I honestly don't know the answer to that, but would like to. It is something that I have always wondered about.

From my understanding the original burger came about in the late 1890's, and started out as a meat ball that was flattened out and put between some bread and was sold at a food concession stand on Coney Island, or at one of the World Fairs. And this only happened by accident because the vendor ran out of noodles or something. Using a little ingenuity so he could stay in business and get rid of the extra meat he had left over he got with the guy next to him that was baking breads. They put the two together and now we have hamburgers. If someone has more information on this please contact me.

Some of My Favorite Cheese Burger's

The regular Cheese Burger by it self is great, and I love it, but every now and then you need a little variety. Here I will share with you some of my other favorite Cheese Burgers.

The Cheese Burger's :

	All American Big Boy - American Cheese with Sweet Pickle relish in a Sesame Seed Bun
	Philly Cheese Burger - Sautéed Onions, Peppers and Mushrooms with Swiss Cheese, with a quarter of big Kosher Dill on the side
	Chili Cheese Burger - Chili and Colby Jack Cheese and Jalapeno peppers
	Taco Burger - A burger mixed with Taco seasoning, topped off with Shredded Lettuce, chopped Tomatoes, Sour Cream, Guacamole' Taco Sauce and loaded down with Shredded Jack and Cheddar Cheese.
	Pizza Burger - Pepperoni, Pizza Sauce and Mozzarella and Parmesan Cheese on Toasted Garlic Bun
	Bacon n' Cheddar - Smoked bacon Fried on top of a burger with melted cheddar cheese and thin sliced Dill Pickles
	Spicy Cajun Cheese Burger - Cajun spices, with a hot red sauce with American, Cheddar and Provolone
	Slaw Burger- The name says it all
	Bar-B-Q Sandwich (not really a Burger ) - Slow cooked Chopped Pork smothered with BBQ sauce served on an Onion Roll , with American cheese and sweet pickle slices.

For the Parakeets :

	Sloppy Joe's or Jane's with cheese ( not a burger but lot's of fun adults like these too, or at least I do.)
	Mini- Me Cheese Burgers - Smaller version of the regular cheese burger severed on a Brown and serve roll ( also great for Parties)
	Chili Jose's - A chili version of the Sloppy Joe.

Cooking Method - Fried or Grilled

Now let me begin by saying that I believe that burgers are better when cooked on a grill over live red hot char-coals and hard wood shivers, or chunks to add a good smoked flavor.

There are times however that the weather does not allow for outdoor cooking. Luckily here in the South we can usually cook outdoors year around, unless there is bad storm outside. And too there are time's it just easier to fry your Burgers.

Frying

Although this is by no means healthy by today's standards it is one of the ways we cook. Sometimes you have to forget about the diet and and just enjoy the taste. Besides, you have to live a little, and you not going to eat everything fried all the time.

When I fry burgers I like to use a good heavy Cast Iron Frying Pan or Skillet. Using this type of pan is good because you can use high heat, and it provides even heat distribution. I also like to use a little bacon grease in the bottom of the pan and Sauté some onions while I'm frying the Burgers, and sprinkle on a little Worcestershire Sauce and a little Tabasco Sauce over the Burgers while they are cooking to add flavor. Really makes 'em taste grate.

Grilling

Grilling: is best described as "Fast and High" cooking. Cooking a food fast, over very hot coals and some times hard wood chunks to add smoke flavor at high temperatures. If you move to the South, please do not make the mistake so many do "now a days", by inviting people over for a Barbeque when your just cooking steaks or burgers on the grill. Southerners do not consider this to be barbeque.

Barbeque: is best described as "Slow and Low" cooking. Cooking larger cuts of meat slow, over hot embers of hard wood, or a mixture of wood and charcoal at low temperatures between 250 - 290 degree's, usually over an open pit. This slow roasting method allows the flavors of the hard wood smoke to infuse the meat, adding great flavor. This method of cooking can give the meat a pinkish tint, this is caused by the smoke, and it is very flavorful. Caution : do not use pine as a wood to smoke meat.

A historical note; the pirates known as Buccaneer's got their name from the French word boucan which means barbeque, which was the cooking method they used that was taught to them by the Arawak Indians.

Grilling Check List of Essential utilities needed.

Some of these sound really silly and obvious, but there have been a number of times I went to reach for something that was not there.

	A Good Instant Read Meat Thermometer .
	A Long Fireplace/grill Butane Lighter.
	A Coal Chimney. This is a great thing to start your charcoals and get them good and hot.
	Use only Hard Woods for smoky flavor - Oak, Hickory, Mesquite, Pecan, Apple
	Long Handled Spatula, Tongs and Fork
	Mitt's to Protect your hands from the heat and several clean towels/rags and an Apron to protect your clothes. (Mine has " Cheese Burger in Paradise From Margritaville in Charleston SC on it)
	A Spray Bottle full of water to put out fires, and optional a spray bottle with liquid Marinade
	Clean Platters to put food on as soon as the hamburgers / veggies are done
	Heavy Duty Aluminum Foil and Cooking Pans - Covering the Meat, making pouches for heating vegetables and buns .

The Meat and Seasoning

What type of Ground Beef

Today everyone is concerned about fat content. Every where you look the meat is lean, extra lean. The truth of the matter is this, the fat is what holds the meat together and provides it with flavor. So extra lean meat isn't always the way to go for great tasting burgers. So do you use regular Ground Beef, Ground Round, Ground Sirloin. I prefer Ground Round. The best thing to do is to try each and find out what you like the best. If you'd like you can also mix a little ground Pork in with the Ground Beef.

Seasoning

The best tip I can give you here is this. Do not add salt until after cooking the Burgers. Salt has a tendency to dry out the meat and draw it up.

As mentioned above I like to use a little Worcestershire and Tabasco Sauce when Cooking. I also like to add a little Garlic and Onion Powders, Peppers -Red, White and Black, and Chili Seasoning. Use your imagination and experiment and go crazy. But, before making your family or friends guinea pigs, make sure you cook one burger to taste your combination of seasonings and make sure the taste of the combination you've thought up works together before serving.

I learned at an early age from my Grand Mother that the most important ingredient that must always be added, no matter what you are cooking is love. Enjoy yourself and have fun, if you love what you're doing and the people you are going to be serving you can't go wrong.

Medium Rare, or Not?

Even though Jimmy Buffett and several of my friends like their Burgers medium- rare I don't suggest it. I suggest that you cook your Burgers until they are completely done, but not over cooked. Why? E. coli, that's why. Check out the article on the Texas Beef Councils Page for more information on how to prevent E. coli bacteria from ruining your next cook out or party . To Find out more about E .Coli visit the Center of Disease Control and Prevention Site, and learn how nasty it is.

Links:

Texas Beef Council: Cook It Properly

C.D.C.P. - Escherichia Coli

How big should the Burger Be??

It wasn't until the mid seventies that the big burger phenomena started really getting crazy. Before then there were a few places like the local "What-a-Burger" that specialized in a full size burger on a large Sesame Seed Bun. And even then it was just a thin burger that was big enough to fit on the bun and not be swallowed up by the bread. I think it all started with Wendy's 1/4 Lb. single, double or triple burgers, then all the other chains started adding larger burgers to their menu's . Now it seems like there is a completion between regular restaurants to see how big a chunk of meat can be stuck between two pieces of bread. It is also about this time that that the American waist line started getting larger, and the obesity rate in teens started escalating.

So do you follow the trend and use 1/4, 1/3 or 1/2 a pound of ground beef for each burger? Bigger is not necessarily always better. For the regular size bun, you can actually get away with up to eight burgers with 1 pound and a half of ground beef, this is also more economical.

When you think about it the Hamburger is a good balanced nutritional meal when it is put together right. With a proper proportions of meat preferably grilled over fried , bread, vegetables and Cheese it contains everything you need from all the food groups except Fruit ( unless you consider that tomatoes are actually from the Fruit family and isn't really a Vegetable). Where it falls apart is when you start to load on all the Mayonnaise, Mustard. Ultimately the decision is yours, and it is one of personal preference.

It's a Great American Classic: The Cheese Burger