Spring Burgers

With the warmer weather and the grilling season back my thoughts turn to hamburgers and nothing beats cooking them on the grill. The old concept of the hamburger being beef is now outdated. Burgers come in all forms-turkey, salmon, pork, buffalo, lamb and black bean for the vegetarians. Buns now reflect a more diverse style with pita, wraps, English muffins, bagels and Ciabatta rolls. For those on low carb diets going bunless is now a popular option.

What you put on your burger now has many more options. Avocado, pineapple, jalapenos, yogurt, green chilies, horseradish, wasabi and salsa are now taking the place of the more traditional toppings of bacon, tomato, onion and mushrooms. The traditional cheeses of cheddar, Swiss, Muenster, provolone and American are being expanded to include feta, buffalo, goat, bleu and brie.

The choices can seem to be overwhelming. This was brought home to me when I visited Big Daddy’s in Charlotte North Carolina. You had a choice of 7 different meats or black bean, 9 condiments, 6 breads, 24 toppings and 11 cheeses. Ordering the different possibilities took a lot of thought. After ordering many of the different options you realized when they brought your order that you had misjudged the size of your mouth.

When it comes to buying a burger in one of our restaurants we have a few categories of places (not even counting the fast food places). The first are the “retro” places like Johnny Rockets, Five Guys and Cheeburger, Cheeburger or second like Fat Burger and Fuddruckers. I didn’t include Red Robin in either category because they are different and for my money the best for burgers and fries.

Others worth mentioning are the Tuesday night half price burgers at Coho’s (best turkey burger), Outback and Red, Hot and Blue in Laurel. I hear that Victoria Gastro Pub has a pretty good burger but I haven’t tried it yet.

Interesting how many Howard County restaurants made the Baltimore Sun’s 50

best restaurants.

Some recipes from BJ’s Journal

Turkey Cobb Salad Burgers serves 6

PREP TIME: 1 5 M1N., COOK TIME: 25 M1N. Made with easy, all-natural frozen turkey patties, this burger pays homage to the famous salad invented at Hollywood's landmark Brown Derby™ Make it the star of your next dinner.

6 Harvestland® All-Natural Frozen Turkey Patties, defrosted (Also available fresh)

Wesson® Vegetable Oil 6 Portuguese Rolls,* split Salt and Pepper, to taste

1 head Hearts of Romaine Lettuce

2 Vine Ripe Tomatoes, sliced

4 large Eggland's Best Eggs, hardboiled and sliced 2 small Hass® Avocados, sliced thin 6 oz. Wellsley Farms® Bacon, cooked and crumbled 6 Tbsp. Wellsley Farms® Artisan Blue Cheese Crumble

1 . Brush burgers with oil and place on preheated medium-high grill. Cook until first side is well seared with distinct grill marks, 4 to 5 minutes. 2. Carefully flip burger and cook 4 to 5 minutes until instant-read thermometer reads 160° 3. Place on rolls, season with salt and pepper, and top with lettuce leaves, tomato, egg, avocado, bacon and blue cheese. Serve immediately

Buffalo Burgers with

Spicy Buffalo Barbecue Sauce serves 6

PREP TIME: 1 5 WIN., COOK TIME: 10 M1N. Lean and flavorful, buffalo is a natural for cholesterol-conscious burger buffs. And when you serve it up in a pub classic like this, it proves that a good-for-you food can be a good time, too.

1 '/2 lb. Great Range™ Fresh Ground Buffalo
Wesson® Vegetable Oil

6 Wellsley Farms® Crusty Rolls* split

2 Vine Ripe Tomatoes, thickly sliced

6 Tbsp. Ken's® Steak House Blue Cheese Dressing

Iceberg Lettuce

BARBECUE SAUCE:

2 Tbsp. Frank's® RedHot® Original

Cayenne Pepper Sauce

2 Tbsp. Heinz® White Vinegar

1/2 Tbsp Lea & Perrins® Worcestershire Sauce

1 '/2 Tbsp Domino* Light Brown Sugar

2 tsp. McCormick® Mustard Powder
1 tsp McCormick* Chili Powder

!/2 Tbsp. water

1. Whisk all sauce ingredients together in a small bowl and set aside. 2. Divide buffalo into 6 even portions and form into 1 "-thick patties. Set aside at room temperature. 3. Preheat grill to medium-low, then brush each burger with oil before placing on hot grate. 4. Brush burgers with sauce and cook until well seared with denned grill marks, about 5 minutes. 5. Carefully turn burgers, brush with more sauce and cook 5 minutes or until instant-read thermometer reads 150° 6. Remove immediately and place on rolls. Top with dressing, lettuce and tomato and serve

Mahi Mahi Burgers with Lemon-Garlic Aioli Sauce SERVES 6 PREP TIME: 1 2 WIN., COOK TIME: 16MIN.

This popular warm-water sport fish is a favorite in seafood restaurants. Its moist, firm meat and mild flavor are great for burgers and pair perfectly with this easy lemon and garlic sauce.

6 frozen WorldCatch® Mahi Mahi Burgers,*

(or frozen WorldCatch® Salmon Burgers)

1 tsp. McCormick® Lemon Pepper

Wesson*' Vegetable Oil

6 Arnold® Multi-Grain Sandwich

Thins,® split

Fresh Express® Spring Mix

1 Wellsley Farms® Red Onion,

sliced thinly

A1OL1 SAUCE:

1 Tropicana® Lemon

1 cup Hellmann's® Real Mayonnaise

1 '/2 Tbsp. Grey Poupon® Dijon Mustard

2 cloves Garlic, crushed
!/2 tsp. White Pepper

!/₂ tsp. Sea Salt

1. Using fine grater, carefully grate outer yellow layer of lemon peel into small bowl. Cut lemon in half and squeeze juice into bowl, removing any seeds. 2. Add mayonnaise, mustard, garlic, pepper and salt to bowl and whisk until smooth. Refrigerate until needed, up to 2 weeks. 3. Pre-heat grill to medium. Brush burgers with oil, sprinkle with lemon pepper and place on grill. Cook 4 minutes, turn carefully and cook 4 minutes until instam-read thermometer reads 140° Remove immediately and place on rolls. Top with a generous dollop of aioli, the sliced onion and spring mix and serve immediately.