Burgers are a sure sign of summer. But don’t settle for pre-formed beef patties, when with just a little effort and a few simple ingredients can elevate the simple hamburger to an Italian gourmet burger.
This subtle nod to Sicilian flavors truly makes these burgers special. From using the right ground beef to adding some unique ingredients to the meat as you form the patties to an over-the-top garlic butter that is applied to the buns before they are toasted to golden brown perfection will make the addition of basil and provolone cheese a burger to remember.
Tips for Gourmet Burgers
Choose the right fat ratio ground beef. When choosing ground beef for burgers you want to remember that fat means flavor. It is a balancing act since the more fat in the meat, the more shrinkage can occur doing the cooking process as the fat renders out and makes a greasy patty. On the other hand, a certain amount of fat is needed to keep the meat moist, soft, and full of flavor.
Since we are talking about run of the mill ground beef from the meat department instead of custom grinds that use more expensive cuts of beef in the ground meat, I like the ratio of 80% lean and 20% fat. Look on the ground beef package for the fat ratio (FYI: the maximum amount of fat in ground beef allowed by the USDA is 30%.) Trying to use ground beef that has less than 15% fat will result in dry, hard, tasteless meat patties no matter how your grill them (medium-rare through to well-done), so use the leaner ground beef in other recipes.
Grocery store ground beef is usually ground round, ground chuck, or ground sirloin with ground round being the least expensive and ground sirloin being the most. Each cut of meat has it’s place, but you get what you pay for. For burgers, I go with ground chuck if I can since that grind gives me plenty of beefy flavor and still grills up nice and soft. I stay away from buying ground beef in the chub tubes at the grocery store. I want to see the meat and make sure the grind looks uniform between the pink of the meat and the white speckles of fat.
Seeing the meat is pink rather than grayish-brown lets me know that the ground beef has been handled correctly and is not past its prime. You can experiment with mixing fancy cuts of beef with the more common chuck cuts. But unless you are ordering ground beef from a specialty butcher counter, you will need to do both the grinding and blending of the meat at home.
Season the raw ground beef before you form the patties. A dusting of salt and pepper on the surface of the ground beef won’t deliver the full burst of flavor we are after. This recipe uses a whole spectrum of seasonings as well as garlic and minced onions to make the meat delicious all by itself before you add any toppings or condiments.
Don’t overwork the ground beef. A light mixing with your hands to gently combine the ingredients is what we are after. Since mixing compresses the meat and compressed meat cooks up hard and tough, use your hands to lightly break up the meat and combine it with the other ingredients. Then carefully separate a handful of the mixture and form it into patties slightly larger than the bun. As soon as the meat holds together stop pressing and just shape it into an even thickness with a slight divot in the center. The divot will result in an even cook meat patty since the burger will bulge in the center as it cooks.
Cook the burger correctly. Since the meat will be cooked relatively quickly, there is no need to fiddle with it. Don’t keep opening and closing the grill lid to move the meat around. Start with the grill preheated to high. Place the meat over the fire, wait for the desired time for the preferred level of doneness, flip the meat to cook the other side, and remove the meat. It’s a burger so you aren’t going for the cross-hatch grill marks. And please don’t give in to the temptation of pressing down on the burger as it cooks. If the grill was preheated, the meat is in contact with the hot grill and pressing the burgers only squeezes out the meat juices that end up in the fire, not on the plate.
- Medium-Rare Burger: cooked to 125-130°F (2-3 minutes per side)
- Medium Burger: cooked to 135-140°F (3-4 minutes per side)
- Medium-Well Burger: cooked to 145-160°F (4-5 minutes per side)
- Well-Done Burger: cooked to 160°F plus (5-8 minutes per side)
I often cook these Italian gourmet burgers in a piping hot cast iron pan. No need to add any oil, just preheat it on the stovetop. Add the burgers flip and remove to rest on the bun. Cast iron creates a beautiful burger with a yummy meat crust.
Use the right size bun. Remember you will be building up a burger with several layers of ingredients. Too large of bun makes the resulting burger hard to pick up and even harder to take a bite from. For these burgers, I prefer almost a slider-size bun or even use a dinner roll.
Print
Mama Mia Burger
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 6-12 minutes
- Total Time: 1 houre
- Yield: 6 burgers 1x
- Category: entree
- Method: grilled
- Cuisine: American
Description
An Italian gourmet burger with a nod to Sicily. Garlic butter-toasted buns and hand-formed beef patties are topped with basil and provolone cheese.
Ingredients
- 1 pound 80/20 ground beef
- 3 green onions minced (about 1/3 cup)
- 4 cloves garlic, minced (about 2 teaspoons)
- 1 tablespoon fresh parsley, minced
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce
- 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 3/4 teaspoon lemon pepper
Garlic Butter
- 1/2 cup butter, softened
- 4 cloves garlic, minced (about 2 teaspoons)
- 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese, slightly chopped
- 1 tablespoon fresh parsley, minced
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon lemon pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon paprika
- Pinch of chile powder
- Pinch of ground nutmeg
- 6 hamburger buns (see notes above)
- 6 slices Provolone cheese
- 2 Roma tomatoes, thinly sliced
- 1/8 red onion thinly sliced
- 12 basil leaves
- 12 baby spinach leaves
- Mayonnaise to serve
- Ketchup to serve
- Dijon mustard to serve
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325°F.
- Preheat grill to high heat.
- In a medium bowl, using your hands, lightly combine ground beef, green onions, minced garlic, fresh parsley, Worcestershire sauce, Italian seasoning, paprika, kosher salt, and lemon pepper.
- Divide meat into six portions and gently press each portion into a burger. When the meat is of even thickness, press a slight divot into the center. Repeat until you have 6 burgers.
- Place burger patties on a plate or tray and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
- Meanwhile, prepare the garlic butter. In a small bowl, combine softened butter with the garlic, parmesan cheese, fresh parsley, Italian seasoning, kosher salt, lemon pepper, paprika, and a pinch of chile powder and ground nutmeg. Mix until smooth.
- Spilt each bun and spread a layer of garlic butter on both sides of the buns. Toast in preheated 325°F until the buns are golden brown.
- Remove burger patties from refrigerator and immediately place on grill and cook to the desired level of donees, flipping once.
- Remove cooked burgers to toasted buns and let rest.
- Arrange cheese, red onion, Roma slices, baby spinach leaves, basil leaves on a serving platter.
- Serve with ketchup, mayonnaise, and dijon mustard and let everyone assemble their own burger.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 burger
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