All-American Loaded Hamburgers

It wouldn’t be Memorial Day without a good ‘ol classic American hamburger! These beef hamburgers are tender, juicy, and loaded with all your favorite burger toppings. They’ll be the hit of your Memorial Day barbecue!

Memorial Day is in 4 days. Sorry, but that’s just a little crazy to me. Summer is practically here and I haven’t even shared one grilled recipe with you guys yet. Not cool.

It’s never officially summer until I grill the first hamburgers of the year.

We’re going back to the classics today. With THE thickest, juiciest hamburgers on the planet decked out with all the works.

Helloooo, summer. 😀

This is the only classic hamburger recipe you will ever need in your life. They’re tender, juicy, perfectly seasoned, and loaded with tons of toppings.

They’re everything a classic American hamburger should be and thensome.

Let’s talk about some of the secrets behind a perfect American burger.

The perfect American hamburger obviously starts with the meat. — I would highly recommend purchasing high-quality lean ground beef. Your burgers won’t be nearly as good if you use the cheap ground beef.

The hamburger base is pretty basic and you’ll only need a few ingredients: Lean ground beef, dry bread crumbs, minced garlic cloves, onion powder, an egg, salt, and pepper. When you’re working the ingredients together, try to do it as gently as possible in order to keep the burgers moist and tender while they’re cooking.

When you’re ready to shape the hamburger patties, try to divide the meat into even portions so each burger will cook evenly (a kitchen scale would be ideal for this part!) After they’re shaped into patties, make a small dent in the middle of each one. — This will help the hamburgers keep their shape and prevent them from turning into balls while they cook.

Now your patties are ready and ‘awaitin that grill! Fire ‘er up! (oh gosh, I’m so corny)

Now don’t worry if your meat seems a little pink in the middle after they’ve been grilled. As long as the meat registers 160° they’re perfectly safe. (I always test all my hamburgers with a meat thermometer just to be on the safe side) You don’t want to cook your meat until no pink remains, because then your hamburger won’t be tender and juicy in the middle. Nobody likes a dry hamburger. Yechh..I’d rather eat cardboard.

Those hamburger buns you see are homemade. Yeah, it’s a little extra work but sooo worth it in the long run and obviously you  need a worthy bun to hold such an incredible hamburger.

I’ve gotta share my hamburger buns recipe with you guys sometimes. They’re amazing.

But for now, any variety of hamburger buns will work. I prefer whole wheat buns, just to make me feel a little bit better about indulging in a huge hamburger for my dinner. Not exactly health-city, ya know.

Toppings for these hamburgers are totally up to you. Me? I like to pile my hamburger with all of the above: Sliced mozzarella cheese, tomato slices, onions, lettuce, pickles, mustard, ketchup, and even sliced avocado if I have it on hand. (SO GOOD!)

 Grab your hamburger buns and all of your favorite toppings and get ready for the hamburger of your life. These burgers put restaurant ones to shame. No joke.

I’m planning on making these hamburgers again for Memorial Day on Monday along with these strawberry shortcakes. Perfect summer food, no?

I’m already looking forward to enjoying another one of these huge juicy burgers then. Isn’t summer just the best? 😀

You’ve gotta try these hamburgers this summer, preferably on Memorial Day. Pair ’em with coleslaw or potato salad and I promise you won’t be disappointed.

They speak SUMMER and AMERICAN in every amazing bite. 😀

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All-American Loaded Hamburgers

It wouldn't be Memorial Day without a good 'ol classic American hamburger! These beef hamburgers are tender, juicy, and loaded with all your favorite burger toppings. They'll be the hit of your Memorial Day barbecue!

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes

Total Time 40 minutes

Servings 8 hamburgers

Ingredients

• 2 lbs lean ground beef
• 1 cup dry bread crumbs
• 8 garlic cloves minced
• 2 teaspoons onion powder
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
• 1 large egg
• 8 hamburger buns
• 8 slices mozzarella cheese
• Sliced tomatoes lettuce, pickles, sliced onion, mustard, and ketchup for serving

Instructions

1. In a large bowl, gently combine ground beef, bread crumbs, garlic, onion powder, salt, pepper, and egg until combined. Shape meat mixture into patties and make a dent in the middle of each. Refrigerate patties until ready to cook.
2. Grill hamburgers over medium-high heat until meat registers 160F degrees. Keep burgers warm until ready to serve.
3. Serve burgers warm on hamburger buns with sliced cheese and toppings of your choice.

Recipe Notes

Hamburgers are best if eaten on the day they are made.

Recipe adapted from Diethood.

What are your plans for Memorial Day? Anything fun planned? If you’re hosting a barbecue, you must try these strawberry shortcakes for a super-simple dessert. They were even published in a magazine!

Whole Wheat Strawberry Shortcakes