Classic Burger with Cheese
It doesn't get more classic than this beautiful burger. I will take mine with lettuce, tomatoes, onions, pickles, cheese and mustard ..... please.
We wanted to make this burger a little bit healthier. Using lean meat can be a bit of a challenge; fat = calories, but it also = juiciness and flavor. Adding onions to the patties lends moisture to the lean beef and some terrific, sweet and savory onion flavor. You can saute them for deep, rich flavor and add them to the meat. If you don't want to dirty an additional pan, you can shred or grate raw onion directly into the hamburger meat and mix it in. Either way, it's extra moisture and flavor from which the burger will benefit. We used a 90% lean beef for this, and just cooked it to medium. Even the fattiest burger will start to dry out when you cook it too long, so mind your cooking times, and you'll end up with a great burger.
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- 1 medium yellow onion; slice 1/2 of the onion and chop or grate the other 1/2
- 1 pound 90/10 lean ground beef
- 1 Tablespoon Austin Steak Rub
- 4 pieces leaf lettuce
- 4 slices ripe tomato
- 4 slices American cheese
- pickle slices
- 4 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- 4 whole wheat buns
- Make sure your grill is clean and then spray the grill grates with pan spray or rub the grates with oil and preheat grill to medium high, 375°F heat.
- On the stove over medium heat, heat olive oil and add the chopped half of the onion.
- Cook onion until it becomes soft and transparent, 3-4 minutes.
- Remove onions from heat and let cool.
- Combine meat, Austin Steak Rub, and sauteed onion in a bowl. Mix until everything is combined.
- Evenly divide the meat into 4 patties, approximately 4 ounces per patty. Flatten them to 3/4 inch thickness.
- Grill burgers about 4 minutes on each side or until internal temperature reaches 145 degrees for a medium-well burger
- Add cheese slice and remove from the grill and tent with foil until temperature reaches 150 degrees - about 3 minutes
- Assemble burger on bun with lettuce, tomato, onion slices, pickles and mustard.