Outdoor gourmets share inventive burger recipes

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If your idea of creating the perfect backyard burger is to take some ground beef, form it into patties and slap it on the grill, you’re definitely behind the burger curve. While you’ve been slacking off, your fellow grillmasters across the valley have been jazzing up their own creations with seasonings and cheeses and vegetables and more.

A few weeks ago, we asked Las Vegas Review-Journal readers to submit their secrets to burger bliss. And so, just in time for Memorial Day – when, according to the Weber GrillWatch Survey, 71 percent of Americans will fire up their grills – a selection of their recipes follows.

ITALIAN BURGERS

5 pounds ground chuck

2 tablespoons salt

2 teaspoons ground black pepper

3 eggs

2 cups grated Pecorino Romano cheese

½ cup chopped fresh parsley

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon dried basil

2 tablespoons fresh chopped garlic

1 cup Italian-seasoned crumbs (see note)

Cheese of your choice, sliced (we use fresh buffalo mozzarella)

Mix all ingredients. Refrigerate at least a few hours, or overnight if possible.

Make into patties (any size your family wants; being of Italian descent, bigger is better) and grill.

Note: I normally use Italian bread, soaked and squeezed, but there are so many variations of Italian breads, it is easier using bread crumbs.

Variation: Top with homemade roasted red pepper and Havarti cheese.

– Recipe from Judy Chiarelli-Assalone of Las Vegas

BOB-O-HUM-DING BURGER

1½ pounds tri-tip roast, ground at time of purchase

Tartar sauce (spicy, if possible)

1 red onion, thinly sliced

Blue cheese

Whole dill pickles, thinly sliced

1 or 2 cloves of garlic, minced

Provolone cheese

Butter

Ciabatta rolls

Miracle Whip

Lettuce

Sliced tomatoes

Bacon, cooked until crisp

Divide beef into three portions. Divide each portion into two, one slightly larger. Make a well in each larger burger; the smaller portions will be the tops.

Spread tartar sauce onto each top and bottom portion. Put some onions in each bottom portion and crumble some blue cheese on top. Add some pickle slices and some garlic. Then add top burgers and seal carefully, pinching all around.

Grill four minutes on each side, or to desired doneness.

Remove to plate, top each burger with a slice of Provolone, cover burgers with foil and let rest 5 minutes.

Butter and toast buns. Spread with Miracle Whip and top with burgers, lettuce, tomato and bacon.

– Recipe from Bob Coon of Las Vegas

JUMPING HOT JALAPENO BURGERS

1½ pounds ground beef

1 small onion (approximately 4 tablespoons), diced

1 tablespoon cream

1 clove garlic, crushed

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon pepper

4 teaspoons Salsa Picante

4 teaspoons chopped pickled jalapeno slices

½ cup shredded cheddar cheese

Hamburger buns

Mix beef, onion, cream, garlic, salt and pepper and form into eight thin patties. Top each of four patties with 1 teaspoon Salsa Picante, 1 teaspoon pickled jalapeno slices and 2 tablespoons of cheese. Top with remaining four patties and press edges to seal in toppings.

Grill over medium coals for 12 minutes. Turn once after seven minutes.

Eat as is, or with lettuce and tomato. Spread bun with or dip in extra salsa.

– Recipe from Leon Drew of Las Vegas

STUFFED GORGONZOLA AND PROSCIUTTO BURGER

8 ounces 80/20 ground beef

3 ounces Gorgonzola Dolce

1 slice prosciutto

Roasted red peppers

Roasted-garlic aioli (recipe follows)

Arugula

Ciabatta roll or French bread

Form meat into two patties. Form cheese into a smaller patty and place between the beef patties. Seal edges of burger and grill for five minutes on each side, or until you see signs of cheese.

Crisp prosciutto on foil on grill. Top burger with red pepper and roasted-garlic aioli. Put a nice handful of arugula on the bottom of the bun.

Roasted-garlic aioli: cut about a quarter off of the top of a head of garlic, to expose the cloves. Place in a small crock with a few ounces of water topped with olive oil, cover with foil and bake at 375 degrees for about 30 minutes, or until soft. Squeeze soft garlic cloves into a tablespoon of mayonnaise and blend with black pepper to taste.

– Recipe from Michael Failla of Henderson

ONO TURKEY BURGERS

1 pound Jennie-O ground turkey

1 small carrot, grated

½ medium onion, grated

4 teaspoons soy sauce

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon smoked paprika

1 teaspoon sea salt

½ teaspoon ground black pepper

1 egg yolk

King’s Hawaiian Sweetbread hamburger buns

Lettuce

Sliced tomatoes

Sliced onions

Provolone cheese

Thousand Island dressing

Mix first nine ingredients in a large bowl and form four patties. Grill.

Serve on toasted buns. Garnish with lettuce, tomatoes, onions, cheese and dressing.

– Recipe from Elaine Harvey of Las Vegas

GRILLED MEATLOAF BURGERS

1 tablespoon minced garlic

2 pounds lean ground beef

2 eggs, beaten

4 tablespoons half-and-half

1 tablespoon dried minced onion

2 slices bread, crusts removed and cut into small cubes

1 tablespoon creamy horseradish

1 tablespoon dry mustard

7 slices cheese of your choice

Combine garlic with ground beef; set aside.

In a large bowl, mix eggs with half-and-half, then add onion, bread cubes, horseradish and dry mustard. Mix well and let stand for 10 minutes.

Mix well again, making sure bread cubes are fully absorbed with mixture. Add ground beef to mixture and mix well again.

Form into 7 large patties and grill over hot coals.

During last minute of grilling, place slice of cheese over each patty.

– Recipe from Jeanne Hinners of Las Vegas

SURF ‘N TURF BURGER

2 medium onions, sliced thin

¼ cup plus 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil (divided use)

1 teaspoon black pepper

1 cup cream cheese, softened

1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 tablespoon milk

1 teaspoon Old Bay Seasoning

2 pounds 85/15 ground beef

¼ cup Worcestershire sauce

1/3 cup light mayonnaise

2 tablespoons Mrs. Dash Steak Flavor Spice Mix

½ cup panko

12 colossal (U15) or jumbo (U21) shrimp, deveined, butterflied, tail removed

6 4-inch kaiser rolls, split and lightly toasted

½ cup A1 Steak Sauce

½ cup seafood cocktail sauce

Place the onions in a bowl and thoroughly coat with ¼ cup olive oil. Mix with the black pepper. Place onions in a foil pouch and seal the edges. While grilling the burgers, place the pouch on the grill and turn occasionally. Cook 10 to 15 minutes, depending on heat, until onions are softened.

To make the cheese mixture, mix the cream cheese with the lemon juice and milk until blended. Add the seasoning. Do not refrigerate; cover and let stand until needed.

For the turf, mix the beef, Worcestershire sauce, mayonnaise, spice mix and panko until well distributed. Form into six patties approximately 5 inches diameter. Let patties rest, covered, in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour.

Grill patties over a hot fire about 4 minutes per side, until inside temperature reaches 165 degrees. Remove from grill and cover the top of each burger with the cheese mixture. Tent with foil and let rest five minutes.

For the surf, coat the shrimp with the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil and place over a medium grill for two to three minutes per side, until just done. Remove from grill and cover.

To assemble, cover the bottom halves of the rolls with the A1 sauce. Distribute the onions over the sauce. Top each with a burger. Place the shrimp on top, pressing them into the cheese mixture. Spread the top half of the roll with the cocktail sauce and place on top of the stack.

Secure with two bamboo skewers.

– Recipe from Mark Morris of Las Vegas

LAMBORGHINIS

(Moroccan Spiced Lamb Sliders)

1 pound ground lamb

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon ground coriander

½ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon fresh ground pepper

Slider buns

Aioli