Karl’s Meatloaf Hamburgers

Last week, in posting about my meatball chili, I mentioned that I had made meatloaf hamburgers the day before. I did not post it, because I had not taken a photo before I scarfed it down. It was so good that Jan wanted it again for the Fourth of July barbecue. I was not as hungry today, so I took time to take a picture.

Note: Just to prove I cannot make the same recipe the same way twice, I made some changes.

Karl’s Meatloaf Hamburgers

Ingredients

½ cup bread crumbs
¾ cup milk

1 tsp. olive oil
1 cup onion, finely diced
½ tsp. Kosher salt
½ cup celery, finely diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
¼ cup red bell pepper, finely diced
2 Tbs. tomato paste

2 Tbs. Madeira wine
¼ tsp. baking soda

1 Tbs. Worcestershirer sauce
½ tsp. black pepper, cracked

1 egg, lightly beaten

1 lb. ground beef (80%)

Directions

1. Put the bread crumbs in a small bowl and stir in the milk.

Tip: Whenever I buy a loaf of bread the last few inches seem to end up on the shelf to dry out. When I have collected 3-4 of them, I either grate them on a box grater (for coarse crumbs) or toss them in a blender (for fine crumbs). I put the crumbs in a plastic bag in the freezer until I need them for a recipe.

2. Let the panade rest for 15 minutes.

3. Heat the oil in a medium pan, over medium high heat, and sauté the onions with the salt until just starting to pick up some color, about five minutes.

4. Add the celery and continue sautéing until the vegetables are soft.

5. Pull the vegetables to the sides of the pan and sauté the garlic in the hole in the center for one minute, until fragrant.

6. Add the tomato paste to the garlic and continue cooking and scrapping until the tomato paste has started to darkened, about 2-3 minutes.

7. Dissolve the baking powder in the Madeira.

Tip: The baking soda changes the Ph of the meat and causes it to retain more of its moisture as it cooks.

8. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the Madeira, soy sauce, and pepper.

Note: Let this mixture cool for a minute, so that it does not partially cook the egg when you add it to the meat mixture.

9. Mix the panade, the onion mixture in the pan, and the egg together in a large bowl.

10. Crumble the ground meat into the bowl and mix the meat into the mixture well.

11. Let the meat mixture rest for 20-30 minutes, covered, in the refrigerator.

12. Form the meat into your preferred sized hamburger patties.

Note: Wetting your hands before handling the meat keeps the meat fat from sticking to your hands.

13. Set the patties on a plate, so that they are not touching each other.

14. Fry, grill, or broil your burgers to your preferred doneness.

Tip: I grilled mine for about 8-10 minutes per side.

Note: Because store ground meat generally contains some bacteria, 160º F is considered the minimum safe internal temperature. If you grind the beef yourself you may go with a lower temperature.

15. Serve the patties with your favorite buns, and toppings.

Tip: I use whole wheat hamburger buns, Japanese mayonnaise, whole grain mustard, a grilled slice of sweet onion, a slice of beefsteak tomato, and a leaf of Romaine lettuce.

Note: This recipe makes enough for six good sized burgers. Since I was only making three, I formed the rest of the meat into a loaf and froze it for another meal.