My Messy Marinated Burger
Ingredients
2 cloves garlic
2/3 ketchup plus 6 tsp. ketchup
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup olive oil plus 1 Tbsp. olive oil
2 tsp. Fines Herbes
1 tsp. seasoning salt such as “Seasonal”
2 1/2 lbs. premium ground beef (no less than 20% fat)
3 medium vine ripened tomatoes
1 bunch red leaf lettuce
2 medium sweet onions such as a “Vidalia” or a “Maui”
1 Tbsp. butter
1 Tbsp. vegetable oil
6 pre-sliced slices of medium cheddar cheese
6 large barbeque sized hamburger buns
6 tsp. real mayonnaise
6 tsp. yellow mustard
Instructions
Prepare marinade:
In a large bowl, grate 2 cloves garlic, add 2/3 cup ketchup, soy sauce, 1/2 cup olive oil, Fines Herbes and seasoning salt. Whisk all ingredients together. Reserve 1/4 cup of this marinade.
Prepare ground beef into patties:
With wet hands, divide ground beef into six equal portions. About 6.4 ounces each. Form patties 1/2 inch thick in the center and 3/4 inch thick at the edges. Place formed patties into gallon sized plastic zip lock bags. 2 patties per bag. Do not stack patties inside bag. Drizzle enough of the marinade into each bag to coat all sides of each patty. Place inside refrigerator or over ice in a cooler for one hour. While patties are marinating in refrigerator or in a cooler: Prepare the charcoal grill, in 30 to 45 minutes, coals should be gray and glowing. Temperature of the grill should be approximately 350 degrees.
Wash and slice the 3 vine ripened tomatoes into twelve slices. Set aside in a gallon sized plastic zip lock bag and place in a refrigerator or over ice in a cooler. Separate the red leaf lettuce leaves. Wash and thoroughly dry the leaves. Remove core end of leaves and rip remainder of leaf in half. Set aside in a gallon size zip lock back and place in a refrigerator or over ice in a cooler. Slice the two sweet onions into thin slices. Heat 1 Tbsp. olive oil and 1 Tbsp. butter in a saute pan on grill’s heat until butter is melted. Add sweet onion slices and saute until until onions are translucent. About 6 minutes. Add 2 Tbsp. of marinade from the 1/4 cup reserve marinade. Stir well over heat. Remove from heat. Place sauteed onions in an aluminum foil pouch and place in a refrigerator or over ice in a cooler. Check time. Allow hamburger patties to marinate chilled, at least one hour. At the end of one hour, grease the grill rack with 1 Tbsp. vegetable oil. Remove marinated hamburger patties from refrigerator or cooler. Carefully remove thepatties from the zip lock bags and place them on the grill directly over the heated coals. Remove the aluminum foil pouch of sauteed onions from the refrigerator or cooler, place in back corner of the grill over indirect heat to reheat the onions. Close the grill’s lid and let hamburger patties cook for 6 minutes. After 6 minutes flip all hamburgers patties and baste each with 1 tsp. of marinade from the 1/4 cup reserve marinade. Close the grill’s lid and cook for another 2 minutes. Open the grill’s lid and add a slice of medium cheddar cheese to each hamburger while they are still on the grill. Close the grill’s lid for 1 minute more until cheddar cheese is melted. Remove hamburger patties from the grill. Remove aluminum foil sauteed onion poouch from the grill. Set hamburgers and sauteed onions aside. Separate hamburger buns. Place each bun face side down on the gil for about 30 seconds. Remove from the grill. Remove sliced tomatoes and lettuce leaves from the refrigerator or cooler.
Assembling the hamburgers:
Place a cooked hamburger patty on a grilled hamburger bun. Top with a heaping Tbsp. (or more if desired) of sauteed onions from the warmed aluminum foil pouch, 2 vine ripened tomato slices, and 1 to 2 lettuce leaves. On the inside of the opposite grilled hamburger bun, spread 1 tsp. each of ketchup, real mayonnaise, and yellow mustard. Place this bun on top of the hamburger bun and vegetable stacked bun. Enjoy!