Onion Burgers with Quick Slaw

Spring is finally starting to peek its head out here in Seattle. That means, it's time to fire up the grill!

Yesterday, I was making an effort to clean out the fridge and be a bit domestic, and I came up with a delicious grilled burger recipe. I manned the kitchen, and the husband manned the grill -- it was perfect.

I started with half a small green cabbage I had rolling around in the produce bin. As with many of my recipes, the amounts are just suggestions. I am terrible with measuring, unless I'm baking.

Get the recipes after the jump


Quick Slaw
1/2 small green cabbage
3 Tbs. apple cider vinegar
1 1/2Ttbs sugar
Salt & pepper to taste
1 tsp. spicy brown mustard
1 Tbs. mayo (I used light), more or less depending on how creamy you like it
Dash of Tabasco (I used Buffalo Style)

Core your cabbage, and slice really thin, or use a mandolin. I halved my half and then sliced each chunk thinly. In a medium bowl, whisk together other ingredients and adjust seasoning as necessary. Add the cabbage and stir to coat well. Cover and refrigerate for at least an hour, longer if you have time. Stir occasionally to get everything nice and incorporated. 

The Mister ate his on the side, but I added mine to the burger for some extra crunch.

Onion Burgers
1 lb. good ground beef
1/2 a small onion
2 Tbs. canned, diced green chilies (these were leftover from breakfast)
Salt & pepper to taste
2 tsp. Worchestershire sauce
1/2 tsp. chipotle powder
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
2 Tbs. milk
2-3 Tbs. Panko bread crumbs
1 Tbs. olive oil

Start by mincing the onion, the finer the better. Then add it to a skillet with the olive oil and saute low and slow. Once they are starting to turn translucent, add the green chilies and stir to combine. I added a bit of salt & pepper here as well. Cook the mixture until it is well done, but not too browned, about 6-7 minutes. Remove to cool (you can pop it in a bowl and put it in the freezer to speed this up if you are impatient like me). 

Next add your ground beef to a large bowl, add the Worcestershire, spices, milk, and Panko, and combine. I use clean hands (minus rings!) to do this so I can make sure everything is really mixed. Once the onion/chili mixture is cooled, add and combine again. 

Form into 4 patties, making sure to make the middles a bit thinner than the rest to ensure even cooking. They will plump up when you grill them. I should have made mine a bit thinner, since they were pretty small and thick when grilled. Grill to your liking, making sure to not press them down too much, as that can cause them to dry out.

The burgers were so juicy (thank you milk!) and delicious. We ate them on toasted wheat buns with a bit of wasabi cheese melted on top, and nice beefsteak tomato slices. I enjoyed the slaw on top since we didn't have any lettuce. The onions and spice mixture gave them a nice mild, but complex flavor that really complimented the beef.

Enjoy!