Teriyaki Burgers ((my way))

I have mentioned my love for teriyaki previously. ((Have you tried my Spicy Teriyaki Tacos?? or this yummy Two-Ingredient Fish??))  It is a deep love, an old love & a true love! I will NEVER tire of the simple, sweet & salty, ginger/garlic flavors in teriyaki. One of my favorite ways to incorporate this beloved flavor into my weekly menu is by jamming it into a beefy burger!

For this meal, I decided to make slider-sized burgers. Sliders are the perfect way to stretch 2-lbs of ground beef. Plus, who doesn’t like miniature-sized foods? My kiddos thought they were so cute! Hubby and his cousin had the opportunity to brag about their ability to eat 4 burgers! 

I seasoned the meat by incorporating teriyaki, green onions, cilantro, bell peppers & a few shakes of my favorite steak seasoning. Once the flavors were combined, I let them rest for about 10 minutes before forming them into patties.

There are a few keys to achieving a very flavorful & juicy burger:

• Use a high quality 80/20 ground beef, no leaner.
• Lightly hand-mix the seasonings into the beef – take every effort NOT to over mix. I say a chant in my head ((I am sure my kiddos appreciate my choice to keep it to myself, ha!)) “don’t over mix…don’t over mix…don’t over mix!!”.
• Allow the meat and seasonings to sit together for about 15 minutes before making patties. This allows the aromatics to permeate the crevasses of the meat, ensuring every burger bite is flavor maximized.
• I always conduct a ‘sniff test’. If you can’t detect the ingredients by smelling, you WILL NOT detect the ingredients when tasting. If you cannot smell it, increase the volume of flavor ingredients.
• Typically, 2-lbs of ground beef needs 1½ t of seasoned salt. But, because I used teriyaki sauce as my primary flavoring, I limited the salt to 3-4 good dashes of my favorite steakhouse seasoning.
• Always look for a way to incorporate fresh herbs and finely chopped fresh veggies into the burger mixture. Magical things happen on the grill when these components have been worked into a patty ((added smoky flavor, added sweetness as the caramelize on the grill, and a bit of crunch in every burger bite)).

One more little tip: put an indention in the center of every patty — it keeps the burger flat while it grills! Another bonus with this meal – it is a fast meal to prepare and even faster to cook!

As an extra treat, I caramelized some sweet yellow onions to use as an extra topping choice for the teriyaki burgers — but I have no photo of this so you will just have to take my word for it! ((sorry)) But I did include instructions in the recipe card.