Itsy bitsy burgers

How does that Jack in the Box commercial go again? Oh ya, "yippe-ki-o, mi-ni sirloin burgerrrrrs"

I need to begin by confessing that I don't have any pictures to post with this blog (yet..) you will just have to regress back to childhood and use your imagination. I don't have any pictures because as soon as I made em...they were gone, which is a good thing. But not a good thing for blogging.

Raise your hand if you have been to Costco and seen the itsy bitsy hamburger buns? They are just the cutest things ever, just begging to be purchased! Isn't everything at Costco begging to be purchased though?

I will tell you that the first time I made these (yes, I have made them twice without taking pictures) I didn't used any special tools, grilling baskets or measuring scoops. I made them in a regular old frying pan and guessed at the size. The key to these little darlins is not to over cook them. I decided to time them on each side and undercooked them by just a teence. Another key is to add some kind of fat to them to help ensure they don't dry out even if you are lucky enough not to over cook them. My chosen fat was shredded cheddar jack from Costco. Any finely shredded fatty cheese would do the trick I imagine, use what you have. I had shredded cheddar jack. The second time I made them, I purchased a medium cookie scoop, scooper thing to keep them the same size and I also got a cool slider griller basket thing from Williams Sonoma. I liked this one the best because you can put it on the grill - remove the handle and shut the grill. Not that I have used it yet, but...that is what the directions said you do.

I made two kinds, turkey and beef (beef for the kids). There won't be a recipe at the end of this either (quit yer cryin) but, what I will do is explain the main concept of what I did. Even I didn't use a recipe.

No recipe. I know, right?

Ok, for the turkey ones I started with a package of ground turkey. I added a 3 count squirt of ketchup, what may have amounted to 1/2 cup of shredded cheese and about 1tbl or so of the everyday seasoning that we use at my house. You want flavor but you don't want too much seasoning. You can always add more right? I made the patties fairly thin because they will shrink up during the cooking and you want patties not meatballs. Plus, it will reduce the cooking time and theoretically...produce a juicer burger. I am not a scientist, but it makes sense doesn't it? I, personally, fried them in a bit of vegetable oil on a medium highish heat for 2 minutes per side in batches. Drain on a paper towel and build your burgers how you would.

For the beef ones, I did the exact same thing..minus the ketchup.

As you can imagine, they turned out super cute. They made good snacks the next day for the kids too! Next time, I may even take some pictures....


Everyday spice:

1 Part Granulated Onion
1 Part Granulated Garlic
1 Part Med ground black pepper
1 ½ Parts Table Salt