Not Your Ordinary Hamburger

Spring is upon us! Or at least it is suppose to be…

We had a winter storm roll through last weekend that dumped more than 10 cm of snow on the city.

No, we do no live in the Arctic
No, we do not go ice fishing on lakes
No, we do not live in an igloo

Yes, it is April
Yes, it is spring time
Yes, it is Calgary

Anyways, as an attempt to show winter who’s boss. K and I started a revolution. We put on our parkas, mitts and scarfs, headed out to our balcony and started our grill.

We’re grill’n baby! Snow Storm or not!

Yah, that’s how we roll….

The snow didn’t stop. And we were cold.

But we persevered! We endured! And we conquered! … Well, we didn’t conquer the storm, but we did make hamburgers!

1 Pound Ground Beef (I used Lean Beef, but you don’t have to)
1/2 teaspoon Salt, plus additional to taste
1/4 – 1/2 teaspoons Black Pepper, plus additional to taste
Tabasco Sauce, to taste
2 Tablespoons Butter
1/2 Cup Onions, finely chopped and divided
1/4 Cup White Wine (Optional)
1 Cup Button Mushrooms, sliced
2-3 TBsp Mayonnaise
2 Kaiser/Onion/Cheese Rolls
2 Slices Swiss Cheese
Your Favorite Veggies for Your Burger

Place the ground beef into a mixing bowl. Add salt, fresh ground black pepper and 1/4 cup of finely chopped onions. Add a few dashes of Tabasco sauce. With your hands, mix the meat and seasoning well. Set aside.
Preheat your grill to medium heat.
Melt butter in a large skillet. Add onions and cook over medium heat for 3-5 minutes, stirring frequently. Add mushrooms and toss around, then add wine, salt and pepper.
Cook mushrooms for several minutes over medium heat, or until most of the liquid has evaporated. Transfer mushroom mixture to a separate bowl, keep warm.
Form the meat into two patties and place on a grill over medium heat. Allow each to cook about 5 minutes, then using a spatula, flip the burger and cook it for a few more minutes – depending on the thickness of your patties.
While the mushrooms and burgers are cooking, make the spicy mayo – place the mayonnaise into a small bowl and simply add a few dashes of Tabasco. Stir together and test for taste.
As the patties finish cooking, spread the spicy mayo on toasted buns and assemble your burger – bun + beef + cheese + mushrooms + veggies + bun.

Recipe adapted and modified from The Pioneer Woman