Cheeseburger
Yes I realize its just a simple burger but the picture came out so nice I thought I had better share it. For whatever reason this tower of meat, cheese, veggies and a pretzel bun was simply amazing. I’ve cooked thousands of burgers in my day and this version is probably in the top 10. It wasn’t planned, it was just one of those accidental yumms.
I used some 85/15 black angus ground beef from my local purveyor. I like my burger a little on the pink side so buying the best ground beef I can find in the store is always priority if I don’t feel like grinding it myself. I made pretty significant sized patties with the ole’ thumb in the middle trick to keep them from shrinking on the grill. I set the Traeger to 450 although it only maintained about 415 in the weather this fine day. Apple pellets were already in the hopper so this is what I used. I like to salt and pepper and that is it. Cook to desired temp and let them rest before devouring.
I picked up some really soft pretzel buns at the same store. I forgot to toast them, I should have toasted them. . . toast your buns.
Tip: Use mayo instead of butter to toast your buns on the stove top.
Toppings Provided
- Shredded lettuce
- Red Onion
- Tomato
- I found a massive heirloom tomato at the store. 1 tomato fed 5 people
- Pepper jack and Cheddar Cheese
- Avocado
- Ketchup
- Dijon Mustard
- Mayo ( I used kewpie mayo )
- this is a Japanese mayo often used in that yum yum sauce; link provided below
Conclusion
Its a simple burger I know. I don’t know if it was the smokey grill, the pretzel bun, or the kewpie mayo that set this one apart from the thousands of burgers of burgers past. What ever the reason it was an excellent first attempt of the grill season. I paired mine with a nice rye German beer.