Burgers with Chive-Parsley Butter: Webisode #30

What's Going on Today: Daughter's first day of camp! July Fourth decoration preparation underway...

Naptime Goals: Prepare Burgers for tonight's grilling lesson.

Tonight's Menu: Burgers with Chive Parsley Butter, Caesar Salad, Roasted Red Potatoes with Herbed Salt.

Parenting Lesson of the Day: Rain helps us start over with a clean slate.

I love burgers in the summer and am always up for trying new recipes. Of course, one of my favorites is still Uncle Will's Burger recipe, which will always be an onion-topped classic. When I was flipping through June's Bon Appetit the other day I read a great article about a technique utilizing Meyer lemon butter in a burger. I loved it's promises of moister meat and added flavor. I couldn't wait to give technique a try and set straight to work.

Of course, unlike my friend Liz, I do not have Meyer lemons growing in my backyard. However, I do have regular access to fresh herbs. So, instead of using lemon butter I decided to make Chive-Parsley butter to give the meat a fresh herbaceous flavor. My neighborhood gourmet shop has a great butcher who grinds grass-fed meat and forms hamburger patties. I bought four of those to start with and made the butter at home. Preparing the butter and burgers during naptime was a snap. Then I was able to leave them covered in the fridge until dinner time. As you'll see, unfortunately, my grilling dreams were thwarted by the rain, but I still managed to cook them on my stovetop grill pan.

The butter technique worked beautifully. The burgers were tender, juicy and more flavorful thanks to the green herbs. I also toasted the buns on the stovetop and gave them an extra swipe of Chive-Parsley butter for greater depth of flavor. Paired with a salad and potatoes they made for a tasty summer meal. I guess there is also next week for my grilling outdoors!

Hamburgers with Chive-Parsley Butter

4 6oz. hamburger patties

5 T. good quality unsalted butter

1 T. chives, finely chopped

1 T. parsley, finely chopped

4 Hamburger buns

1. In a food processor or mini-chopper, add the butter, chives and parsley. Pulse until well combined and slightly softened.

2. Take each hamburger patty and make a well in the center. Form a 1/2" ball of herb butter with your hands and press it into the well. Gently fold over the outer edges of the burger to cover the butter completely and seal it in. Repeat with remaining 3 patties. *At this point uncooked burgers will last, tightly wrapped, in the fridge for up to 6 hours.

3. Set your grill or grill pan at medium heat. Place the hamburger patties on top and cook, turning occasionally, to desired doneness. While the burgers are cooking, place the buns either on the grill or in the toaster. After they have toasted swipe them with a thin layer of remaining herb butter and set aside.

4. Plate burgers on toasted buns and serve hot.

Naptime Notes:

Naptime Recipe Variations and Ideas: Go ahead and play with different herbs when making the butter. Strong flavors like basil or oregano would work well, too.

Naptime Stopwatch: Making the herb butter takes 10 minutes. Pressing it into the hamburger patties takes about 5 minutes. If you like to form your own hamburger patties add on an additional 5 minutes.

Naptime Reviews: We are a family of burger fans and the littlest one is forming her habit, too.

Napping with Uncle Will's Burgers

Summer is meant to be enjoyed outdoors, and for foodies that means grilling. I love to grill whenever I am out of the city, which is why our trip to Cooperstown has been so much fun. Since everyone in my family is an excellent cook, we often find ourselves swapping ideas and stories whenever we are together. This week my brother, Will - affectionately called "Uncle Will" by my daughter - served up this great burger recipe. It is delicious. These burgers are so perfectly seasoned, moist and flavorful that I ate two! It is appropriate that we have started calling Will "The Grill-time Chef," to compliment his sister The Naptime Chef, grilling is clearly his domain. Perhaps this is just the recipe you need for your cookout this weekend!


Uncle Will's Burgers
Yields 8 large burgers
3 lbs. ground round (85% lean), grass-fed beef preferred
3 T. Cholula Hot Sauce (or any comparable red pepper hot sauce)
3 T. Worcestershire Sauce
3 t. garlic powder
3 t. onion powder
8 deli slices of sharp cheddar, broken up into quarter size pieces
8 Potato Hamburger Buns, lightly toasted
16 Onion Rings (we used Baked Ore-Ida brand, but anything is fine)
8 lettuce leaves

1. In a large bowl combine ground round, cholula, Worscestershire, garlic powder, onion powder and pieces of cheddar cheese. Mix well with your hands until fully combined.
2. Form 8 equally sized burger patties. If there is any remaining cheese save it and put it on the burgers during grilling.
3. Grill burgers over medium heat until cooked to desired wellness.
4. Place each burger on a potato bun. Layer lettuce, two onion rings and a dollop of ketchup. Top with bun and serve.

Uncle Will's Burger Grilling Tips: When making the burgers don't pack the meat too tightly. During grilling do NOT push the burgers down on the grill, this squeezes out all the flavorful juices and leaves the meat dry.