You would be hard pressed to do this if you’re not living in the southwest, or at least the west, but green chile cheeseburgers are a staple around here!

Ha, I love your last paragraph.  I’m probably not “supposed” to, but I love the McD’s mushroom and Swiss burger too (although with not as much mayo as they put ).  It’s a good combination any place, though!

I almost always season the meat. A staple in these parts is Uncle Chris’ Steak Seasoning

http://www.fiestaspices.com/?page=bbq_unclechrisss

If I don’t have any steak seasoning I’ll use salt,pepper and garlic.

Sliced avocado is a typical topping in Texas along with the usual. Dh and I like different cheeses also. My kids are pretty straight up meat, ketchup and maybe a little lettuce or tomato. I adore grilled onions but tend to only make them with tacos and fajitas.

Our favorite burger is quite simple. For 2 pounds of ground beef you add one egg, 3 tablespoons of A-1 steak seasoning and 1 tablespoon of McCormick’s Monterey Steak Seasoning (it’s a combo of garlic, salt, pepper). As you make the patties add a little pat of butter to the center of the hamburger, roll it like a meatball and then flatten making sure the butter is covered. This prevents the meat from drying out on the grill. These hamburgers are moist and flavorful every single time. I load them with colby jack or provolone cheese, caramelized onions, sauteed mushrooms, lettuce, tomato and plenty of condiments. They are heaven in a bun!

Balsamic blue burgers!  Mix ground beef with balsamic vinegar and blue cheese crumbles (to taste—we like a lot of both!) about 2 tsp. of dijon mustard, and one clove garlic, minced.  Once cooked, top with more blue cheese and a splash more of balsamic.  We like to put them on toasted buns, and top with caramelized onions and/ or mushrooms.  Yum!

I’m usually a turkey/black bean/bison burger kind of girl, myself (due to my nutritionist’s hardcore stance against my celiac disease), however, with bison tasting quite similar, I’ll still offer a few ideas:

Feta, oregano, and spinach stuff inside a burger (or mixed in) is fabulous; especially if you top it with plain yogurt (greek is less messy) mixed with minced cucumber. Refreshing and delicious…this also works beautifully with turkey and ground chicken burgers.

Tex-Mex burgers using spices like cumin, chili powder, green chilis/jalapenos, (cilantro if you’re a fan…ick), and then topped with salsa or rotel are yummy! Plus, all those veggies up the nutrition factor.

Weird, but amazing are burger stuffed with mashed up cherries. I went to college not far from Traverse City, MI, the cherry capital of the US (?), and that was a specialty that people would have shipped to them around the country because they’re so good…they stay moist and I promise it doesn’t taste like a fruity burger or a burger topped with jam!

You could also do asian burgers, but that works better with chicken or pork, but depending on the “gaminess” of your beef, it could work. For that I’d just use spices from Thailand or Korean barbecue. Or do the asian-fusion thing by adding soy sauce/tamari, sesame oil/seeds, garlic, onions, and maybe some diced up mushrooms and peppers. Then top it off with an asian slaw of some kind (using similar ingredients and a couple hits of rice vinegar) and you’ve got a GREAT burger!

Now that I’m cooking for a vegan (who’s doing the gluten-free thing for my benefit), my recipes are getting decidedly “creative.”

Hope some of these are good for you and your family!

We like to put a little cheddar in the center of our hamburger patties, but the real key to juicy burgers is….don’t overcook them!  Especially if you trust your meat source, the best burgers have a smidge of pink in the center.

We almost always have “ranch burgers” here at our house.  1 lb of ground beef, 3 Tbsp of dry ranch dressing mix, and a handful of shredded cheddar cheese (a little more when I make the burgers, a little less if my husband does!).  They’ve been a staple for family and neighborhood bbqs and the occassional summer birthday party and consistently get rave reviews.

My husband makes them according to a recipe in Steve Raichlen’s Barbecue Bible. You mix up some herb butter and put it in the middle of the patty. Salt and pepper generously. Delicious!!!

Just had a great burger at Steak n Shake that I plan to copy soon.  It was topped with avocado and chipotle sauce (I think that was mixed with mayo), and tomato.  Needs a toasted bun though.  I also like the mushroom and swiss cheese burgers - especially with a large portobello mushroom.  We put worcestershire sauce on both sides and salt and pepper before my husband grills them.

I make my favorite burger by mixing 2 eggs with about a cup of crushed saltine crackers and 3-4 tablespoons of dry ranch dressing mix and add it to 2 pounds of hamburger. mix well and shape into patties .... mmmm, mmmm, good!