Grilled Burgers and Salad for Saturday Night

Question: Why do we buy beef that is 99% fat free?


Answer: So we can put 1.5 T of butter in the middle before we grille it.

I was looking through the July Bon Appetite and came upon Grilled Burgers with Meyer Lemon Butter. You can use a regular lemon as here Meyer lemons are as rare as a cool day. Makes 4 burgers
Ingredients:
6 T room temperature butter
1T finely chopped fresh tarragon
1T finely chopped fresh basil
1 T finely chopped fresh Italian parsley
1t finely grated lemon peel
1 t lemon juice
11/2# ground beef
Vegetable oil for brushing
4 sesame seed hamburger buns
1 large tomato, thinly sliced crosswise
1 bunch arugula

Earlier in the day I set out the butter. I had the herbs in the garden so I picked, washed and dried. I put them all in the mini Cuisinart to finely chop. So the one T chopped was relative. I grated the lemon peel into the butter, added the chopped herbs and lemon juice. Mix well and place the butter in wax paper to roll up to chill, about 3” long. The recipe says freeze to firm. I just put in the refrigerator as I had plenty of time.
When ready to grille cut the butter in 4 equal pieces. Flatten the rounds to about 2” round disks. Divide the meat into 4 equal pieces. Using damp hands form the meat into a ball. Press 1 lemon butter round flatly into the middle and press the meat securely around it. Enclose the meat around the butter entirely or the butter will leak out while grilling. I was pretty successful. Jim said he only had one little flare up. Grille 4-6 minutes per side and heat the buns. Top with the tomato and arugula unless you are Jim, then use mustard. The lemon, herbs and yes, the butter really added to the beef.

I served this with spring greens to which I added sunflower seeds, blueberries and green pepper. I dressed lightly with Wegman’s Caesar dressing. Jim served Van Ruiten “Old Vine” Zinfandel, 2007. We got this from The Opera House Gourmet and are thinking of buying more.