Top ten reasons you should make THESE burgers for Memorial Day:

1. You can’t get more ‘all American’ than a burger!
2. Use any meat you like: beef, turkey, or even portobello mushroom caps or veggie burgers. A salmon burger or tuna burger would also be fantastic. Heck, you could make this with hot dogs!!!
3. It’s easily scalable. Double or triple the fixins for a party! Then lay everything out on a buffet table, and let guests assemble their own.
4. It’s make-ahead. Except for the actual grilling, you can prep the onions and mushrooms and barbecue sauce hours ahead of time.
5. No separate kids meal – just leave off whatever the kids don’t like. Serve instead with ketchup, American cheese, whatever the little tots prefer.
6. Speaking of cheese, I love the funky blue cheese with the sauce, onions and mushrooms. If that’s not for you, sub out with feta, or even a mild mozzarella or cheddar.
7. Don’t feel like firing up the grill? Just pan cook the burgers.
8. Whichever method you prefer, prep time is short, and the ingredients are simple.
9. Did I mention it’s versatile? Gluten-free? … serve it with lettuce wraps or gluten free buns.
10. My Three Bean Salad from last week’s post would make a great side dish!

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Simmer the BBQ sauce with plenty of fresh black pepper until as thick as ketchup. The amount of time it takes will depend on your brand of sauce.

Cook the onions with the thyme and salt until softened and caramelized.

Add the mushrooms to the onions, and cook until they release their liquid and become cooked down.

The vegetables should be a lovely brown color when they are finished.

Grill up whatever kind of meat, or veggie, you prefer for you burger.

Print Recipe

5 from 1 vote

Garlic Burger with Caramelized Onions, Mushrooms & BBQ Sauce

Ingredients

• 1 pound ground meat of your preference
• 2 garlic cloves chopped
• 1 large sweet onion sliced
• ½ pound cremini mushrooms sliced
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 ½ cups barbecue sauce your favorite brand (I like Austin’s Own)
• ½ - ¾ cup crumbled blue cheese
• 1 teaspoon Kosher salt
• Freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

• Place the meat in a bowl and add the chopped garlic, gently incorporating. Form into four patties and drizzle olive oil on each side. Season each side with a sprinkle of salt and set aside until ready to grill. You can form these a few hours ahead of time and place in the refrigerator.
• Heat the oil in a saute pan and cook the onions and teaspoon of salt over medium heat for 15 minutes until softened, stirring occasionally. Add the mushrooms and cook until the liquid from the mushrooms has cooked off, about another 15 minutes. Meanwhile, pour the barbecue sauce in a small pan with plenty of freshly cracked black pepper and cook until reduced and thickened considerably. It should be the consistency of thick ketchup. The amount of time it takes will depend on the brand of sauce. It could take up to 20 minutes at a low simmer. Taste and season with salt and pepper if needed. Keep the sauce warm while you make the burgers.*
• Heat your grill, or warm a saute pan, and cook the patties, turning once or twice, until cooked through for turkey, or until your desired doneness for beef. The amount of time will depend on the meat that you use, and how you like your burger.
• Serve the burgers with the buns, sauce, mushrooms and onions, and top with the blue cheese crumbles.

Tips & Tricks

• You can make the sauce and mushrooms and onions ahead of time and reheat while the burgers are cooking.
• Use ground turkey, chicken, beef, pork or fish for these burgers, or even a small chicken breast. For a vegetarian option, a grilled portobello mushroom would be equally as delicious, or store-bought veggie burgers.