Teriyaki Burgers

When I was wee, there was a joint near my home called Ed's Gourmet. They had the most delicious Teriyaki burgers and even Teriyaki Cheesesteak sandwiches. Having not been a fan of cheese as a child (I still carry some cheese prejudice to this day), I never tried it myself, but I hear it's unlike anything you've ever tasted - in a very, very good way. I was delighted upon doing a search that yes, they still exist. There are so few delightful little greasetrap restaurants, and even fewer run by a small Japanese family. The man I remember manning the grill, Ed himself, had eyes like my father's and a goatee spiked with gray. In my dad's last few years he sported a similar goatee, and when I think of teriyaki burgers I think of him, and our trips to Ed's. We would munch on our burgers and play chess together using the weathered wooden set they had there, and one day, years from that moment, my father would be wearing the same gray goatee that the man in the apron behind the counter wore.

...

So anyway, I made some burgers. Here's a recipe!

Teriyaki Burgers

Serves: 4-5 people
Cook time: ~20-30 minutes
Difficulty: Easy

Hardware
-Large Non-Stick Pan
-Spatula
-Large Mixing Bowl
-Chef's Knife and Cutting Board
-Marinade or Basting Brush
-Cookie Sheet
-(optional) Powder-Free Latex Gloves
-(optional) Cook'd Right Hamburger Sensors

Ingredients
-1lb Ground Sirloin
-1 medium onion, diced into small pieces
-2 to 3 cloves garlic, minced
-1 1/2 cups teriyaki sauce (plus more for condiments, if you want)
-1 tsp dried ginger
-1 tsp salt
-2 tsp pepper
-Non-stick Cooking Spray
-Hamburger Buns
-Optional Garnishes: 1 can Sliced Pineapple, 1-2 Tomatoes (sliced), Green leaf Lettuce, Red Onion (sliced), Pickles (sandwich style)
-Optional Condiments: Mayonnaise, Ketchup, Mustard

Before You Cook: Notes on Shopping for Teriyaki Burgers
Ground Sirloin: You can get pre-ground sirloin in your grocer's meat department, but I strongly recommend picking out a nice sirloin steak and taking it to the butcher behind the meat counter to have it ground fresh. The difference in taste is definitely noticeable.
Teriyaki Sauce: You will either find this in the "Asian Foods" aisle or with the BBQ sauces and Marinades. A good teriyaki sauce is nice and thick, and coats the sides of the bottle like cough syrup. A common brand that I recommend is 'Soy Vay Veri Veri Teriyaki Sauce' - and it's Kosher, too!
Pineapple: You don't need to get pineapple for your teriyaki burgers, but I highly recommend it. Go for the canned sliced pineapple for convenience, or if you have the time you can always break down a fresh pineapple.
Hamburger Buns: Onion Buns are a good commonly available bun for these, but if you have them available I strongly recommend using King's Hawaiian Sweet Snacker Rolls. They compliment the flavors wonderfully!
Powder-Free Latex Gloves: These make mixing up dishes by hand a snap, whether you're working on Meatloaf or Hamburgers, mixing the meat by hand is way easier than using a fork. You can find these in with first aid supplies at your local supermarket. Make sure to get powder-free so that you don't add any unwanted plasticky flavor to your burgers, because that would not be tasty.

Directions:
Combine ground sirloin, diced onion, minced garlic, 1/2 cup teriyaki sauce, ginger, salt and pepper into the large mixing bowl. Moosh together to combine until the onion and Teriyaki sauce seem evenly distributed. You can combine either using a fork or by using gloved hands. Once you've combined these ingredients, you can let them rest covered in the refrigerator for up to 12 hours to let the flavors soak in (meaning you can do this ahead of time - something I'm a huge fan of!) or form your burgers right away.

Grab a small handful of meat and form it into a ball, then flatten. You want the uncooked patty no thicker than 1/2 inch - it's going to bunch up a bit when it's cooking and you don't want too fat a burger. Make sure that it's either about the same size or a bit bigger than your hamburger buns, you can add or remove meat as needed to achieve the correct size. Put the patty on the cookie sheet and continue making patties of the same shape/size until you run out of meat - you will probably make around 4-6 burgers depending on size.

Give your non-stick pan a quick coat of non-stick spray and put over medium heat. Using the remaining cup of Teriyaki sauce and the marinade brush, give the top of each patty a coating of sauce. Once the pan is warm, place burgers in the pan sauce-side down leaving about an inch of space between each burger - you'll probably get 2-3 burgers in the pan. Give the burgers a coat of sauce on the side that's facing up. Cook for 4-5 minutes, patting down the burgers as needed to keep them from getting too thick, then flip using spatula. Give the burgers another coat of sauce. Let cook for another 4-5 minutes, you should notice that both sides are a nice dark brown because of the sauce. If you're nervous about doneness, use a Cook'd Right Hamburger Sensor on the first burger to see when it's safe to eat, then use that burger as the standard you judge doneness by.

If you're using pineapple, once the burgers are done I recommend cooking up the pineapple in the same pan as the burgers, brushing them with Teriyaki sauce on each side as well. Cook for about 2-3 minutes per side.

This recipe is easily doubled for large groups of people, and can also be grilled!

Optional Fun: Pineapple Teriyaki Sauce
If you're using canned pineapple, combine the juice from the can and about 1 cup of Teriyaki sauce in the pan you used to cook the hamburgers and pineapple, then let simmer down until it becomes a bit thicker. Remove from heat, then put the sauce in a container and let refrigerate until it cools and thickens up a bit more, then use on your burgers or as a very tasty chicken marinade.

Optional Fun: Teriyaki Sliders
You'll Need:
-Dinner Rolls (instead of Hamburger Buns - I recommend King's Hawaiian sweet Dinner Rolls!)
-Plastic Wrap
-Rolling Pin (or a clean dowel, or a clean bottle of wine)
-(optional) Pizza Cutter

Prepare the hamburger meat as above, but instead of forming patties lay out two sheets of plastic wrap about the size of your cutting board and sprinkle or spray with a bit of water to prevent some sticking to the wrap. Place half of the meat between the sheets, with the watered side facing the meat, then roll out to about 1/4 inch thickness. Cut into 4 inch squares using a knife or pizza cutter, then repeat this with the other half of the meat.

Give your non-stick pan a quick coat of non-stick spray and put over medium heat, brush down the patties with teriyaki sauce, and cook as above, but only cooking for 1-2 minutes per side - they cook very quickly. Serve like mini hamburgers using halved dinner rolls as buns. Great party food!