The best hamburger recipe

There is this hamburger joint in Cotati, California called Mike’s at the Crossroads. They have the best burgers I have ever tasted.  They used to serve only burgers and salad, but now, apparently, they also serve fries.

Regardless, whenever I think about burgers, I think about Mike’s burgers, and I start to salivate. (Yes, this is coming from a former vegetarian). I don’t usually eat a lot of red meat. When I was in California, I ate even less. Whenever I had a craving for red meat, I would go have a burger at Mike’s and that would do me for six months or so.

Now, in Switzerland, I have this vision of Mike’s burger when I think of burgers. AND I CAN’T FIND THEM ANYWHERE.  Mike’s website has a few pictures of Mike’s Burgers. Basically, though, you get my drift. These burgers are memorable. Memorable enough that when I am thinking about trying a burger in Europe, I envision one of Mike’s burgers.

And I am always disappointed.

The Holy Cow here in Lausanne makes a pretty good burger. Everything is locally sourced and fresh. That all translates to the taste. However, I guess I was disappointed in the size of the hamburger itself.

So, last week, I made my own burgers. I wish I had taken a picture. It was fabulous! Absolutely fabulous! I used a recipe from Hamburger-Recipes.com: The basic burger.  I also used a whole grain nut bread instead of a wonderbread bun.

Here is the recipe:

• 1lb/500g ground beef
• 1 half onion grated or finely chopped
• 4 pinches ground coriander ( I used cumin)
• 4 pinches paprika powder
• a little pepper, fresh ground is better
• a little salt
• 1 hand fresh bread crumbs
• 1 egg lightly beaten
• 1 quarter beef bouillon/stock cube dissolved in 2 to 3 tablespoons water

I mixed all of the ingredients according to the recipe and I measured each patty to be 175 grams. We cooked them on the BBQ out on the terrace and ate outside.

They were so awesome. We had more the next night.