Crunchy Asian Burgers

Juicy burgers with an Asian flair and a bit of crunch from water chestnuts!

Nothing beats a great burger done on the grill! And now that it’s grilling season, I’m making it my business to try many more of these dressed-up burgers!

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This recipe isn’t new. I’ve made it quite a few times over the years and it comes originally from a Chinese cookbook that was published in the early 1960s. The book was my mother’s and when she passed away, I inherited all her cookbook collection. This was really a great cookbook too and it was written by an Asian man who funny enough was a professor of Asian culture. I misplaced the book and can’t remember the title or the gentleman’s name. Can’t find it in my bookcases so I have to search further for it.

Anyway, this burger is seasoned with soy sauce–naturally LOL. It also has minced garlic mixed in but the unusual ingredient here is water chestnuts. That’s what adds the earthiness and more importantly, the crunch.

I do quite a bit of Asian-style cooking so a can of water chestnuts is always in my pantry. They come whole or sliced. I prefer the sliced because I rarely have any dishes that would use the whole. However, you can always slice the whole ones, so that may be the best choice to keep on your shelf.

The original recipe called for dusting the shaped meat with cornstarch. This is a step I eliminated ages ago because it seemed to serve no real purpose except for making your hands gloppy from trying to coat the patties.

I always serve my burgers on kaiser rolls, and if you can get sourdough kaisers, they are the bomb with this burger (and any other). Top it all off with julienne green onions and you’ve got one terrific and tasty burger!

Crunchy Asian Burgers

 

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Prep time

5 mins

Cook time

16 mins

Total time

21 mins

 

Author: Judith Hannemann

Serves: 4-6

Ingredients

• 1½ lb 80-85% ground beef (see NOTES)
• 1 can (8 oz) water chestnurs, diced
• ¼ cup soy sauce
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 4-6 kaiser rolls (sourdough is best if you can get)

Instructions

1. Mix all ingredients in a large bowl. Cover and refrigerate for about 30 minutes so the flavors blend.
2. Shape into 4-6 patties of desired thickness.
3. Grill until burger reaches desired doneness--a insta-read therrnometer works well here. As an example, I like my burgers medium and make them about 1-inch thick, so I grill about 8 mins each side.

Notes

Burgers shouldn't be made with extremely lean ground beef, i.e. 90%+. It will be dry because the fat is responsible for the juiciness. The leanest you can go is 85% but experts recommend 80% ground beef for burgers.

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