While it’s true that we can’t join the rest of America when they drag their clogged arteries over to McDonald’s any time they want, don’t let that discourage you. Just because we can’t have that “burger” (and I use the term very loosely there) doesn’t mean that hamburgers get crossed off the list altogether. In fact, everyone knows you grill burgers for the 4th of July, therefore burgers cooked at home are by definition more American. Q.E.D.
Simple is best, y’all. Simple is best. Add about a Tablespoon of Lea & Perrin’s worcestershire sauce to a pound of lean ground beef. [As always, the brands I use were GFCF at the time of posting, but manufacturers can change their formulas without warning. Always check your labels!]
Divide into equal balls, and smoosh them right in the pan. If you believe it’s sacrilege to cook burgers on the stove instead of on a grill, I cordially invite you to come stand on my back porch in the 90% humidity, when it’s still 95 degrees even after the sun’s gone down, and count the number of mosquitos that bite you before you come around to my way of thinking.
Are there recipes for making your own GF hamburger buns out there? Sure. And maybe someday I’ll work up the energy to experiment with them. But I figure I do so much cooking and baking as it is, I allow myself to splurge on some of the basics that do have commercially-premade versions available. I’ve honestly found that the amount of money I save by no longer buying dairy products far outweighs the extra cost of a few GF hamburger buns. Cheese is expensive! Anyway, Gillian’s is our favorite brand. Whole Foods carries them, in a little freezer case next to the bakery. The texture is more like a biscuit than a typical hamburger bun, but for what it’s worth it’s a darn good biscuit. These are also especially useful if only some members of the household are eating GFCF, or if you’re trying to host non-GFCF guests at a cookout, because you can just heat up one at a time as you need. Just remember, if you toast your buns, never do it in the same pan or grill that you toasted the gluten buns on!
The burgers ought to be done after about 7 minutes per side over medium heat, but to be honest I never really pay that close attention. I just busy myself with pulling out all the fixings, slicing the tomato, warming up the buns and cutting them in half… and round about the time I’m finished the burgers are too. Do pay attention to your brands, as there are unsafe versions of all of these condiments. If you’re one of those heathens who puts mayonnaise on burgers, go for Hellman’s. It’s not pictured here because I’ve raised my children right, you see.
And if you just can’t have a burger without cheese, you can always go for rice cheese slices. I wouldn’t, but you (and the GFCF Husband) certainly could.
Happy Eating!
Hamburgers
1 lb. lean ground beef
1 TBS Lea & Perrin’s worcestershire sauce
1 pkg. Gillian’s GF French rolls
Heinz ketchup
French’s mustard
Hellman’s mayonnaise
Vlasic pickles
tomato
lettuce
onion
I’m with you, life’s too busy not to buy what you can.
I’d rather come to your house than eat at McDs, anytime. ;o)
I know there’s grateful people out there reading your recipes, I just wondered why they haven’t said “thanks GFCG Lady”, in the comments?
They’re too busy eating, clearly! 😉
My wife found a GFCF white bread recipe she likes, and just makes little bun shaped ones out of it for hamburgers and hotdogs. No biggy. She’ll make a huge batch and freeze them. When we go out to eat somewhere “safe”, we’ll bring our own bun(s) for our boys and just order the pattie and put it together ourselves at the table.
And… thanks GFCF Lady!
Oh yeah, and sometimes we’ll just bring slices of the GFCF white bread to use as a bun… the boys are used to it and don’t usually mind that it’s not a “bun”.
Does your wife’s dough recipe naturally hold in the bun-shape, or does she use pastry rings? I’ve been considering buying some of the rings since so far all of my doughs have been far too gloppy to hold any kind of shape.
So far we haven’t used any shaping rings or pans. The dough keeps it’s shape for the most part. The only problem thus far, is they tend to flatten as they cool. They’re nice and puffy while baking, but slowly deflate. We’ve begun to cut them while they’re still warm. The boys don’t seem to mind thin looking buns, so it hasn’t been an issue.
And I would have to say that our dough is “gloppy/sticky” so it’s too hard to smooth. The buns look more biscuity than bun-y, but again, it doesn’t bother the boys, so it’s fine with us.