Though I’m always thrilled to be surprised by a day off, Memorial Day in particular has a habit of sneaking up on me. In the chaos of the last days of school, spring sports, and the general giddiness of warmer, longer days, I’m not usually looking too far ahead. However, I am always game for an excuse to invite some friends over and fire up the grill. For Memorial Day, as far as I’m concerned nothing beats an all-American classic grilled cheeseburger. Dripping with secret sauce, oozing melty cheese, with juicy beef in a squishy bun; it’s paradise in my own backyard. And they’re easy, too. Whenever we are having my family over, but I don't want to cook ((let’s just say it’s a national holiday that I forgot about until it was basically upon us) we make burgers. I grab some chips and fruit to serve on the side, and we all make these together. I prep the burger patties, my husband grills them, and everyone helps with the toppings.
We’re always glad to spend Memorial Day chomping on these perfect cheeseburgers with our favorite people. It’s worth the (minimal) effort.
Get the recipe: Cheeseburgers
There are a number of things that make this cheeseburger recipe really special. The first is that I always season the ground beef with a few extras. Salt and pepper are great, but your burger will taste even better with a few dashes of Worcestershire sauce (my mom always added it to meatloaf, so I don’t make ground beef dishes without it), and garlic powder. You can make the burger patties on Sunday night, if you want, and store them in the fridge until it’s grilling time on Monday.
A few tips for making the best burgers:
- Use 80/20 beef so that the burgers are super juicy
- I always plan for patties that are ⅓ of a pound of beef per person
- Make your patties bigger than your buns, because the burger patties shrink a little on the grill.
- DO check the doneness with an instant read thermometer, if you’ve got one.
- For medium-rare burgers: 130-135°F (patty will be warm, red center)
- For medium burgers: look for 140-145°F (warm pink center)
- For medium-well: you want 150-155°F (slightly pink center)
- For well-done: you want 160°F+ (no pink)
All summer long, we’ve got a batch of TMP burger sauce in the fridge, and since Memorial Day is the semi-official start of summer, it’s time to whip one up and start using it! The burger sauce that tops these grilled burgers is (like so many “secret sauces”) based on ketchup and mayo, but it gets a little kick from a glug of pickle juice (trust me on this one, OK?).
Get the recipe: Cheeseburgers
Lastly, let’s talk about the cheese element of cheeseburgers. You can really use any cheese you love or have on hand, as long as it melts well. Some swear by American cheese, and it does melt in a uniquely gooey way. I am partial to good old cheddar cheese, but on a day when I’m hosting a big get together, I like to offer a platter of cheese options for people to choose from. Think Swiss, American, cheddar, Jack, maybe even some Pepper Jack for the wild ones.
What else is on my Memorial Day menu? Burgers don’t need much in the way of side dishes, but I’m hoping to serve up some Strawberry Shortcake for dessert. If the day gets away from me (life is going that way lately) this easy Berry Crisp might be more within reach.