Prep 10 mins
Cook 20 mins
This is a nice variation to your standard burger, and tastes great on the grill. When having a get-together during the Summer I like to make several different variations of burgers. This one is always an immediate hit. Also work well if cooked indoors in a skillet. Super easy too!
- 1 1⁄2 lbs ground beef
- 1 small green pepper (optional)
- 0.5 (1 1/4 ounce) packet taco seasoning mix
- 1⁄8 cup water
- 1⁄4 cup breadcrumbs
- 1 egg
- 10 ounces diced tomatoes with green chilies (optional) or 10 ounces salsa (optional)
- Velveeta Mexican cheese or any cheese
- hamburger bun
- Dice up green pepper.
- In large bowl combine meat, egg, bread crumbs, taco seasoning and water. Mix until combined well.
- Form into meat patties, your preference on the size. If meat feels like it will not hold together well you may add more breadcrumbs.
- Cook over grill or in skillet. Okay, here I go on my soap box about ground meat doneness. 160F/71C is the USDA's recommended doneness for ground meats, burgers, meat loaf, and sausages. Cook these types of meats to 155F, the temperature will rise 5-10 degrees during the 10 minute resting period, thus achieving the USDA recommendation of 160°F You will end up with a burger that is tan-brown (no signs of pinkness). Some may wonder why ground meats should be cooked to a higher temperature than cuts of muscle meats. This is because during the process of making ground meat, often times, the intestines are accidentaly cut into. This can cause E-Coli to enter the meat. In order to kill off the threat of E-Coli you must achieve the 160F temperature. When using muscle meats like steaks, roasts, etc. this threat is not presant therefore you can make a rarer (word? LOL) steak than burger. I know this is not something that many want to read about, particularly when getting ready to make a burger, but I feel it is important to share this information and WHY the USDA recommends the higher temperature Many have heard or seen temp charts before but not many know WHY ground meats have a higher temp recommendation, thus they often tend to under cook their ground meats increasing their exposure to E-Coli. Remember, everyone is a little different with their immune system so it is always best to practice this when cooking ground meats, especially for a group of people. The elderly are a particular group that are more susceptible to contraction of E-Coli. As always, be sure to wash your hands, counters, cutting boards, bowls, even handles to your sink/ stove/ refridgerator/ grill handles (yes don't forget your door handles if you didn't wash your hands after making the patties and taking out to your grill) and seasoning containers (I use Clorox wipes) after preparing meats. I know I can be a little extreme sounding when it comes to this but I think it is better to be safe than sorry. I have a weakend immune system due to some of the medications I take for my arthritis, many of the same meds people with common allergies take.
- In general, when using a meat thermometer, place it in the thickest part of meat, and always away from any bones.
- Add cheese to top of burgers during last 2-3 minutes of cooking.
- Add a spoonfull of diced tomatoes & chillies or salsa to top of burger and serve in a hamburger roll.
- Hope this didn't turn too many off, these are great burgers. ENJOY!
I really enjoyed this recipe even though I made some changes to it . I just mixed the taco seasoning directly with the ground beef without the water, egg or breadcrumb. You can use half of the packet if you're concerned about sodium. I used guacamole and salsa and a scoop of fat free sour cream as the toppings along with some shredded mexican cheese. AWESOME!!!!