Recipe: Diner Grilled Hamburgers

When Mr. Big Food culls a cookbook looking for recipes to include in his Big Food Manual, he's always on the alert for good advise and interesting tid-bits. He often prefaces recipes with advise and tid-bits-- verbatim-- such as this.

“Beef patty sandwiches have been eaten in America since the early 19th century, although it was not until the late 1920s that the White Castle chain popularized the hamburger as roadside diner fare. Garnish the burgers with mustard, catsup (tomato sauce) and pickle relish.” —Diane Rossen Worthington, Diner: The Best of Causal American Cooking (1995)

I do not care for White Castle hamburgers. It's Kyle's fault. But Diner Grilled Hamburgers are great!

 

DINER GRILLED HAMBURGERS

Makes 4 servings

4 thick slices red (Spanish) onion slices
4 thick beefsteak tomato slices
1 ½ Tbsp fresh lemon juice
4 Tbsp olive oil
1 ½ lbs ground sirloin or chuck
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper
3 Tbsp chili sauce, or to taste (preferably homemade—see recipes in Basics section)
¼ C ice water (“the ice water helps keep the burgers juicy”)
4 large onion rolls or hamburger buns, split (preferably homemade—see recipes in Baked Goods section)
¾ C shredded iceberg lettuce

Combine onion slices and tomato slices with lemon juice and 3 Tbsp olive oil, and turn to coat evenly. Set aside to season. Prepare fire in outdoor charcoal grill (or preheat indoor grill). Combine meat, salt, pepper, chili sauce, and ice water, stir together using a fork to mix well, and form meat into 4 patties, each 1 inch thick, being careful not to handle meat too much. Place onion rolls or hamburger buns, cut sides down, on grill rack and grill just until golden, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer to individual plates or serving baskets, cut sides up, and brush evenly with remaining 1 Tbsp oil. Position grill 4 inches from heat source and grill burgers, turning once, for 6 minutes on first side and 5 to 5 minutes on second side (for medium-rare to medium). Place each burger on bottom half of toasted bun, top each with a reserved slice of marinated red onion and tomato, sprinkle with a little of the lettuce, cover each with top bun, and serve immediately.