Hey, burger lovers! Are you looking for some easy and delicious recipes to spice up your next cookout? I have two of them for you: one for a spicy jalapeno burger, and the other for a regular one.

While you’re chomping away, there’s a “Did You Know” segment that you may also enjoy.

Spicy Jalapeno Burger (for the bold)
Ingredients:

• 1 pound of ground beef
• 1/4 cup of finely chopped onion
• 2 tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 4 slices of pepper jack cheese
• 4 hamburger buns
• 1/4 cup of mayonnaise
• 2 tablespoons of chopped pickled jalapenos
• Lettuce, tomato, onion, and any other toppings you like

Directions:

• In a large bowl, mix the ground beef, onion, Worcestershire sauce, salt, and pepper. Shape the mixture into four patties.
• Heat a grill or a skillet over medium-high heat. Cook the patties for about 4 minutes per side, or until done to your liking. Top each patty with a slice of cheese during the last minute of cooking.
• In a small bowl, stir together the mayonnaise and jalapenos. Spread some of the mixture on the bottom halves of the buns.
• Assemble the burgers with lettuce, tomato, onion, and any other toppings you like. Enjoy!

Regular Burger (for the faint of heart)
Ingredients:

• 1 pound of ground beef
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 4 slices of American cheese
• 4 hamburger buns
• Ketchup, mustard, relish, and any other condiments you like
• Lettuce, tomato, onion, and any other toppings you like

Directions:

• In a large bowl, season the ground beef with salt and pepper. Shape the mixture into four patties.
• Heat a grill or a skillet over medium-high heat. Cook the patties for about 4 minutes per side, or until done to your liking. Top each patty with a slice of cheese during the last minute of cooking.
• Toast the buns lightly if desired. Spread some of the condiments on the top and bottom halves of the buns.
• Assemble the burgers with lettuce, tomato, onion, and any other toppings you like. Enjoy!
• If you have time, another cooking option is baking the burger patties for about 5-7 minutes per side; while preparing them, you can chop up some onion and insert the bits into the patties, then cook (don’t forget to drain the oil).

Did You Know That…..

The first hamburger chain in the U.S. was White Castle, started by Billy Ingram and Walter Anderson in I92l, in Wichita, Kansas.

Hamburgers were 5 cents apiece and considered low-class food before White Castle’s targeted ad campaigns.

By l96l, White Castle became the first chain to sell a billion burgers.

Most historians agree that the first cheeseburger was created in l924 by 6-year-old Lionel Clark Sternberger as a culinary experiment at his dad’s sandwich shop, upon the suggestion of a homeless man who wanted cheese added to his burger.

Both Sternberger and his dad liked the new concoction; thus the first “cheese hamburger” (as it was called then) was born.

According to the company’s founder, Dave Thomas, Wendy’s burgers are square, designed this way for grill efficiency. The four corners tend to hang out over the bun’s edges, which makes the burger look bigger.

Others say it’s a marketing tactic.

according to one study, people who prefer burgers are introverts.

at one time, 96% of all American children could recognize Ronald McDonald.

about 7% of all working Americans have worked at McDonald’s at some time.

The hamburgers McDonald’s serves in a week equal more than l6,000 head of cattle.

There is a difference between Burger King and McDonald’s burgers; it’s all in the production and the corporate culture of each.

The biggest difference is:

McDonald’s cooks their burgers using a batch process; Burger King uses a machine-paced assembly.

a batch process is when:

The burgers are fried on a large platen in batches or groups of up to I2. Two or more batches may be on the platen at one time, in various stages of cooking.

I2 burgers are made at one time; hand-seared after 20 seconds on the grill, turned at 60 seconds, and pulled at I00. Once off the grill, workers must move quickly to get them ready. Speed is essential to keep production going. The workers must all be a cohesive team. This process also means less room for individual differences in members of the batch. The I2 burgers will be ready and all done the same whether or not customers are ready for them. This process, though, allows for much greater input and faster service speed (300 burgers per hour).

Burger King’s machine-paced assembly operates this way:

Raw burgers are placed at one end; 80 seconds later they come out the other end, cooked due to the continuous chain broiler.

One burger at a time comes off the chain broiler at the rate of eight per minute, maximum.

Since one patty comes out at a time, each can be made to an individual order.

McDonald’s/Burger King Source: “firsts: Origins of Everyday Things That Changed the World” by Wilson Casey, 2009 and “Uncle John’s 4-Ply Bathroom Reader” by the Bathroom Readers’ Institute, 2003