Hamburgers are easily one of America’s most popular foods and the true test of a grill cook. A great grilled burger is well browned on the exterior and juicy and tender on the inside. But they rarely turn out that way. More likely, they are gray, tough, and bland. We wanted to make the ultimate no-holds-barred burger. Here’s what we discovered:

Test Kitchen Discoveries

Make a “panade”—a blend of breadcrumbs and milk—to bind the burgers together.

Add bacon fat to the beef mixture. The rich, smoky-tasting fat adds flavor and will keep the meat moist.

A little minced garlic goes far in flavoring the meat.

Be gentle with the beef mixture while mixing and shaping the burgers. Overworking will yield tough, dense burgers.

For this recipe, you want ground beef that is 85 percent to 90 percent lean. With the added bacon fat, 80 percent lean beef will make slightly greasy burgers. Crumble the cooked bacon slices over a salad, or use the slices as a burger topping.

ready in about 25 minutes; serves 4
You might need to buy:
  • bacon
  • milk
  • table salt
  • ground black pepper
  • Vegetable oil for grill rack
Belongs to AnnM917 Tortilla Chips 

Per chip: 8 calories; 0 g fat (0 g sat, 0 g mono); 0 mg cholesterol; 2 g carbohydrate; 0 g protein; 0 g fiber; 23 mg sodium.
0 Carbohydrate Servings

ready in about 20 minutes
You might need to buy:
  • corn tortillas
  • canola oil
  • Salt to taste
ready in about 35 minutes; serves 4
You might need to buy:
  • fully cooked frozen breaded chicken breasts
  • hot cooked pasta
  • Shredded Parmesan cheese

High Altitude: Bake 30 to 35 minutes

serves 15
You might need to buy:
  • Betty Crocker SuperMoist triple chocolate fudge cake mix
  • Water as called for in cake mix directions
  • Vegetable oil as called for in cake mix directions
  • eggs as called for in cake mix directions
  • milk
  • peppermint extract
  • peppermint extract
  • Betty Crocker Whipped milk chocolate frosting
ready in about 35 minutes; serves 18
You might need to buy:
  • miniature marshmallows
  • milk chocolate chips
  • vegetable oil
  • holiday-colored candy-coated chocolate candies
Belongs to AnnM917 Apple Pancakes 
ready in about 15 minutes; serves 4
You might need to buy:
  • eggs
  • sugar
  • baking powder
  • baking soda
  • salt
  • ground cinnmon
  • ground ginger
  • freshly grated nutmeg
  • buttermilk
  • vanilla extract
Belongs to AnnM917 Croque Monsieur 
You might need to buy:
  • Premium White Flour Tortillas
  • Smoked Ham
  • Scrambled Egg
  • Dijon Mustard
Belongs to AnnM917 Catalan Wrap 
You might need to buy:
  • Chipotle Chile Tortilla
  • Grilled Chicken Breast Strips
  • Roasted Red Peppers and onions
  • Fresh lettuce and tomato
  • Sour cream
  • lemon juice
  • garlic
Belongs to AnnM917 Pizza tortilla 
You might need to buy:
  • Sundried Tomato Basil Wrap
  • Pizza sauce
  • Ground Hot Italian Sausage
  • Pepperoni
  • Sliced green and black olives
  • Goat cheese
  • Shredded Mozzarella
Belongs to AnnM917 Beef Taquitos 
serves 8
You might need to buy:
  • chili powder
  • garlic powder
  • corn tortillas
  • Cooking oil spray