HAMBURGER OIL PAN RECIPES

Steps:

• Heat a large (12-inch) sauté pan or Dutch oven over medium-low heat, and add oil and onion; season lightly with salt and pepper. (The hot sauce added in Step 6 will add a lot of flavor, so be careful not to overseason here.) Let cook until the onions turn light beige in color and begin to caramelize, 20 to 25 minutes.
• Add garlic, and cook until fragrant and starting to brown ever so slightly, about 2 minutes.
• Increase heat to medium-high and add bacon and ground beef, using the back of a large spoon to break up the meat into smaller pieces. Continue to cook until the liquid has mostly evaporated and the meat starts to sear and develop a crust on the bottom of the pan, 12 to 15 minutes.
• Remove pan from the heat and carefully drain off most of the fat, leaving a little in the pan to keep the meat moist.
• Return pan to the medium-high heat and add white wine, allowing it to reduce until the mixture is almost dry, about 10 minutes.
• Add the chicken stock, heavy cream, hot sauce, paprika and bay leaf to the pan. Mix until combined and bring to a boil over medium-high.
• Once the mixture is boiling, add the pasta and cook until al dente, stirring often, about 9 minutes.
• Reduce the heat to low and stir in both types of cheese, stirring until completely melted and sauce is thickened.
• Remove the pan from heat, stir in chives and season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve immediately.

Steps:

• Sometimes I vary the seasonings- using a steak seasoning or Cajun seasoning instead of salt and pepper.
• Mix ingredients with your hands using a light touch.
• Don't be tempted to overmix.
• If you do, it becomes too dense.
• When charcoal grilling, add 1/2 cup water to the beef mixture to keep it from drying out.
• For pan frying, don't use a nonstick pan- it won't brown as well, and heat some oil in the pan before adding burgers to keep the burgers from sticking and to help sear and form a nice brown, crispy exterior.
• Either method will take about 10- 12 minutes of cooking time, depending on thickness of patty, temperature of heat source and your preference (we like ours medium cooked).
• Note: when pan-frying don't be tempted to press down and squeeze all the juice out, just turn them more often (turn only once on the grill).