Squashed Burgers And Chips Recipes

BLENDED BEEF, WHITE BEAN AND SQUASH BURGERS

Steps:

• Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 425 degrees F.
• Add the beans, smoked paprika, garlic powder and onion powder to a large bowl. Stir to combine, then set aside.
• Combine the butternut squash, olive oil, a large pinch salt and a couple grinds black pepper on a small baking sheet. Toss to coat and spread in an even layer. Roast in the oven until the squash is tender and deeply browned in spots, about 25 minutes, rotating the baking sheet once halfway through the cooking time.
• Add the squash to the bean mixture and stir to combine. Allow to cool completely.
• Once cooled, use a fork to roughly mash the squash and beans. It should be mostly smooth but with small chunks of squash and beans throughout. Add the beef and 1/2 teaspoon salt and use your hands to mix until combined. Divide into 4 portions and form each into a patty about 4 inches in diameter and a little more than 1/2 inch thick.
• Heat a large cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. Once the pan is hot, add the canola oil and swirl to coat. Season the patties liberally on both sides with salt and pepper and add to the pan. Cook until deeply browned and a crust is formed on the first side, 3 to 4 minutes. Flip carefully and cook until the second side is also browned, 2 to 3 minutes. Layer 2 pieces of the cheese (1 slice total) on top of each patty, then cover the pan and cook until cheese is just melted, about 1 minute.
• Layer the patties, lettuce and tomato on the toasted hamburger buns and serve ketchup, mustard and mayonnaise alongside.

SQUASHED BURGERS AND CHIPS

Steps:

• Heat skillet or grill to medium-high. Using the ground beef, form 4 patties of uniform size.
• Place in skillet or on grill and season with salt and black pepper to taste. Cook 5-6 minutes per side or until desired doneness. Add cheese the last few minutes to melt.
• TO THE BOTTOM BUN: place the burger with cheese. Top with potato chips (be generous here).
• TO THE TOP BUN: spread some mayo. Place a leaf of lettuce, followed with a few slices of tomato and onion. Squirt a bit of ketchup over the chips.
• NOW HERE'S THE FUN PART: Carefully fold top half over chips. Now using your palm, squash it down firmly, hearing the chips crunch down good (really just to get it to fit in your mouth, lol). Grab lots of napkins and enjoy.

OKLAHOMA ONION BURGERS

Steps:

• Divide the beef: Line a 13-by-18-inch rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Divide the ground beef into 4 even balls. Working one ball at a time and using your hands, massage the meat until it is cohesive and tacky, about 15 seconds. Next, using clean hands, roll each into a smooth ball. Place the balls on the baking sheet, with 1 ball in the center of each quadrant. Refrigerate until ready to cook.
• Shape the patties: Gently press each ball into a disk-shaped patty about 3 inches wide. Place the patties on a sheet pan or large plate, and season the tops with salt and pepper. Flip the patties, and top each with a large pile of sliced onions - as many as you can balance on top; they should resemble a large haystack. (It is important to not add salt to the onions at this point, as it will draw out excess moisture, which will inhibit searing.)
• Heat the skillet or griddle: Heat a large (12-inch) cast-iron or carbon-steel skillet or griddle (see Tips) over an indoor burner set to high heat or on the grates of a hot outdoor grill for a few minutes until very hot; a drop of water should skitter around the surface. (If you don't have a pan skillet or griddle big enough, you can cook the burgers in batches.) Place 1 patty of beef in the center of one quadrant of the pan, with the onions on top (do not add any oil).
• Smash the burgers: Using a very stiff spatula, press on the onions and beef to form a patty 4½- to 5-inches wide. As you smash, focus on the patty's edges so that the finished patty is slightly thicker in the center and smashed out as thinly as possible along the edges. Repeat with the remaining patties. Use the spatula to place any stray onions back on top of the burgers. Season the onions lightly with salt and pepper.
• Cook the burgers: Allow patties to cook without moving until the edges are dark brown and crusty, 1 to 2 minutes. Holding the spatula upside down (so that the head of the spatula is angled down to increase leverage), scrape the edges of each patty off the pan, working around each patty to ensure that you don't leave any crispy edges behind. When the edges have all been loosened, turn the spatula back over (so you are holding it the standard way) and flip the patties onion side down. Use the spatula and tongs or a fork to tuck any stray onion slices mostly under the patties.
• Steam the cheese and buns: Add a slice of cheese to each patty. Place the top half of each burger bun on top of the cheese, and place the bottom half of each bun on top of the top bun, split-side down. Cover the pan or griddle with a large domed lid, a large overturned saucepan or a clean folded dish towel. (To avoid a fire, make sure the edges of the dish towel do not hang over the skillet or griddle. If cooking on an outdoor grill, just close the lid.) Continue cooking until the onions are browned along the edges and the buns are steamed through, 1 to 2 minutes longer.
• To serve, open the cover or lid. Remove the bottom burger bun halves to a serving platter. Add pickles and condiments as desired. (These burgers don't typically need condiments.) Lift each burger from the skillet with the spatula and transfer to the bottom bun. Serve immediately.

CRISPY SQUASH CHIPS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
• Use a vegetable peeler to peel squash skin as thinly as possible. Chop peels into 1-inch square pieces; you should have about 1 cup squash peels. Reserve squash flesh for another use.
• Mix olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon sea salt, cumin, and cinnamon together in a bowl. Add squash peels and stir until evenly coated. Spread peels onto 2 baking sheets.
• Roast in the preheated oven until crispy and golden brown, 13 to 15 minutes; watch closely as thinner chips can burn quickly.
• Season roasted chips with salt as needed.