We recently celebrated National hamburger month, the weather is great, and we're grilling like mad!
Once you've bought or thawed some ground beef (go for the kind with 20 per cent fat), make up some delicious hamburger patties! Even if you’ve got a super recipe for hamburger patties, it’s nice to go beyond the basic cheeseburger, bacon cheeseburger, or pattie-lettuce-and-tomato combination. Try some of these variations on the classic burger.

1. Instead of topping your burger with goodies, try stuffing it! This deceptively easy technique will definitely wow your friends and make you look like a gourmet chef. Try a blue cheese burger filled with a seasoned cream cheese/blue cheese mixture (If you’re not a fan of blue cheese, replace it with feta) or whip up a caprese-filled version. If you have forgotten what caprese is, check out number 12 on this list of simple appetizers.
2. Alton Brown (the Bill Nye of food) will teach you how to make mini-burgers, also called “sliders” on an electric griddle.
3. For a burger with outdoor-gourmet-bistro flavor, put your burger on a sunflower seed-topped bun, and top it with salty cheese, sun-dried tomatoes (get the kind in oil, not the ones in the bag), and balsamic mayonnaise. For the mayonnaise, just use what you usually use, with a bit of balsamic vinegar mixed in. You can get everything else at your grocery store … no need to buy them at a gourmet shop!
4. These pepperoni burgers have real pepperoni mixed into the beef! Make it a pizza burger by topping with marinara sauce instead of ketchup, and adding a slice of mozzarella cheese while the patty is still hot. Delicious!
5. Try these Tex-Mex cheeseburgers. The meat is loaded with flavor (and cheese!) and the recipe includes a delicious green chili pepper sauce.
6. Grill some southwest-style chili burgers and top them with pepper jack cheese, avocado slices, and jalapeño peppers.
7. Giada de Laurentiis makes a Mediterranean version of the classic burger by topping hers with arugula, portobello mushrooms, and mayonnaise flavored with lemon juice and garlic. She serves them on focaccia bread.
8. Top a burger with roasted red peppers, feta cheese, and fresh mint for a Greek twist on the classic.
9. Mix teriyaki sauce and water chestnuts into your meat before cooking your hamburgers for a sandwich with Asian flair.
10. Top your favorite patty with sautéed mushrooms and caramelized onions for a delightful conglomeration of flavors.

If there aren’t enough ideas here to whet your appetite, take a look at this alphabetical list of 100 ways to build a burger. And if 100 still isn’t enough for you, this list one-ups the previous list with 101 burger builders. However you top your burgers, enjoy!

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