Coffee Burger

Coffee adds substance, body, and a punch of flavor to stews, roasts, and other meat recipes like these scrumptious hamburgers...

Coffee adds substance, body, and a punch of flavor to stews, roasts, and other meat recipes like these scrumptious hamburgers...

The story of how the hamburger came to be an American institution goes like this... It's 1885 and brothers Frank and Charles Menches run out of ground pork for their hot sausage patty sandwiches, so they had an "Aha!" moment and substituted ground beef. Nope, it didn't taste right, they said, so they experimented with spices. That's better, they said; then they added a little sugar. Getting close was the answer. Then, they added some ground coffee and "Aha!" turned into "Ahhhhh." We don't know for sure whether the Ohio brothers really invented the American-style burger while traveling the concession circuit of fairs throughout the eastern U.S., as their story alleges, but we really like the idea of using these ingredients, especially the coffee. The Menches family still makes burgers in Ohio.

This recipe makes 16 large or 24 small burgers and can easily be halved or quartered.

Coffee Burgers Ingredients: 
4 pounds 15% ground beef 
1 red onion, chopped 
4 cloves garlic, chopped fine 
4 teaspoons ground coffee (can use decaf) 
4 teaspoons brown sugar 
4 tablespoons crushed breadcrumbs or matzo meal 
2 eggs 
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions: 
In a large bowl, mix all the ingredients together lightly, taking care to blend the ingredients evenly yet loosely. 
Form into patties and grill or fry.