It was a holiday weekend recently and we were up at the cottage for a weekend of good food and fun times with family.  As is usually the case, we did a lot of grilling on the BBQ (though I did make a great lasagna one night because my nephews love pasta!).  A few weeks back I had purchased a jerk marinade and we used up the bottle on the weekend and instead of buying another bottle, I thought I’d try my hand at making my own jerk marinade and use it with hamburgers.  The recipe below calls for gluten-free rice crumbs.  You can substitute an equivalent portion of fresh bread crumbs if you’re not on a gluten-free diet.

Jerk Sauce Hamburgers

For The Patties:

1 pound ground beef
1/2 whole onion grated or finely chopped
4 pinches garlic powder
4 pinches paprika powder
a pinch pepper
a pinch salt
3/4 cup finely ground rice crumbs
1 egg lightly beaten

For The Jerk Sauce

1 large bunch green onions
2 tablespoons gluten-free soy sauce
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoon salt
Juice 1 lime
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1 tablespoon allspice
5-10 scotch bonnets
1 thumb sized knuckle ginger
3 cloves garlic
1/2 small onion
3 tablespoons brown sugar

Mix all the patty ingredients thoroughly.  Set aside.

Mix all the jerk sauce ingredients in a small blender (the Bullit Blenders are perfect for this!) and whiz it all up until blended.  Add to the beef mix and mix and mix thoroughly.  I added approximately 1/2 cup of the jerk marinade to my mix.  You may want to adjust to your own preferences.  You can also mix in some BBQ sauce if the heat of the scotch bonnets is too much for your palate.  You may also need to add about 1/4 cup more rice crumbs if your beef mixture is too wet. (Accidental Chef Tip: Best to mix the patty ingredients first so you know the texture and consistency they should be.  Adjust it back to that texture once you’ve added the marinade).

Once ingredients are mixed, divide into four equal balls and mold into patties. (Accidental Chef Tip: Use a can to help flatten your patties to ensure even cooking. I used a tin of bread crumbs as it was just the right size! No bread crumbs made it into the mix LOL).  Cook on medium heat on the barbecue until done.  If you have extra marinade left over that you didn’t use in your patties, mix with BBQ sauce and serve as a topping in place of ketchup for your burgers.

Top with your favorite toppings and serve on a fresh gluten-free roll (or without the bread).

Kitchen Table Talk…

Have you ever tried adding different ingredients to your traditional beef patty mix?  What simple yet tasty burgers have you made?  If you try one of my recipes, please let me know what you thought by sharing a comment in the area below.  Or if you like this post, share it with your friends and family through your favorite social media service.