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9 Ways To Up Your Burger Game This Memorial Day

Build on the basic burger recipe with these inspiring flavor combinations.

Beef-lamb. Use 1 pound beef and 1 pound lamb. Mix together and season with salt and pepper.

Bacon-smoked gouda. Shred gouda cheese to make one cup. Place 1/4 cup on each burger. Top burgers with cooked bacon.

Smoky-spicy. Add 3 shakes Worcestershire sauce and 1 teaspoon sweet smoked paprika to the basic burger recipe.

Blue cheese-topped. Top with blue cheese and serve on toasted English muffins.

Cheddar-stuffed. Make 8 thin burger patties, place shredded cheddar on top of one patty. Place another on top, then pinch around the edges of the two patties to seal them.

Caramelized onion-cheddar. Cook 2 sliced onions over medium heat with 3 tablespoons butter for about 40 minutes. Crank up the heat up to high and cook another 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Top burgers with cheddar while on the grill and garnish with onions.

Special sauce. Whisk together: 1/2 cup mayonnaise with 1/3 cup ketchup and 1/4 cup Dijon mustard, 1 tablespoon red wine and 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce. Brush on toasted burger buns.

Rosemary-blue cheese. Add 2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary, 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce, 1 egg, 3 generous shakes hot sauce, salt and pepper.

Pimento cheese. Shred 1 block white Cracker Barrel VT cheddar, and combine with 1 jar pimentos (diced small), 2 cloves finely chopped garlic, 2 tablespoons mayonnaise, salt, pepper and Tabasco. Stuff in burgers, or top them while on the grill.

Alt-Burgers

Instead of beef, try tuna, turkey or even sausage the grill. Put it in a bun and call it a burger!

Ginger-tuna. Use 1 1/2 pounds sushi-grade tuna, chopped into 1/8-inch chunks. Combine with ginger and garlic, mashed to a paste and season with 1 tablespoon fish sauce. Add herbs like basil or cilantro to suit your pleasure.

Turkey-mushroom. Grate 2 medium carrots, 1 medium zucchini and about 5 ounces mushrooms in a food processor and mix with 1 pound ground turkey, 2 teaspoons soy sauce and 2 cloves minced garlic.

Italian sausage-spinach. Remove sweet or hot (or a combination of both) sausage from casings and shape into burger patties. Grill and top with sauteed spinach.