Year-Round Grill Guy

My husband is a 'grill guy' extraordinaire. Throughout the 18 1/2 years we have lived in this house, he has grilled every Sunday night during all seasons, unless there's a lot of precipitation or incredibly low temperatures. Sunday has always been one time when he knows his plate will feature an entire piece of meat versus meat cut in pieces as part of a larger dish - or a vegetarian entree. And, sometimes, he grills several times in a week.

By 7:30 last night our temperature stood at 23 degrees, but he fired up the grill to cook his ultimate burgers. We've long used a ground meat mixture that is one pound of turkey plus one pound of 85-90% lean beef so we don't need any fillers - which yields about six large burgers.

Seasoning/flavoring varies, depending on our mood, but always includes about a tablespoon, each, of minced garlic flakes, minced onion flakes and liquid smoke, plus liberal shakes of salt and pepper. Last evening we added a couple tablespoons of a cheese/herb blend from our last pizza delivery and we recently added green chile powder to another batch of burger meat.

These moist and juicy burgers hit the spot when paired with a slice of cheese (choose your favorite), ketchup, Vidalia onion mustard and a soft, fresh, whole grain bun. They also added a little taste of warmer days to a chilly winter night.