Caribbean Jerk Burgers

This weekend was pretty cloudy and rainy. I loved it! And it didn't stop me from grilling out back! We grill all throughout the year. The only time we don't grill is if it is windy!

A couple weeks ago I tried a pretty tasty recipe for Caribbean Peas and Rice. I made a jerk seasoning just for this recipe and I loved the flavor! It was sweet and spicy! I thought it would make a great seasoning for burgers! So on Saturday I tried it out.... YUM! The only thing that I wasn't happy with was my cole slaw I made. I guess it's a trial and error type of thing.

I started with all of my ingredients, (I also broke up the egg a bit with a fork) and combined all the ingredients in a bowl. I would suggest taking off your jewelry! Unless you like ground beef stuck in your rings.

Once everything was well combined I formed them into four, somewhat similarly sized patties. I'm not that great at estimating size!

At this point I would suggest refrigerating them for about a half hour, though you don't have to. I didn't this time. I preheated my grill on high, then right before I put the burgers on I turned it down to medium-high. I grilled them for about 5 minutes per side.

At the last couple minutes I added slices of swiss cheese. You could use any kind of cheese you like, though.

Yum yum yum!!! I want another one just looking at these! Haha! To finish the burgers I put them on whole wheat buns, with a scoop of cole slaw on top of the patties. The cole slaw really does go well with the flavor of these burgers, but you don't have to use it if you don't like it.

These burgers were so good I am thinking about doing a burger night once a week. I'm sure my husband the meat eater wont mind that!

Caribbean Jerk Burgers

Ingredients:

* 1lb ground beef

* 1/2 a red onion chopped

* 1 egg 

* 1/4 cup plain bread crumbs

* 2 Tbsp lime juice

* 1 1/2 Tbsp Jerk Seasoning (recipe below)

* 4 whole wheat buns

Toppings: cheese slices and cole slaw (optional)

Directions:

Preheat grill on high heat. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl. Mix well but do not over mix. Form meat mixture into 4 patties. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for about 30 minutes. Turn grill down to medium-high heat. Grill patties for 4-5 minutes on each side. If using cheese, add them to the burgers at the last couple minutes of cook time. Place burgers on whole wheat buns and add toppings of your choice.

Jerk Seasoning

Ingredients:

* 1 Tbsp garlic powder

* 2 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

* 2 tsp onion powder

* 2 tsp thyme (dried)

* 2 tsp parsley (dried)

* 2 tsp brown sugar

* 1 tsp ground allspice 

* 1/2 tsp black pepper

* 1/2 tsp (or more to taste) crushed red pepper

* 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

* 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

Combine all ingredients in a small jar and shake lightly.