Try this Greek Stuffed Burgers recipe
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic
- lettuce
- 8 oz. cream cheese
- 2.5 lbs ground beef
- 1/2 cup chopped kalamata olives
- 1/2 cup crumbled feta
- 11/2 cup plain yogurt or sour cream (i actually prefer the
- 1/4 cup finely grated cucumber squeeze off juice
- 11/2 teaspoons white vinegar
- extra feta
- tomato
- thinly sliced cucumbers
- sliced red onions
- Carbohydrate 18.1853766804796 g
- Cholesterol 1087.337029 mg
- Fat 267.323757504429 g
- Fiber 1.43498945822903 g
- Protein 236.30546789543 g
- Saturated Fat 121.983000858731 g
- Serving Size 1 1 recipe (1580g)
- Sodium 2324.56026143387 mg
- Sugar 16.7503872222506 g
- Trans Fat 36.4389189298564 g
- Calories 3474 calories
Step-by-step
- combine all ingredients and stir.
- Refrigerate until ready for use.
- In a medium bowl, combine cream cheese, kalamata olives and crumbled feta for filling and set aside.
- Divide ground beef into 8 to 9 patties. Divide each patty in half and flatten each side with the palm of your hand. Place stuffing mixture onto the center of one patty, making sure to leave a space on the edge to seal later. Put the other half of patty over the top and seal very tightly. Do the same for each patty.
- Place patties on the grill and grill each side for 5 minutes on med/ high heat until cooked through.
- Grill bun slightly and serve with extra feta, tzatziki sauce, lettuce, tomato, and onion.
Swapping plain yogurt for sour cream in the accompanying sauce alters the tang and moisture levels significantly, though both yield acceptable results when combined with grated cucumber. Grating the cucumber requires a firm squeeze through cheesecloth or a clean kitchen towel to remove excess liquid, because failing to expel this water will immediately thin the dairy base into an unmanageable puddle rather than a clinging condiment. Controlling the moisture content of every component ensures that sauces and fillings behave predictably during assembly and heating.
Stuffing meat presents specific structural challenges that often ruin dinner parties when cheese leaks directly onto the grill grates. Creating two very thin patties per burger requires gentle pressure so the meat does not compact into a tough, sausage-like texture, while leaving a clean half-inch border around the perimeter remains essential for establishing a secure perimeter seal. Pressing the edges firmly with damp fingers fuses the raw protein together, locking the cream cheese, feta, and kalamata olive mixture securely inside before the fat begins to render.
Maintaining medium-high heat on a preheated gas or charcoal grill allows the exterior of the beef to develop a deeply savory crust during the required five minutes per side without overcooking the interior filling. Flipping the burgers too early risks tearing the delicate central seal where the two meat discs join, which inevitably releases the melting cheese onto the hot metal below and causes sudden flare-ups. Observing the juices beginning to pool on the upper surface of the patty provides the best visual cue that the lower side has achieved proper color and release.
Assembling these stuffed patties several hours ahead of time and storing them covered in the refrigerator allows the ground beef to firm up around the filling, resulting in a much more structurally stable burger on the grates. Raw stuffed beef can also be frozen for up to two weeks if wrapped individually in plastic and foil, though thawing them completely in the refrigerator before cooking is mandatory to prevent the exterior from burning while the center remains raw.
