This is overwhelming. I've read through the recipes - wow - so many yummy burgers to try - esp. Mexican burger, chicken, tuna, and a good old-fashioned classic cheeseburger has never looked as good as many of the ones right here. Here are the recipes for the Pacific Rim Burger and Warm Potato Salad with Cilantro. My motto is "you can never be too rich, or have too much cilantro." By the way, this is my third time trying to post this - the internet has disconnected midway. So third time's the charm: Pacific Rim Chicken Burgers With Ginger Mayonnaise Recipe #65297 This recipe came from Kristine Snyder, Kihei, Hawaii, and was the $25,000 grand prize winner in the National Chicken Cooking Contest. by Sharon123 4 servings 25 min 15 min prep 1 1/4 lbs ground chicken 2/3 cup panko (Japanese bread crumbs) 1 egg, lightly beaten 2 green onions, thinly sliced 3 tablespoons chopped cilantro 1 clove garlic, minced 1 teaspoon asian hot chili sauce 1 teaspoon salt 1 tablespoon vegetable oil 1/2 cup bottled teriyaki sauce 4 teaspoons honey 4 hamburger buns with sesame seeds, split and toasted 4 leaves red leaf lettuce 1 cucumber, peeled,seeded,halved and thinly sliced lengthwise Ginger Mayonnaise 1/2 cup mayonnaise 2 teaspoons sweet pickle relish 2 teaspoons minced fresh ginger 2 teaspoons lime juice 1 clove garlic, minced 1/4 teaspoon salt MIX chicken, panko, egg, onions, cilantro, garlic, chili sauce and salt in a large bowl. With oiled hands, form into 4 patties. Mix together teriyaki glaze and honey in a small bowl. In large nonstick fry pan over medium high heat, place 1 tablespoon oil. Add chicken and cook, turning and brushing with teriyaki glaze, about 10 minutes or until done. PLACE burgers on toasted buns and top with lettuce, cucumber and Ginger Mayonnaise (recipe follows). Garnish with additional cilantro and cucumber slices. Ginger Mayonnaise: MIX 1/2 cup mayonnaise, 2 teaspoons sweet pickle relish, 2 teaspoons minced fresh ginger, 2 teaspoons lime juice, 1 clove garlic, minced and 1/4 teaspoon salt in a small bowl. My notes: omit the salt. The teriyaki sauce already has plenty. And one cup of teriyaki/honey mixture is way more than you need. I used less than half. The recipe also makes more ginger mayo than you need, but it's delicious on fish and other things. Warm Potato Salad with Cilantro: 2 lbs. waxy potatoes (like red bliss) scrubbed kosher salt 1/2 cup evoo 1/2 tsp. fine grated lemon zest 3 tBS. lemon juice fresh ground pepper 1/2 cup lightly packed chopped cilantro 2 scallions (white and green parts) thinly sliced (or 1 shallot minced) Bring potatoes to boil in large pot of salted water. Then lower to simmer. Cook, partially covered, until tender when piecered with a fork - about 25 minutes. Drain and let cook slightly. While the potatoes are warm, slice them about 1/4 inch thick (no need to peel, but discard pieces of skin that come off on their own). Put half the potatoes ina large serving bowl. In a small bowl, whisk the oil, lemon zest and juice, 1 tsp kosher salt, and several grinds of pper. Drizzle half the dressing over the potatoes. Add the remaining potatoes to the bowl, drizzle the rest of the dressing, and toss gently with a large rubber spatula to combine well. Add teh cilantro and scallions and toss gently again. Taste and add more salt as needed. serve warm or at room temperature. I better submit this before it disappears. Thanks Michelle for putting this together. Lynn. PS okay I'm tempting fate by continuing to type, but I have to mention that the idea of having oil on your hands when forming the chicken patties was fabulous. It gave the patties just enough oil to bind them and protect them in cooking. Anyone else ever heard of this technique?

I'm a little skittish about committing to the time, but I'd like to be in. This is great timing to learn new burgers. I don't have any good burger recipes to start with. The only good burger I've made was regular old beef burger with cheddar - cooked on my new grill. My daughter who is a ridiculously picky eater, just said yesterday that it's too bad she doesn't like cheeseburgers like all her friends - bc. it's so hard for us to find food she'll eat (other than pasta with butter, and pizza - she's even sick of macaroni and cheese - and peanut butter). I thought that if I could develop some stuffed burger - or some variation she would like, that we'd all have a better time when we have company for grilling. Riverrat - I noticed you got a new grill. What kind? Having a new grill that cooks evenly has definitely helped. I'm off to check out the recipe thread. Great idea Michelle. Lynn.

I agree with you bob. Because the locations are so far company owned, I don't think In n Out wants to be nationwide. They have a pretty dense presence throughout California, especially in the south. It is absolutely a regimented and formulaic operation but I think that's a necessity as a business grows. It's also something customers like, they know what to expect at a new location of an old favorite. It's anything but fast food, as I mentioned before. People are willing to wait. For their food, I'm not. Somewhere I am willing to wait is at Pinks, the place mentioned before. It's a low density urban location. I grew up in the city where it's located (and ate there as a kid) but I don't live there anymore. I'm willing to wait. They use a serpentine queue on the sidewalk like at an airport check-in or waiting for TSA security, with stanchions and rope (or belt) lines between them. I once waited nearly an hour. Yes it's worth it for me but I go when I can afford to spare the time. It's not right off a freeway and its aficionados know when the wait is shorter and when it is what it is.

A chain joint called 'Smashburger' has been in most states for maybe ten years, maybe more. A couple dozen locations in the NY area. I don't care for fast food meat quality except ShakeShack. Most smashburgers are just so darm huge so more bun is needed. But htis does look good... Harriet's. Simple and not a mile high. A sturdy brioch bun---not too soft. NYC has buger wars just like pizza the wars. What is the best, yada yada. The best burgers are often a secret custom grind by Pat Lefrieda. A well known NY butcher. We rarely have a burger out anymore. Just too big or too big a bun and $$$. A couple small French bistros have a good 4 ounce lunch burger on a english muffin or brioche. Choice of cheeses like blue, gruyere, swiss. (don't care for American cheese at all)--or ketchup. I don't see many odd toppings but have not paid attention in 'hipsterville'. Usually a list of 'add-ons' at the bottom for an extra buck or two like a runny or fried egg, etc. Ten or so years ago we started grinding our own when our favorite butcher retired and his son took over. The father would weigh our cuts---70% chuck, 15% each short rib and brisket. Ground fresh. His son would point to the pre-made burgers in the case without even a pleasant smile or 'hello'. Over salted the overly fatty, chunky fatty, sausage that his father made so tender and perfect. About the pork addition. When i was grinding my own, i would take a few ounces of bacon ends from our local butcher. Chopped and added to a softball sized mince after grinding. Then re-grind that mix for a 'fattier' mix and press a bit on the top surface of each burger. Cooking top side down 80% of the cast iron cooking time, then flip and off the heat. Good sear and med-rare on the rare side. My new method the past 5-6 years, i learned from the Italians, is a dry brine of ground mixed dried mushrooms and spices. Top side only uncovered in the fridge for 4-6 hours. NO salt. Since covid, Pat Lefreida 3 ounce burgers from local FreshDirect, dry brine, Dry brine side down in a medium high heat cast iron cold from the fridge. Cold keeps it from over-cooking. Nice sear crust. 80%. Flip and off the heat. Medium rare on the rare side every time. Screaming high heat not necessary.