300 15-Minute Low-Carb Recipes (13 page)

When the 6 minutes are up, open your grill but do not remove the burgers. Arrange the bacon on the burgers and top each burger with cheddar cheese. Now, using a
coffee mug or any other random, heat resistant kitchen object that's handy, prop the lid of your grill up so that it's above the burgers and close to, but not touching, the cheese. Let the burgers cook for another minute or two to melt the cheese and then serve.

Yield:
5 servings, each with 8 grams of carbohydrates and 1 gram of fiber, for a total of 7 grams of usable carbs and 42 grams of protein.

Ham and Pork Burgers

These are sort of plain and simple, but my husband loves them. This is a good recipe to help you use up leftover ham, should you have any on hand—but of course, you can also buy a chunk of precooked ham at the grocery store.

1/2 pound (225 g) cooked ham, cut into chunks

3/4 pound (340 g) boneless pork loin, cut into chunks

2 tablespoons (12 g) oat bran

2 tablespoons (28 ml) heavy cream

1 egg

1/2 teaspoon pepper

Preheat your electric tabletop grill.

Plunk the ham, pork loin, oat bran, cream, egg, and pepper in a food processor with the
S
-blade in place and pulse until the meat is finely ground. Form into 4 burgers and put them in the grill. Cook for 6 to 7 minutes and serve.

Yield:
4 servings, each with no more than 5 grams of carbohydrates (less, if you use really low-carb ham) and 1 gram of fiber, for a total of no more than 4 grams of usable carbs and 28 grams of protein.

Orange Lamb Burgers

Don't bother grinding your own lamb in your food processor; I tried this, and it came out a bit gristly. Buy ground lamb, instead. If you can't find ground lamb at your grocery store, ask the nice meat guy.

1/4 large sweet red onion

2 cloves garlic or 1 teaspoon minced garlic

1 pound (455 g) ground lamb

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 1/2 tablespoons (23 ml) soy sauce

2 teaspoons grated orange zest

2 tablespoons (28 ml) orange juice

2 tablespoons (2 g) chopped cilantro

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

Preheat your electric tabletop grill.

Either chop the red onion and the garlic to a medium-fine consistency in your food processor using the
S
-blade or cut 'em up with a knife. Then put them and the lamb, cumin, soy sauce, orange zest, orange juice, cilantro, salt, and pepper in a big bowl. Using clean hands, smoosh everything together until it's all very well blended. Form the mixture into 4 burgers and put them on the grill. Cook for 7 minutes and serve.

Yield:
4 servings, each with 3 grams of carbohydrates, a trace of fiber, and 20 grams of protein.

Mediterranean Lamb Burgers

This is about as upscale as a cheeseburger can get. My husband, who generally prefers beef to lamb, thought these were great.

1/4 medium onion

2 tablespoons (7 g) sun-dried tomatoes

1 pound (455 g) ground lamb

1 tablespoon (15 g) jarred pesto sauce

1 tablespoon (10 g) chopped garlic

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1/2 teaspoon salt or Vege-Sal

2 tablespoons (18 g) pine nuts

3 ounces (85 g) chèvre (goat) cheese

Preheat your electric tabletop grill; I set mine to 350°F (180°C).

Chop your onion and if your sun-dried tomatoes are in halves rather than prechopped, chop them up, too. Heck, even if they're prechopped, chop them a little more. Throw these things in a mixing bowl.

Add the ground lamb, pesto, garlic, pepper, and salt. Use clean hands to squish it all together until it's well-mixed. Form into three patties and throw them in the grill. Set a timer for 5 minutes.

While the burgers are cooking, toast your pine nuts until they're touched with gold.

When your burgers are done, plate them, crumble an ounce (28 g) of chèvre over each one, sprinkle with pine nuts, and then serve.

Yield:
3 servings, each with 578 calories, 47 grams fat, 33 grams protein, 4 grams carbohydrate, 1 gram dietary fiber, and 3 grams usable carb.

Thai Burgers

Boy are these good! If you can't find fish sauce, you can substitute soy sauce and this will still taste fine.

1 1/2 pounds (680 g) boneless pork loin, cut into chunks

1 1/2 teaspoons lemon juice

1 tablespoon (16 g) chili garlic paste

1 clove garlic or 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic

4 scallions, with the roots and the tops cut off (leave the crisp part of the green!)

1 can 4 ounces, or (15 g) mushrooms, drained

1 tablespoon (15 ml) fish sauce

2 tablespoons (2 g) fresh cilantro

3 tablespoons (45 ml) lime juice

1/2 cup (115 g) mayonnaise (100 ml)

Preheat your electric tabletop grill.

Put the pork loin, lemon juice, garlic paste, garlic, scallions, mushrooms, fish sauce, and cilantro in a food processor with the S-blade in place. Pulse until the meat is finely ground and everything is well-combined. Form the mixture into 6 burgers and put them on the grill. Cook for 6 to 7 minutes.

While the burgers are cooking, stir the lime juice (bottled works fine) into the mayonnaise. When the burgers are done, top each one with a dollop of the lime mayonnaise and serve.

Yield:
6 servings, each with 4 grams of carbohydrates and 1 gram of fiber, for a total of 3 grams of usable carbs and 24 grams of protein.

Banh Mi Burgers

I saw a recipe for a Vietnamese meatball sandwich and thought, “I could make that into burgers.” So I did. For a full meal, make the
Hot and Sweet Mostly Asian Slaw
on
page 254
and serve the burgers and sauce on top of the slaw. But these are tasty even without the slaw!

5 scallions, divided

1/4 (15 g) cup fresh basil leaves

1 pound (455 g) ground pork

2 teaspoons chopped garlic

1 tablespoon (20 g) fish sauce

1 tablespoon (20 g) Sriracha chili sauce

1 tablespoon (1.5 g) Splenda, or its equivalent in sweetness

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon pepper

1/3 cup (75 g) mayonnaise

1 tablespoon (20 g) Sriracha chili sauce

Preheat electric tabletop grill. If you can choose temperature settings on yours, use 350°F (180°C).

Cut the root and any limp greens off the scallions, whack them into a few pieces, and throw three of them into your food processor with the S-blade in place. (Reserve the other two.) Throw in the basil, too. Pulse until they're finely chopped together.

Now add ingredients from the pork through the pepper and run the processor until it's all well-blended.

Make the pork mixture into three patties and put them in the grill. Set a timer for 6 to 8 minutes.

Quickly wash out your food processor and reassemble with the S-blade in place. Put the remaining scallions in there and pulse to chop. Now add the mayo and chili sauce and run to blend.

When the burgers are done, serve with the sauce.

Yield:
3 servings, each with 597 calories, 53 grams fat, 27 grams protein, 5 grams carbohydrate, 1 gram dietary fiber, and 4 grams usable carb.

Luau Burgers