Grilled Philly Burgers
These Grilled Philly Burgers start with a tasty backyard burger and then get topped with BBQ-glazed onions, peppers and mushrooms!
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We’ve been on a serious clean out-the-house mission lately. We started with the basement (aka my office/man cave/photography studio/gym/storeroom), and literally donated an entire trunk full of stuff to our local Goodwill store. (Why exactly did I have 5 heart-shaped cake pans!? And will I ever go back and make gum paste flowers for cake decorating again??) Then it was on to Robbie’s toys. As anyone with kids knows, you’ve got to constantly purge old toys. Otherwise, you’ll never be able to walk through your house without stepping on random plastic toys with surprisingly sharp edges. Bonus points if the toy also happens to start playing music when you step on it.
Next up on the agenda is our garage. Umph. Garage and shed cleanup isn’t exactly at the top of my list of fun weekend activities. For starters, there’s months of sand, salt and dirt that has accumulated underneath our cars. And then there’s all of the random tools and equipment that you need when you own a home. I think we literally have 17 boxes of different sized screws and nails…and each one was needed for different projects. (Of course, there was that day a couple of weeks ago when I knocked a box of nails over and it scattered all underneath my car. That was fun.)
But sometimes cleaning up can be fun, too. Case in point: our tennis rackets. Laura and I both played tennis back in Atlanta. We played casually a couple of nights a week with Laura’s sister, and we really enjoyed it. When we moved up here to New York state, the tennis rackets got hung up in the garage…and promptly forgotten. But I found them! And we have a park around the corner with a tennis court. I’m totally going to go hit some balls around one night this week. And then I’m going to make Robbie fetch them all for me!
Speaking of tennis balls, I read an interesting article on The Atlantic the other day. Quick: what color is a tennis ball? I personally say green. But only 52% of folks agree. Another 42% say tennis balls are yellow while 6% fall into the “other” category. Pretty surprising, huh?
Grilled Philly Burgers
As summer is starting to wind down (huh, already!?), I’ve been looking for every opportunity possible to get the grill out. Every year I say that I’m going to keep on grilling straight through the winter. But every year that first 8+” snowfall changes my opinion about standing on the back porch. I was looking around the Kentucky Beef Council’s website the other day, and I stumbled across this idea for Grilled Philly Burgers. The idea comes from the menu at a local bar and grill in Lexington, KY, and those Grilled Philly Burgers sounded delicious!
As I don’t have any immediate plans to travel to Lexington, I decided to recreate these Grilled Philly Burgers here at home. They’re essentially a tasty backyard burger with a Philly twist. (I do love a good Philly cheese-steak!) I sauteed up a big pan of onions, peppers and mushrooms…but I added a fun little twist: barbecue sauce. Instead of putting barbecue sauce directly on the burger after it was grilled, I used a bit in the sauteed veggie mixture. The smoky flavor really comes though, and I’ve got to say these Grilled Philly Burgers earned a spot on my list of summer favorites!
So here’s to enjoying the remaining summer days…and then relaxing on the back porch while dinner sizzles away on the grill! Cheers, friends!
Looking for more fun burger ideas? Check out some of these favorites:
Hatch Green Chile Burgers
Southern Burger with Fried Pickles
Grilled Aloha Burger
Grilled Guacamole Burgers
Grilled Philly Burgers
Ingredients
For the Toppings
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 medium white onion thinly sliced
- 1 green bell pepper thinly sliced
- 1 red bell pepper thinly sliced
- 8 oz. mushrooms sliced
- 3 Tbsp barbecue sauce
- 1 tsp garlic minced
- ½ tsp black pepper
- ½ tsp kosher salt
For the Burgers
- 16 oz. lean ground beef
- 1 large egg
- ¼ cup white onion diced
- ¼ cup Italian breadcrumbs
- 1 tsp garlic minced
- 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
- {optional} ¼ tsp cayenne pepper
- 4 hamburger buns
- 4 slices pepperjack cheese
Instructions
For the Toppings
- Using a large skillet, add the olive oil and place over medium heat. Once hot, add remaining ingredients (onions, bell pepper, mushrooms, barbecue sauce, garlic, pepper and salt). Cook for 12-15 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until soft. Remove from heat and set aside.
For the Burgers
- Preheat grill to medium-high heat.
- In a large bowl, combined all of the burger ingredients (except for buns and sliced pepperjack cheese) until just combined. Shape into 4 patties and gently indent the center of each patty with your thumb.
- Brush grill grates with vegetable oil or spray with nonstick grilling spray. Grill burgers for 4-5 minutes per side, or until they reach desired doneness.
- {Optional} Place burger buns cut-side down on grill for 1-2 minutes.
- Assemble burgers and top with sautéed onions, peppers and mushrooms. Finish by adding a slice of pepperjack cheese on top.
I’ve always thought of the color of tennis balls as electric lime. So I guess I fall into the green category too. I don’t envy your task in cleaning out the garage; I have numerous boxes of what I think are mason jars stored in mine but I’m afraid to check out what exactly is in there. If you guys are interested in taking your garage cleaning on the road you’re welcome to start with me :). These burgers look AWESOME–any time I can pile veggies on top of a burger I’m happy!
Hmmm. I guess electric lime is close enough to green. Things you’ve never stopped to think about, right? In other news, why do you have so many boxes of mason jars!? I mean mason jars are cool and all, but I only need a handful…that is, unless they are stuffed with cash and buried in the backyard. Haha! If that’s the case, then I’ll gladly come help you clean up your Mason jars. Heck, stuff ’em with one of your desserts, and I’ll come on over for that, too! Hope you had a great weekend, Kelsie!
Really yummy! I might need a little more cheese, since these burgers are equally about the toppings…. But yum!
Hey, I’m all about the cheese so pile it on! 🙂 Thanks so much, Mimi!
When I get in the mood to clean (or gut as I like to say) watch out. It always feels so productive and it’s so fun finding things I may have forgotten about or those that I wonder why I bought in the first place (like your heart-shaped pans). I’ve been craving a steak sandwich lately so this burger version sounds perfect! What a brilliant idea! Love burgers! Definitely would have to add that cayenne 😉 Happy weekend!
You’re totally right, Dawn. Clean (gutting) really does feel good, but man is it really not fun. But once it’s all said and done, you’ve got a nice clean shelf to start collecting stuff (more heart-shaped pans!) for the next 5 years. Haha!
Hey, a steak sandwich sounds pretty awesome right now, too. Our grocery store had shaved steak on sale last week, and I totally bought a couple packs and put ’em in the freezer. But burgers? I’m on board with burgers any night of the week! 🙂
Prior to our downsize and cross Atlantic move, I had to clean 10 years of accumulated stuff. So I can certainly relate.
When we lived in in the US we lived in Lexington, so I’ve been racking my brain to think of where these might of originated. Bru Burger Bar was famous for interesting burgers, so that’s my guess. Great burger idea David.
Oh man, I can only imagine the downsizing that must come along with a cross-Atlantic move. That must have been difficult! But at the same time, I bet it was kinda cathartic, right?
So I just hopped back over to the Kentucky Beef Council site, and it looks like the burger idea originated from A.P. Suggins Bar & Grill. Did you ever go there? Full disclaimer upfront: I don’t have their actual recipe, so I came up with my own using their idea…but I certainly wouldn’t mind visiting Lexington one day and stopping by to try their version! Thanks, Ron!
Hi David! I have been craving a good burger and here you are! We have peppers and onions in abundance from the garden right now and I have mushrooms in the frig, happy me! Since when does a burger in a restaurant cost $10.00 or more?? As for cleaning out stuff imagine how much I had accumulated living in the house we moved from for over twenty-five years! Way too much! 🙂
Haha! It’s like we were on the same wavelength there with the burgers, Dorothy. Oh, who am I kidding? I’m always on the burger wavelength! I agree with you about restaurant prices, but then again, sometimes it’s just nice to not have to do the dishes. 🙂 Hope you had a great weekend, my friend…and I hope you got that burger you were craving!
I need to do the same thing with my props. Believe me, I’ve accumulated a lot of plates and textiles since the time we moved to Canada. Indeed, I sorted them out many times (As initially I would buy anything I liked/was on sale – I’ve developed some style and buy things accordingly lately). Still, I have a full cabinet of the tableware I use on a regular basil (Indeed I use 4-5 plates out of dozens on a regular basis), and a couple of boxes which I rarerly use (Including the entire box with Christmas themed props). Last week I decided to sort out my “most commonly used” props again and get rid of those I hadn’t been using for a long time (Truthfully, some of them – never). And by “getting rid of them” I mean relocating them to another cabinet, for our everyday use (Yes I don’t mix my props with our stuff). And you know how many things did I get rid of? None. I couldn’t decide. It’s the feeling when you don’t know if you ever use some things, but you keep them “for any case”. Perhaps I should invite you to help me with that cabinet 😉 Also, do you remember that a couple of weeks ago I complained you weren’t posting enough of grilled recipes? You can disregard that – you’ve redeemed yourself 🙂 Great one!
I totally understand what you mean about photography props, Ben. When I first started the blog, I bought anything and everything that I could find on sale. But over time, I found myself gravitating to the same few items…so now I just try to keep an eye out for props that fall within that style. But I still have an entire shelf or two (and these are big shelves) packed with props! Like you, I keep my props separate from our everyday dishes. After all, most of my props are like 1 fork or 2 plates. Can’t exactly keep all of the mismatched stuff with our everyday dishes!
And, yes, I heard you loud and clear on the lack of grilled recipes. I hope I have redeemed myself in your eyes. 🙂 Haha. Thanks, Ben!
Cracking up over your 5 heart-shaped cake pans, lol! Good job with the clean out – always feels so good!
And these burgers, David! Oh my….what a mouthwatering sky high burger!!
Oh my gosh, you should’ve seen that donation pile after I finished cleaning, Marissa. 5 heart-shaped baking pans. 5! What in the world? Haha.
And these burgers? Oh man, were they tasty! I loved all of the sauteed veggies on top. And using some BBQ sauce in the saute pan? Yum! Thanks so much, my friend!
I keep tennis balls around the house for physical therapy! They are great for getting a deep massage on you neck/shoulders!! I had to check to see what color. My first thought is they are lime green and after looking at one I’m going to stick with that thought!
I love that you put the sauce in the peppers and onions. This burger is mouthwatering!
You know, I’ve heard that about tennis balls and physical therapy. I’ll have to get you to teach me some of your tricks for deep massage using tennis balls…sounds like something I need to know about! 🙂
And these burgers? So tasty! The BBQ sauce sauteed in with the veggies was a fun twist. Thanks so much, Shelby!
Our neighbor is in a clean out mode. The only problem is she keeps bringing me things she thinks we need! Unfortunately almost all of it is going into a box to donate because we just can’t use it! I’m having a difficult time telling her no…but ugh, now I need to visit the local thrift store! Loving these burgers! One of our favorite sandwiches is a Philly steak sandwich. It would be equally as delicious as a burger!
Oh no! I actually tried to do the same thing with 1 or 2 items when I did our clean-out…only to have the items make their way back to me anyways. Haha! And I agree with you about Philly steak sandwiches…yum. Just use that same concept in burger form, and you’ve got one tasty meal on the grill! Thanks, Kathy!
Oh No! Oh No! Oh No! Those nails falling and scattering under your car made me bite my nails! GAH! I sure hope you got them all! Flat tires are NO FUN! Though, Lil S had a nail in her tire a couple of weeks ago, lucky for us, the dealership found it before the tire went flat and Costco across from the dealership (where we got the tires at) gave us a new tire for $30 buckaroos!
But, back to cleaning – dude, is tennis gonna take the place of curling? How cool that y’all can get Robbie to “play” too! 🙂 Al least I hope he gets two of these burgers with a side of blueberries when he is done “playing” with y’all on the tennis court! So love the idea of using that barbecue sauce in the sauteed veggie mixture! What a flavor explosion!
Oh my gosh, you should’ve seen the look on my face when those nails scattered on the floor of the garage. I was like, “Really? Did that just happen?” Fortunately, I was able to find them all before they made their way into my tires…but it did involve wiggling around under the car a bit. Bah! Wait, a new tire for $30 bucks!? Was it a Fred Flintstone tire (aka, a rock)? Haha!
Tennis will definitely not be taking the place of curling. To be fair, my tennis skills and curling skills are about on par with one another. The difference is curling is in the winter when there’s nothing else to do! Thanks so much, my friend!
Cleaning out the things you don’t need is always a good thing. We rented a dumpster last year and got rid of a ton stuff last year. Wow, these grilled Philly burgers make my mouth water, yum!
Wow, rented a dumpster? That’s some serious cleaning out, Dawn! I mean we had several trash bin loads…but not a dumpster! (Truthfully, we probably could’ve filled a dumpster, though.) But, yes, these burgers are super tasty! Perfect for summer and Fall dinners on the grill! 🙂
This sounds amazing!!!! What kind of buns did you use?
Hey Candace! Thanks so much for stopping by and checking out the recipe. I really appreciate it! Those buns are (were) an onion/poppy seed bun that I found in the bread aisle at our local grocery store. I just buttered both sides lightly and then put ’em on the grill for 1-2 minutes to toast. I know onion buns are fairly common, but I’m not sure about the onion + poppy seed version. I hope you enjoy these burgers as much as we did!