Make Ahead Mushroom and Beef Hamburger Patties.

Do you have any summer traditions in your family? I think most people do during the summer, and no doubt the majority of our Nation has some sort of planning going on during the 4^th of July. For a lot of families, it’s a camping trip or a big summer BBQ.  One thing my family can always count on is a 4^th of July BBQ. I want to share a little bit about our 4^th of July tradition with you today. I’d also like to thank our friends at Raley’s Supermarkets who have kindly sponsored this post with Premier Mushrooms.

To kick-off the summer, Raley’s will be sharing their Summer Best BBQ recipes and tips with Premier Mushrooms on their website. Their timing couldn’t be better. As we get closer to the 4^th, more and more families are beginning to discuss their plans for this special day in America. Ours is no different.

Fourth of July at home is like a family reunion.

Every year, at the beginning of summer, we start getting phone calls from our relatives asking us what our plans are for the 4^th are since it’s my husband’s birthday.

This usually happens a week or two before the 4^th of July too because I’m horrible at planning parties. By the third phone call, I start to take it seriously and accept that it is for the most expected of us to host on the 4^th.

Truthfully, I don’t think our summers would feel complete without a 4^th of July BBQ anyway. We tried it once, but we ended up missing having everyone over.

Besides, now that we live in a city where “safe and sane” fireworks are legally sold the week before the 4^th of July, we really don’t want to be anywhere else except with family, friends, and our little neighborhood firework show. It has become our Summer Best BBQ tradition!

We plan, gather, eat, swim, light some fireworks, drink, and go to bed late. REALLY late!

This Summer, Raley’s is inviting us to share our photos and stories using #SummerBestBBQ on social media to help keep the party going together. I’ll be sharing mine throughout the summer, and I hope to see your photos there too!

So, now that I’ve come to terms with the fact that I really should get my s**t together once and for all, and plan better when it comes to the menu, I’m starting with one of my favorite BBQ foods: The hamburger!

If you love hamburgers, and you love mushrooms, you’re going to love today’s post.

How to make and freeze sixteen mushroom and beef hamburger patties using the mushroom blend method with Premier Mushrooms.

Buying frozen patties from the store can save you a lot of time when you’re in a time crunch, and Raley’s is good about making sure you have plenty of options for last-minute meal solutions, but why stop there? Why not go the extra mile for your family with locally grown food? Raley’s works closely with farmers to offer the summer’s best produce and always has a great selection to choose from for a great value, no matter what your budget is.

Sure, it takes a little prep work, but in the end, you’ll end up with a juicier, more flavorful and perfectly seasoned hamburger patty with produce from local farmers. July 4^th is 20 days away which means you still have time to make these patties and freeze them for your BBQ. I made slider size patties, but if you’re having a smaller gathering, or you just want to make them bigger for weeknight dinners, that’s cool too. Just make them bigger! 😉

Oh, and one more thing! You don’t have to worry about defrosting them because they can go onto the hot grill straight out of the freezer! Perfect, right?!

You got this!

Let me show you how easy it is.

First, decide on what percentage of fat content you want your hamburgers to be. I went with two different ground beef types. One pound of extra lean ground beef, and an additional pound with a medium fat content. Personally, I’d stay away from using a ground beef with a high fat content for these patties because the mushrooms will add plenty of moisture to the patties.

In a large bowl, combine the ground beef with onion powder, steak seasoning, and half a 24-ounce package of white or baby bella Premier Mushrooms that have been finely chopped in the food processor.

I also want to note that I used a mortar and pestle to grind the steak seasoning, but you don’t necessarily have to.

Also, I purchased a large package of mushrooms because I wanted to use the leftover mushrooms in another meal that week, but a 16-ounce package will do just fine as well.

Line two large baking sheets and one small cookie sheet (or a large plate) with parchment paper.

Before I shape the meat into hamburgers, I always test the flavor by cooking a small spoonful to see if they will need more salt or seasoning. That helps me determine how much I will use when they are all formed and ready to be frozen. Too much mixing tends to result in a rubbery burger, so I add a light sprinkle of seasoning after I’ve formed the patties.

Use a 1/3 size measuring cup to make 16 evenly sized meatballs by packing the cup well with the ground beef and mushroom mixture. If you want bigger patties, use a large measuring cup. I went with this size because I wanted these hamburgers to be on the smaller size since we’re planning on also having chicken and ribs on the menu as well (it’s a big shindig 😉 ). Just keep in mind if you make them bigger, you’ll end up with less than 16 patties.

Press the patties flat onto the lined baking sheets, about ½” thick, with a plate or hamburger press if you have one.

I don’t have a press so I used a plate with a piece of parchment paper underneath to press them into 4” patties. When they’re ready to go into the freezer, season them lightly with salt, pepper, or garlic salt.

By the way, the thumbprint in the middle helps them cook more evenly. If you like to have a little pink in your burger, skip the thumb stamp.

Keep them separated on the cookie sheet and freeze them for at least five hours. When they are completely frozen, take them out of the freezer and cut the parchment paper you used to lay the patties on into squares to use for storing the patties in the freezer. Stack them on top of each other, using the parchment paper squares in between each patty in a freezer-safe quart size ziplock bag.

When you’re ready to cook them, preheat your grill (or indoor grill) to medium heat. When the grill is hot, remove the parchment paper and place the frozen patties on the grill. Cook them for 4 to 5 minutes on each side.

Do not move, press, or flip them before the 4 minutes.

The patties will shrink a bit and fit perfectly on smaller hamburger buns. I used Raley’s sourdough family pack dinner rolls that are roughly three inches wide and come in a bag of 12 rolls.

You can make a batch of these patties now, have four for dinner, and freeze the rest for a day when you are having guests come over. If you freeze them all now and decide you would rather use traditional hamburger buns instead of rolls, you’ll have enough patties to purchase two 8-pack buns.

So, what do you think? Easy peasy, right?!

Have you tried adding mushrooms to your homemade patties? What are some of your favorite seasonings to use in them?

Share your thoughts in the comments!

This post is sponsored by Raley’s Supermarkets. All opinions are 100% my own as always.