13 burger recipes for your Memorial Day cookout

Get out of your burger rut! Sure, seasoning with plain old s&p is easy. But with just a little more effort, you can serve a burger worthy of a long weekend.

Here's some inspiration. I'm providing my basic burger recipe, plus 9 ways to gussy it up. And if you're ready to take it to the next level? Following the variations are 3 alt-burger recipes: Tuna, Turkey and Sausage.

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Happy grilling!

Basic Burger

1 1/2 pounds ground beef

Salt and pepper

Generously salt and pepper the ground beef, then form into 6-ounce patties and indent the center. Grill over medium-high heat for 4 to 5 minutes per side. Place cheese on the burgers for the last minute of cooking. Lightly toast the buns on the grill.

Serve burgers with pickles, mustard, ketchup, iceberg and red onion.

9 ways to up your burger game

Build on the basic burger recipe with these inspiring flavor combinations.

Beef-lamb. Use 1 pound beef and 1 pound lamb. Mix together and season with salt and pepper.

Bacon-smoked gouda. Shred gouda cheese to make one cup. Place 1/4 cup on each burger. Top burgers with cooked bacon.

Smoky-spicy. Add 3 shakes Worcestershire sauce and 1 teaspoon sweet smoked paprika to the basic burger recipe.

Blue cheese-topped. Top with blue cheese and serve on toasted English muffins.

Cheddar-stuffed. Make 8 thin burger patties, place shredded cheddar on top of one patty. Place another on top, then pinch around the edges of the two patties to seal them.

Caramelized onion-cheddar. Cook 2 sliced onions over medium heat with 3 tablespoons butter for about 40 minutes. Crank up the heat up to high and cook another 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Top burgers with cheddar while on the grill and garnish with onions.

Special sauce. Whisk together: 1/2 cup mayonnaise with 1/3 cup ketchup and 1/4 cup Dijon mustard, 1 tablespoon red wine and 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce. Brush on toasted burger buns.

Rosemary-blue cheese. Add 2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary, 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce, 1 egg, 3 generous shakes hot sauce, salt and pepper.

Pimento cheese. Shred 1 block white Cracker Barrel VT cheddar, and combine with 1 jar pimentos (diced small), 2 cloves finely chopped garlic, 2 tablespoons mayonnaise, salt, pepper and Tabasco. Stuff in burgers, or top them while on the grill.

Alt-Burgers

Instead of beef, try tuna, turkey or even sausage the grill. Put it in a bun and call it a burger!

Ginger-tuna. Use 1 1/2 pounds sushi-grade tuna, chopped into 1/8-inch chunks. Combine with ginger and garlic, mashed to a paste and season with 1 tablespoon fish sauce. Add herbs like basil or cilantro to suit your pleasure.

Turkey-mushroom. Grate 2 medium carrots, 1 medium zucchini and about 5 ounces mushrooms in a food processor and mix with 1 pound ground turkey, 2 teaspoons soy sauce and 2 cloves minced garlic.

Italian sausage-spinach. Remove sweet or hot (or a combination of both) sausage from casings and shape into burger patties. Grill and top with sauteed spinach.