The thing about making the best hamburger in the world for your kids is that they’re probably really not into anything fancy. When you’re trying to impress your friends, you want to load it up with garlic and grilled onions and mushrooms. To your kids, that’s just ruining it. Your kids want a patty with a slice of American cheese, mustard, mayo, ketchup and maybe a couple slices of pickle.
That said, there are a few things you can do to spice a burger up and make it a little tastier and a little healthier in ways that kids will either love, or not notice (and slipping healthy food in on them when they’re not looking is a big part of being a parent).
Experimentation is important, but you’ll want to give it to them in small doses if they’re going to warm up to new flavors. Here are a few strategies you can try in figuring out what your kids are going to consider to be the best burgers of all time.
Cheese Stuffed Burgers
When you’re making these for yourself, you probably want to try it with bleu cheese or feta or something. Your kids will be happy with some shredded cheddar thrown into the middle of the burger. It’s a lot of fun to bite into a burger and get a mouthful of cheese, but get the kids excited about this one beforehand to make sure they don’t get weirded out by it.
Salt and Pepper Patties
One of the easiest ways to spice up a dull burger is to simply encrust the patty in salt and pepper with a little garlic powder and with paprika mixed into the burger. This offers the texture and flavor of a gourmet burger while compromising with the simpler appearance and flavor that they’re used to. It’s all about introducing more exotic and varied flavors to your kids a piece at a time, and this one may just become their favorite even if they’re wary about something a little different the first time.
Make Your Own Burgers
Here’s the easiest way to keep the kids happy: Give them each a handful of beef and some seasoning and follow it up with a cutting board full of vegetables, cheese and other toppings. You can pre-season the beef with a little salt, pepper and paprika for taste and let them add their own spices before you throw them on the grill or in the pan. Keeping them involved means that they can’t pinch their noses at it later and they can explore new flavors at their own speed.
Rule of Thumb: Keep it Well Done
You never really know what your kids are going to love until they try it. Some kids love onions, others don’t even like pizza. One constant is that most kids are going to want their burgers well, well done. Make it dark through and through if you want to make sure that your kids are going to eat it, because the slightest bit of pinkish tone is going to send most kids running for the hills.