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One of the tricks to making good burgers when you’re in ZReduction on Plan Z is to find a way to keep them as moist and juicy as possible. Usually, the secret to a good burger is the fat content. The higher the fat content, the juicier the burger will be. I’m asking you to use 93% lean ground sirloin, so that makes it challenging to make a juicy burger when most burgers are about 20% fat; not 7% fat like you are using. If you’re not dieting, you can have all the fat you want in your ground beef. We know the fat won’t make you fat.

I found a video online you can review for making a juicy burger by adding ingredients that give off juice. Things like onion and celery will help. You can follow the directives in the video below and still not cheat on Plan Z. Or you can leave your beef plain and just adjust your cooking time a bit more. I’ll explain that in a bit.

As you can see, adjusting your ingredients in the beef can add juiciness, but he doesn’t talk about cooking methods or times at all.

You have options.

My favorite is to sear the burger and finish it by roasting it in the oven.

The GrillMeisters of the world would say I’m crazy. They’d insist you have to cook it on the grill. That’s an option, too.

I’m going to go into detail on searing and roasting. You can do your thing on the grill. Just remember because of the lower fat content burgers will cook faster and if you leave them on as long as you usually would you’ll have a burger that might taste like wood and be really dry and unpleasant. So be careful. Cook indirect on the grill except for the searing time.

Here’s the recipe for seared burgers that are then oven-roasted.

Seared and Roasted Burgers

Plan Z Phase: This is a Z2 (ZReduction) recipe.

One of the tricks to making good burgers when you’re in ZReduction on Plan Z is to find a way to keep them as moist and juicy as possible. Usually, the secret to a good burger is the fat content. The higher the fat content, the juicier the burger. I’m asking you to use 93% lean ground sirloin, so that makes it challenging to make a juicy burger when most burgers are about 20% fat; not 7% fat like you are using. If you’re not dieting, you can have all the fat you want in your ground beef.

My favorite technique for cooking low-fat burgers is to quickly sear the burger and finish it by roasting it in the oven. Here’s the recipe for seared burgers that are then oven-roasted.

Servings: Serves 2. Can easily be doubled.

Ingredients: 

• 16 oz of ground sirloin (93/7% lean). You are allowed up to 8 oz patties but you can make smaller ones if you choose. I like 4 oz or maybe 6 oz. I can’t eat a full 8 oz burger.
• Montreal Steak seasoning or seasoning of your choice that follows Plan Z guidelines

Optional:

• Beefsteak tomato slices
• onion slices or sauteed onions

Equipment:

• I use a cast iron pan for my burgers. That way I can sear them on the stovetop and then just transfer them to the oven. Either way, you are going to need to use a pan that can handle the oven heat.

Instructions:

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Spray a cast iron (or ovenproof) pan with olive oil. Form your burger patties. Season the burger patties on top to your liking.

Heat the pan on medium-high until hot. Add the burgers. Spray the tops of the burgers with more olive oil.

Sear for 4 minutes on medium-high. Then flip the burgers.

You are now going to transfer them to the oven.

Here’s the tricky part: How long to cook.

If the patties are 8 oz they are obviously going to take more time than a 4 oz burger.

I cook them for about 5 – 7 minutes and then begin to check them with a meat thermometer. The 4 oz patties might already be done. You are looking for 160 degrees on your thermometer. The 8 oz patties might take about 5 minutes more. 160 degrees will give you a burger with some pink still in the middle but not medium-rare. More medium to medium-well.

Serve the burger on a big piece of iceberg lettuce, with a thick slice of tomato. Maybe add a slice of onion, too.

If you want to jazz it up a bit more and have BBQ Ranch Burgers, make the sauce below and put a smear on the burger before you top it with the tomato and onion.

BBQ Ranch Sauce (Smear) for Burgers

Plan Z Phase: This is a Z2 (ZReduction) recipe. This will go well with beef burgers or even ground chicken breast burgers or grilled chicken breasts; even a steak.

Servings: Serves more than 2. A ZReduction serving size is 2 tsp.

Ingredients: 

• 1 Tbl of mayonnaise
• 1 Tbl of ranch dressing
• 1-1/2 Tbl of bbq sauce (try to find one with sugar toward the bottom of the ingredient list. Almost all bbq sauces have sugar but you are not eating much of it). You are going for the essence of bbq flavor; not full-on bbq.

Instructions:

Mix all ingredients in a bowl. Spread a smear across the top of your burger. If you are on ZReduction, this is 2 tsp maximum. If you are in ZReboot, you can have as much as you want.

Enjoy!

Cheers,