1 pound ground chuck (20% fat) Do not substitute other types of ground beef.
1/4 teaspoon salt

Prepare right before grilling – not ahead of time. Get your grill or burner hot before beginning.

Put the ground beef in a bowl. Lightly break up the meat with your hands and sprinkle evenly with the salt. (Note: use only 1/4 teaspoon. This much helps prevent loss of the burger juices and keeps the burgers from following apart. However, too much salt causes the beef to congeal.)

After you’ve seasoned the meat, divide it into 4, and with lightly cupped hands, shape into patties. As soon as the patties hold together, stop! Over handling will cause the beef to become rubbery when cooked.

Make a shallow indentation in the center of each patty. This keeps the burger flat and prevents the formation of a “bubble burger” when cooking.

Gas Grill Prep: Turn the grill on. Scrape off any debris with a grill brush. Grab a wad of paper towels with a pair of long-handled tongs and dip them in a bowl of vegetable oil. When the towels have absorbed the oil, run them over the cleaned grill grate. The oil will burn off at first. Continue to dip the towels into oil and slick down the grate; it will become “nonstick.” When the grate turns black and glossy, your grill is good to go.

Put the burgers on the grill.

Flip the burgers just once—after they’ve developed deep brown grill marks—and don’t be tempted to press on them. Pressing down on the burgers as they cook squeezes out the flavorful juices, which end up in your grill (causing flare-ups) instead of in your burgers.

Take the temperature in the center of each burger with an instant-read thermometer.
Medium Rare: 125 to 130 degrees, 2 to 3 minutes per side
Medium: 135 to 140 degrees, 3 to 4 minutes per side
Medium Well: 145 to 160 degrees, 4 to 5 minutes per side
Well Done: 160 degrees and up, 5 minutes and up per side

1 large head of cabbage
1/3 c. rice, uncooked
2 (8-ounce) cans of tomato sauce
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1 lb. lean ground beef
1 egg, beaten
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper

Cook the rice (Bring 2/3 cup water to a boil. Add rice, reduce heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes. Do not overcook.)

In a large, wide saucepan, bring lightly salted water to a boil. Add the cabbage and cook for about 4 minutes or until softened; drain. Run cold water over cabbage to cool slightly, drain again. Pull off 8 to 12 large leaves for rolls. Cut out the thick vein from the bottom of each reserved leaf, making a V-shaped cut; set aside. Chop some of the remaining leaves and line the bottom of a slow cooker. Refrigerate the rest of the cabbage for another meal.

In a medium bowl, mix together the tomato sauce, brown sugar, lemon juice and Worcestershire sauce.

In separate bowl, add 1/3 cup of the tomato sauce mixture. Stir in the cooked rice, egg, onion, garlic, uncooked beef, salt and pepper and mix well.

Roll 2 to 3 tablespoons of the beef mixture in a cabbage leaf; secure with toothpicks. Repeat until all the beef mixture has been wrapped.

Add the stuffed cabbage to the slow cooker. Cover with the tomato sauce mixture.

Cook on low for 6 to 8 hours.

(Optional – serve with plain boiled white potatoes.)