Big Burger

(Sorry for the several months’ hiatus.  I’ve been… lazy.  But here we go…)

You all know it.  You’ve all had it.  There are foods you had as children that you remember today, that create that sense of being a kid again.  And then you remember how much you HATED whatever it is you’ve just re-created.

Well, this is one of them.  It’s not that the recipe is BAD, per se; rather, it’s that it’s just as cloying now as it was 30 years ago.  Big Burger is one of those incredibly heavy, incredibly homely, denser-than-a-chunk-of-neutronium-armor-plating recipes to emerge from the 1960s or 1970s (Hello Mrs. Butterton?) era, unapologetic and ready to clog your arteries.

The issue, I believe, with this recipe is that the crust of the “pie” overwhelms the flavor of everything else, overwhelming the flavor of the “burger” filling.  Admittedly, it’s a very flaky crust (thanks in no small part to the use of Hungry Jack potato flakes in the dough — I bet using potato flakes in a regular lard-based pie crust would be absolutely awesome!), but too much of anything can be a bad thing.

Here’s a slice of the Big Burger.  Note the buttered potato flakes used to top the “pie”:

In all honesty, I haven’t the slightest clue where my mother got this recipe; I believe it was a winner in some sort of Duncan Hines or Hungry Jack recipe contest from the 1970s.  I’ve been unable to find an exact equivalent of this recipe, under the name “Big Burger” or anything even remotely similar, anywhere on the Web.  So, with no further ado, here’s the recipe, in all its quadruple-bypass-promoting glory…

Big Burger

2 c. flour
2 c. Hungry Jack Mashed Potato Flakes
¾ c. butter, softened
¾ c. milk

Filling:
1 lb. ground beef
1 tbsp. ketchup
1 tbsp. prepared mustard
¼ c. chopped onion
½ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. pepper
11 oz. cheese sauce

Topping:
1 tbsp. milk
1 tbsp. butter, melted
¼ c. Hungry Jack flakes

Cheese Sauce:
3 tbsp. butter
4 tbsp. flour
1 c. milk
1 c. grated cheddar

Preheat oven to 425F. In large bowl combine flour and flakes. Cut in butter, stir in milk. Press half of the dough into a 10-inch circle on ungreased cookie sheet. Brown beef and onion, drain. Stir in ketchup, mustard, salt, pepper and cheese sauce. Spread to within ¼-inch of dough edge. On waxed paper, press out dough into an 11-inch circle. Place over filling and seal edge; brush with milk. Sprinkle with mixture of butter and flakes. Bake 20 to 25 minutes until golden brown. Refrigerate any leftovers. Makes 4 to 6 servings.