by Texas Homesteader ~
Poor-Man’s Steak (or stuffed hamburger) is a ground meat patty stuffed with grilled onions, peppers & melted cheese. I like to add diced jalapenos for a spicy kick!
We enjoyed this stuffed hamburger patty served on a bed of fried potatoes & topped w/brown gravy. This simple recipe is sure to bring rave reviews.
Ingredients For Stuffed Hamburger Patties
For this stuffed hamburger recipe you can use ground beef of course. But in my traditional #UseWhatchaGot mode I often use ground venison or wild pork in place of hamburger.
The simple ingredients for poor man’s steak are:
Ground beef (I’ll use venison)
Chopped grilled onions
Grilled chopped bell pepper
Chopped grilled jalapeno pepper (optional)
Cheese – RancherMan & I love pepper jack cheese, but cheddar or Monterey jack cheese would also be good choices.
Making Stuffed Hamburger Patties
I divided my ground meat into 10 equal sections to make 5 stuffed patties.
Then I chopped my onion, bell pepper and jalapeno and grilled them on my cast iron griddle until they were tender.
I also cut 5 cubes of cheese.
Now I’m ready to start assembling my poor-man’s steak. Let’s see how it all comes together with my ground meat:
UPDATE: A cube of cheese in the center of the hamburger patty instead of shredded cheese takes longer to melt. This makes it less likely to have cheese melting out of the patty before it’s cooked to a safe internal temperature of 160ºF.
Stuffed Hamburger Problem: Cheese Melts Too Quickly
This Poor Man’s Steak was absolutely delicious and RancherMan raved and implored me to not change a thing. So from that standpoint it was a win for sure.
But I was disappointed that in an effort to make sure my ground meat was well done, much of the shredded cheese inside melted away during cooking.
So now instead of shredded cheese I put a small cube of cheese in the middle. The cube takes longer to melt so it stays inside the burger much better.
In asking on our social media page, one of my oh-so-smart FB followers also suggested:
“You have to seal the patties REALLY well. That, and sear them then steam them. The meat cooks quicker and the cheese tends to stay put better.”
So maybe I’ll try that next time as well…
Serving Suggestion For Poor Man’s Steak
When we enjoyed Poor Man’s Steak in the restaurant they served it to us on a bed of fried potatoes & topped it all with brown gravy.
But I’ve also served it covered in cream gravy instead of brown on occasion.
Many readers enjoy it served on top of rice instead of fried potatoes.
Or heck, you can serve it as a stuffed patty without putting it on top of rice or fried potatoes and just include a couple of fun sides instead. Whatever works best for your family!
What Goes With Poor Man’s Steak
If you want to serve the poor man’s steak as a patty there are many fun sides you might choose to go with it.
Instant Pot Macaroni & Cheese
Fried Potato Cakes
Ranch-Style Beans
Buttered Rice With Garlic & Sage
Roasted Vegetables
You can see all our fun side dish ideas by clicking the button below:
Anyway, here’s the recipe for Poor Man’s Steak. If you give it a try please leave a comment below with a rating. Thanks!
Did you make this Poor Man’s Steak? Please rate the recipe in your comment below!
Poor-Man's Steak (ie: Stuffed Hamburger)
This poor-man's steak is just a hearty stuffed hamburger patty. I've grilled onions and peppers and stuffed them into a hamburger patty with cheese. The result is delightful and delicious. #TexasHomesteader
Ingredients
- 2 lbs ground meat (I used ground venison)
- Chopped onions/bell peppers to taste (I used about 1/2 cup total)
- 3 OPTIONAL Chopped jalapenos,
- 4 oz Cheese cut into 5 equal cubes, 1 for each patty (I used pepper jack cheese)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
Instructions
-
Grill the chopped onions, bell peppers & jalapenos (if using) on a griddle coated with bacon grease until soft & set aside.
-
Season ground beef with 1 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon of pepper & 1/2 teaspoon onion powder.
-
Separate the 2 lbs of ground meat into 10 equal sections of approximately 1/4 lb each (5 burgers).
-
Flatten each meat section & add the sautéed peppers & onions to the middle of half the patties. Add a small cube of cheese on top of the sautéed veggies. Then top with another section of ground meat and press the edges to seal.
-
Fry each side of the patty until done - about 5-6 minutes each side.
-
If desired, serve patties on a bed of fried potatoes and ladle brown gravy on top.
Recipe Notes
These burgers are thicker than normal so it takes a little longer to cook them. I cooked each side about 5-6 minutes so I could make sure it was well done all the way through.
This recipe will make 5 large restaurant-sized servings. So feel free to reduce down to smaller patties for more servings if desired.
~TxH~
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Other Meal Ideas
Ground Meat
- Poor Man’s Stuffed Steak (hamburger)
- Award-Winning Cowboy Chili
- Savory Meatloaf
- Lazy Cook’s Chile Relleno
- Slow Cooker Enchilada Casserole
- Meat-Stuffed Ravioli
- Taco-Stuffed Bell Peppers
- Meat & Cheese-Stuffed Zucchini Boats
- Quick Southwest Quesadillas
- Taco Spaghetti – Simple 1-Pot Meal
- Cheesy Spaghetti Squash Lasagne Cooked In Its Shell
Chicken/Poultry
- Homemade Chicken & Dumplings
- Chicken Pot Pie
- Leftover Chicken Into Quick Chicken Fried Rice
- Healthier Crispy Fried Chicken in an Air Fryer
- Slow-Cooker Spicy Sticky Chicken
- Pecan Smoking A Whole, Spatchcocked Turkey
Cooking Tips
Instant Pot
- Instant Pot Goulash – Comfort Food FAST!
- Homemade Tamales (includes Instant-Pot shortcut)
- Instant Pot Spaghetti
Air Fryer
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I am a child of the 70s and grew up on poor man steaks. Cubeing the cheese is key for it to not melt too fast. I like ortega chilis and cheese with bacon. Grilled onions is another favorite. Anything goes in our house.
Cubed cheese certainly seems the way to go, thanks for the tip! ~TxH~
So good and so easy! I cubed the cheese and placed it in the center of the patty, surrounding it with grilled onions/peppers and it seemed to keep the cheese from melting out of the patty as it cooked. Instead of brown gravy I topped it with homemade white gravy using the pan scrapings and a small amount of the grease. It was delicious!
If you didn’t want to go the Cream of Mushroom route; a brown gravy is also good, but in oven, covered for about 30 minutes, uncover, top with cheese and put back in oven until cheese begins to melt.
Oh My Goodness; it has been ages since I have made these; leaving out the jalapenos and replacing with finely diced/sliced mushrooms. I do mix up a can of condensed cream of mushroom soup, whole milk, then stir in freshly chopped parsley which makes up the ‘gravy’.
After frying- browning / searing up my burgers on both sides I transfer to greased baking dish, then evenly top with gravy and cover dish with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes until heated thoroughly.
Such a flexible recipe, Colleen! I’ll have to try your version soon. ~TxH~
This recipe looks ‘do-able’ for me 🙂 .. I do believe my husband would also love it. We too, have plenty of venison in the freezer. I’ll put ours over a bed of rice. Sounds delicious. Thank you. Appreciate you!!!!!!!
First of all Josie, be aware that I always (ALWAYS) make the first patties way too large. Including the ones I made tonight. LOL. Seems I always err in guessing how large both halves will make the patty when combined. The second skillet-full tonight was halved in size and much more manageable. Oh, and they freeze beautifully so I always make waaaaay more than we’ll eat at one sitting. Enjoy ’em though, they’re delicious! ~TxH~
Hey Howdy there Texas Tammy from ~TxH~
Now that’s looking mighty scrumptious to me , I’ll be taking notes on this one as I need something like this every once in a while. I like the Hamburgers and stuffed ones would suit me well no Bread rapped around it. Has much as I love bread I have to keep it under control.
My wife being Japanese and loving rice like I like my potatoes will get hers on top of rice. Gravy would be good for sure But again I must keep that under control as well, so once in a while too.
Thanks for the share about the Poor Mans Stake.
Will be doing this sometime next week … : >)
P.S. Sorry , not able to do the jalapeno…. Dangerous….lol
Well Howdy Greg! This is one of RancherMan’s favorite meals too. Last night I minced the jalapenos but kept them separate from the bell pepper & onion mixture. I asked our guests who wanted them eliminated from their serving, but all wanted them so I tossed it into the mix. But the jalapeno was so mild I daresay no one could even tell it was in there! A little disappointing to me, but probably perfect for our guests. And I’m with ya on the gravy – everything in moderation. I make a lower-fat gravy by taking the broth and thickening it into a gravy consistency, so I don’t feel near as guilty indulging from time to time. 🙂 ~TxH~
This is on the regular rotation. 5 or 6 times now and again tonight. Thanks!
So ironic that you write this today, Ken. We are expecting out-of-town family for several days so I just picked up the ingredients to make this poor-man’s steak. RancherMan absolutely loves it! ~TxH~
We’ll be trying this one!! Sounds delish!!
I’m going to try this. Sounds so good!
RancherMan doesn’t have a picky palate so he eats whatever I cook and usually complements it as well. (What a thoughtful hubby!) But when he raves on & on for hours about supper – well that recipe’s a keeper for sure, Ann! ~TxH~