This was one tasty burger.

For around 300 calories I didn’t even have to feel guilty about eating it, either.

Did you know Portobello mushrooms have just a mere 26 calories, 5.2 grams of carbohydrates and lots of nutritional value.  These little gems should be your secret weapon this summer when firing up the grill.

So here’s what you need for these healthy burgers.  I used Orowheat Sandwich Thins, sliced Swiss cheese (if you use a low-fat cheese, you could cut 50 calories off the count of this burger), one slice of bacon, and some romaine lettuce.  If you wanted even more flavors you could add a tomato or even an avocado, but I wanted to keep my flavors simple.

You will need to carefully remove the stem, too woody to eat and we want it to look like a burger.  Then clean the mushroom.  I’ve read two conflicting ways of cleaning your mushrooms.  Purists will NEVER EVER run water over any mushroom.  They will only use a mushroom brush or a damp paper towel, avoiding getting the mushroom wet.  I have always washed my mushrooms and have never found a difference in the amount of water they give off in cooking, nor any difference in their taste.  Cook’s Illustrated did an experiment with washing in water vs. brushing and their conclusion was that there was absolutely no difference. 

What I am trying to say is that if you feel more comfortable washing a mushroom, then you should go for it.  I won’t judge you, I promise.

Dry with a paper towel.  Lightly brush both sides with a little bit of olive oil and season with Kosher salt and pepper.

I used a grill pan to cook my portobellos.  I melted a little bit of butter and olive oil in the pan.  If you want to avoid cooking with oil or butter than spray the pan with a little bit of olive oil cooking spray and a little bit of beef broth or water for moisture.

I will be using the outdoor bbq grill for these this summer.  I think that the bbq will give this burger a nice flavor.

I start out by placing the mushrooms cap side down.  I want to make sure I get the grill marks while the pan is hot.  Reduce the heat to medium.

Now put a little bit of water or beef broth to help steam and cook the mushrooms.  Place a lid over the pan and allow the mushroom to cook for about 6 or 7 minutes.

I rotated the mushroom once to get the cross hatch effect.  After 6 minutes turn the mushroom over, add more water if necessary and cover for an additional 5 or 6 minutes.

Reduce the heat to low.  Top the mushroom with one slice of bacon.

Add a slice of Swiss cheese.

….my stomache was growling at this very moment.

Turn the heat off and place the lid over the pan until the cheese has melted.

Holy Cow this looks good!

I’ll bet there is a cow out there right now just thanking me.

Now you won’t mistake this mushroom burger for the real deal, but the smokey, earthy flavor of this portobello burger will gratify your senses the same way.

I must now get back to my delicious Portobello Mushroom Burger with Swiss and Bacon. 

goodbye.