And more Burgers, Burgers, Burgers!
The recipe specifies using ground chuck, but I have changed it up on occasion and used ground buffalo and even ground turkey and loved them all!
Makes 4 Servings
Make the compound butter:
¼ lb. unsalted butter, room temperature
½ large clove of garlic, minced
½ tsp. each, minced fresh tarragon, basil & flat-leaf parsley
1/8 tsp. fresh lemon juice
Few grains of cayenne pepper
Combine all the ingredients; add salt and freshly ground pepper to taste. With a spatula, scrape onto plastic wrap and shape into a log. Fold plastic wrap over butter to enclose and roll to form a log. Chill butter until firm, about 2 hours. You can made this a day ahead.
The burgers:
2 lbs. ground chuck, buffalo or turkey
4 ½” thick slices of Vidalia or other sweet onion
4 slices cheddar cheese
4 brioche rolls or burger buns
4 romaine lettuce leaves
4 slices beefsteak tomato
Make the burgers:
Prepare the barbecue
Cut 4 (1/4” thick) slices of the compound butter. Form meat into 4 large meatballs and insert a butter slice into the centre of each. Flatten each ball into a patty about 1 ¼” thick, completely inclosing the butter; season with salt and pepper.
Brush the onion slices with oil and place on the grill, grilling for 5 – 6 minutes per side until softened and browned. Transfer to a plate and keep warm in a 180 F oven. Grill burgers approximately 6 minutes; turn over and grill about 7 minutes more for medium-rare, longer for well done. Top each with slices of cheese. Remove to a warm plate and keep warm in the oven with the onions while toasting the buns on the grill. Spread aioli on top halves of rolls. Place burgers on bottom halves and top with grilled onion, tomato slices and romaine.
Roasted garlic aioli: can be made 2 days ahead, covered & chilled
½ head of garlic (unpeeled)
½ cup mayonnaise
1/ ½ tsp. fresh lime juice
½ small clove garlic, minced
½ tsp. hot paprika (or sweet paprika if you prefer it not to be too hot)
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper
1/8 tsp. ground cumin
Preheat oven to 400 F. Place garlic on a piece of foil, drizzle with a bit of EVO; wrap and roast in middle of oven until tender; about 40 – 45 minutes. Squeeze garlic from papery casings and puree or whisk with remaining ingredients and freshly ground pepper to taste.
