Bistro quality burger

A burger topped with caramelized onion and blue cheese spread. Yum...

For the caramelized onions:

4 large onions, sliced

2 tbsp butter

1 tbsp olive oil

Salt

For the burger patties:

3 lb ground chuck

1 lb ground sirloin

Garlic salt

Pepper

Onion powder

Smoked paprika

Cumin

Chili powder

Dried parsley

Cayenne pepper

For the blue cheese sauce:

1/4 c mayo

1/4 c fat free sour cream

1 garlic clove, minced

1 tbsp lemon juice

2 tbsp chopped chives

.3 lb crumbled blue cheese

Salt and pepper to your liking 

For the burgers:

12 Kaiser Buns

Arugula for topping

To caramelize onions:

Heat butter and olive oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onions and generous pinch of salt. Occasionally stir and cook for about an hour until the onions are caramelized. 

To prepare the burger:

Mix both ground meat together and portion out the meat to 1/3 lb each. You should get 12 patties after portioning them out. Shape them into parties. Next season the parties with the garlic salt and next 7 spices. Grill the burger patties to your liking. 

To prepare the blue cheese sauce:

Mix all the blue cheese sauce ingredients together in a small bowl. Chill in the fridge until ready to serve. 

To serve:

Toast the buns with a little olive oil, salt and pepper. Place one cooked burger patty on a bun, top with caramelized onions, arugula, and the blue cheese sauce. 

Chorizo burger

So the inspiration behind this dish came from a restaurant in Atlanta called Flip. A friend from work introduced us to it, then I introduced it to Matt, then we introduced it to our friends, then they did the same with their friends. I think you get the idea of how good this place is. It's a trendy burger restaurant from Top Chef's competitor Richard Blais. I love their Ossobucco burger, and of course their fries with that smoked mayo. And they're also known for their milkshakes. They have a Krispy Kreme milkshake! Yes, you read right. But I prefer their Nutella and Burnt Marshmallow or Turtle milkshakes more.

But the first time I took Matt to Flip, he ordered their Chorizo burger. It was topped with a poached egg, which I thought was interesting. I went for that same idea here when I made some chorizo burgers at home. The poached egg adds a rich, creaminess to the slightly spicy chorizo meat. I paired the burger with some garlic aioli which added another level of flavor to the dish. And of course cheese, here I used muenster cheese.

Word of advice though: don't eat this burger in front of someone you're trying to impress. It's a little messy...definitely a meal you wanna eat in front of someone you're comfortable with ;)

Chorizo burger - topped with poached egg and garlic aioli

Ingredients
6 chorizo sausage, casing removed
6 eggs
1 tbsp vinegar
6 buns
6 muenster cheese slices

3 cloves garlic, chopped
2 egg yolks
1/2 a lemon, juiced
1/2 c olive oil
salt and pepper


1. First make the chorizo burger: Combine the chorizo sausage meat together (casing removed), and form 6 patties. Push your thumb in the middle of each patty so that when it cooks you won't get a bubble. Over a grill heated to 350 degrees F, grill the burgers for about 4 mins on each side . Don't press the burger meat, just leave it alone to cook. When finished cooking, let it rest and move on to next step.

2. Poach eggs: To poach eggs, add about an inch and half of water and the vinegar to a deep skillet. Bring the skillet to a slight boil over medium-high heat. Then reduce to a simmer. Crack an egg into a ramekin, and then submerge the egg into the simmering water. The ramekin helps ease the egg into the water; you could also use a small bowl. Repeat with more eggs, don't crowd the pan though. After the last egg is placed in the water, let it cook for about 4-6 mins. The whites should form over the yolk, but the yolk should still be runny. Let it drain on a plate lined with paper towels.

3. To make the aioli: In  food processer, add the garlic, egg yolks, and lemon juice. Slowly add in the olive oil. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

4. Assemble: On toasted buns spread some garlic aioli, then top with the chorizo burger, poached egg, and slice of muenster. Enjoy!

Burger with a Roasted Red Pepper Sauce

We've got some burger patties in the freezer and I've been thinking of an idea for them. I wanted to jot it down before I forgot! I was thinking a roasted red pepper sauce to top on the burgers with slices of Havarti/Manchego cheese. For the spread, maybe process some garlic, shallots, cashew, roasted red peppers, sherry/red wine vinegar, paprika, olive oil, and salt. I wonder how it'll turn out, I'll have to let you know what I end up doing!

Update:
I finally got around to making this and it turned out great! Lots of ingredients but real easy. You just process it all together and serve it on the burgers. I also served the burgers with slices of Havarti cheese and Bibb lettuce on some nice toasted wheat buns. The sauce was a little sweet from the peppers and smoky from the paprika. And the shallots added a little bite. The flavors were really nice and I hope you try it! Here's the recipe, approximately:

Roasted Red Pepper Sauce

1 large shallot
1 1/2 tbsp cashew
4-5 roasted red peppers from the jar
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
1 tsp smoked paprika
2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 a slice of bread
salt and pepper to taste

Process all ingredients together.