BACON-burger

So this is a variation on a previous recipe that I posted in the past.  We had some old ground chuck with a touch of freezer burn that clearly needed to be used up.  Clearly bacon can mask any inferior meat with texture and flavor, but instead of merely frying up loads of bacon and piling it high atop the patty, I added it to the mixture.  This not only helped render the freezer burn obsolete but also helped hold together the patties which had lost their ability to hold themselves together.  I added a bit of spice in the form of fresh cayenne peppers and a touch of acid and salt with the addition of finely diced capers.  In the end you never would have known that the burgers were made from questionable beef (to be fair it was probably still better beef than you find in most commercial establishments).  I garnished it with some heirloom tomatoes, arugula, crispy caramelized onions and a small slice of Parmesan Reggiano all thrown on a toasted baguette.  I realize this concoction comes off a bit pretentious, but I assure you it was well thought out and the toppings were not thrown on haphazardly...or at least to the extent that I had everything in my fridge.

BACON-buger

 

1 ½ lb ground chuck (freezer burn optional)

½ lb of cooked bacon finely chopped

1 tsp salt

2 tsp pepper

2 fresh cayenne peppers (substitute jalapeños for more heat), diced

1 tbsp finely diced capers

1 tbsp diced fresh parsley

2 tsp hot Hungarian paprika

2 cloves of garlic diced

½ a yellow onion, sliced

¼ cup of dry sherry

 

Combine all the ingredients except the onions and sherry and form into 6 patties.  Grill to taste and adjust seasoning.  Add onions to a pan with oil and cook at a high temperature for one minute and then reduce heat and add sherry to finish caramelizing onions.  Add garnishes, Parmesan, arugula, tomatoes and onions.  I served this with a bottle of Domaine Garrignon Cotes du Rhone Rouge.  Damn fine burger…

Comments

[Elliot]

That sounds fantastic. I also have a request. I'd like to see an Obama-inspired recipe. Perhaps, blue eggs and ham, or a ham with his face or logo carved into it. I'm sure that you fine gentlemen can come up with something.

PS Awesome work, Paul!