Cuban Burger

Cuban Burger

The favorite tastes and ingredients of a great Cubano Sandwich but with char-grilled beef.

• 1 Ciabatta bread roll
• 2 beef burgers
• 1/2 cup Goya mojo marinade
• 1 dill pickle
• 4 thin sliceds of ham
• 4 thin slices of Swiss cheese
• 1 dill pickle (sliced lengthwise)
• yellow mustard to taste

1. Marinate the burgers in the mojo marinade for 30 minutes.

2. Grill the burgers in a very hot grill pan or skillet. Put two slices of Swiss cheese on each burger in the last minute of cooking.

3. Slice the Ciabatta bread in half, lengthwise. Generously dot each half with yellow mustard.

4. Add the burgers to the bottom half of the roll. Add two slices of ham on each burger.

5. On the other half, add the pickle slices and combine the two halves together.

6. In the grill pan, weigh down the sandwich with a heavy pot. Turn over after about 2 minutes and weigh down the other side until you get nice grill stripes.

7. Cut in half and serve.

The mojo marinade is the key ingredient to this recipe.

Learn to Speak Greek Burger

Learn to speak Greek Burger:

Burger  -+- Boorg-ger

Tomato -+- Toe-mah-ta;

Feta      -+- Feh-tah;

Tzatziki -+- Zot-zee-key

Grill the burger. I like a combination of chuck and brisket. Season both sides with salt and pepper.

Grill the top and bottom buns in the burger grease.

Assemble:

Burger down on the bottom bun.

Salt and peppered tomato slice on the burger.

A slab of feta cheese on the tomato.

On the top bun, use a generous amount of tzatziki sauce.

Smash the buns together and enjoy!

The Big Kahuna Burger

This is one tasty burger.

Grill a burger. A chuck and brisket blend is terrific.

Grill a slice of fresh pineapple.

Grill the burger bun.

The burger and pineapple go on the bottom bun.

Homemade coleslaw and sriracha sauce go on the top bun.

Quickly smash the buns together and enjoy!



The Thai sriracha sauce is less hot and sweeter than the Chinese version. Go with the Thai sauce if you don't like food that is too spicy.

Cheese In Cheese Out Burger

Per burger:

1/4 pound 90% lean ground beef
2 slices 2% milk fat American cheese
1 teaspoon clarified butter or Ghee
1 plum tomato
1 garlic dill pickle
Worcestershire sauce for seasoning
Spicy barbecue sauce
1 English muffin



Divide the burger meat into two thin patties. Cut one cheese slice into quarters and place on one patty. Cover with the other patty. Press together and seal the edges so the cheese does not leak out.



Season the cheesy patty with Worcestershire.

Cook in a hot pan oiled with the clarified butter. Cook time depends on several factors. Try three minutes on one side and two on the other for medium doneness. With one minute left, put the second slice of cheese on the burger to melt.



While you allow the burger to rest, toast the English muffins, nook and cranny side down, in the greasy hot pan.

To assemble:

• Barbecue sauce on the bottom bun


• Burger patty


• Sliced tomato


• Garlic dill pickle


• Press down the burger and slice in half

You can use the poke test to check for burger doneness. 

Claussen Kosher Dill Pickles are very garlicky. Polish dills can be garlicky as well. It might be tough to find but the garlic pickle is a key to this burger.

Hamburger Wrap with Vinegar Chips

Make a burger. Slice it into strips.

Dot a flour tortilla with ketchup. Add lettuce, tomato and sliced pickles. Put salt and vinegar potato chips on top.



Roll up the good stuff in the tortilla and enjoy.

Beef on Beef Burger

This recipe is for meat lovers. I got the idea from the Roy Rogers Double-R-Bar burger which included roast beef. Roy Roger's restaurants are few and far between these days but the spirit lives on.

Ingredients

2/3 pound ground beef, 85%/15%
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
Deli provolone cheese
Deli roast beef
Beef bouillon
1/2 cup water
2 slices raw white onion
4 slices of Italian style white toast (for two burgers)
2 tablespoons ketchup
1 teaspoon prepared horseradish
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
Coleslaw (recipe follows)
Worcestershire sauce
Kosher salt and pepper to season

The ground beef I buy comes in 1-1/3 pound packages. The 85/15 (85% lean) is half the price of the 93/7 (93% lean) and has twice the flavor. The preference here is 80/20 if you can find it.

Cut the meat in the package in half. Cut the halves in half. We're making two 1/3 pound burgers. Save the rest of the meat for a meat sauce, or more burgers.

Season your two halves by sprinkling Worcestershire on each. Form into patties.

Season the top of each patty with salt and pepper.

Make beef juice by combining the beef bouillon cube and half a cup of water in a small pot. Bring to a simmer.

Make the condiment by combining the ketchup, horseradish and Dijon mustard.

Put the oil in a frying pan. Get the pan hot to the point where you see the oil shimmering. Swirl the oil around the pan.

Place the patties in the pan, seasoned side down. Now season the top with salt and pepper. Flip when you see blood start to ooze out the sides. Personally, I am looking for a rare burger. For a medium burger, flip when you see blood ooze out of the top.

Continue cooking for the same amount of time you cooked the other side.

You can use a meat thermometer. 130 degrees would be rare, 140 would be medium rare. 150 would be medium. 160 and your on your way to well done.

There is the poke method to test doneness but it's a little hard to explain without a video like this one:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O8YQX-QgbXc

Finally, doneness can be tested by making a little incision on the edge of the patty and looking at the color of the meat. Nice and pink to red, that is rare. Just pink is medium rare to medium.

Assemble the burger:

Spread the horseradish condiment on both sides of the toast.

Place coleslaw on the bottom.

On goes the burger.

Place two slices of provolone cheese on the burger.

Heat the roast beef in the beef juice. Still dripping with hot, salty goodness, place the roast beef on top of the cheese.

Place a slice of raw onion on the beef.

Top the burger with the other piece of toast, slice in half and enjoy!

Green Cabbage Coleslaw

Cut a green cabbage into quarters.

Thinly slice one of the quarters into slaw. Place the slaw in a resealable container.

Add a small grated carrot.

Season with celery seed, salt and pepper.

Sprinkle with white vinegar.

Add a couple of tablespoons light mayonnaise and mix well.

Let's Discuss!

Why the raw onion? I got the idea from the Peter Luger Steakhouse house "salad." It is a thick slice of beefsteak tomato, topped with a thick slice of white onion with the Peter Luger sauce poured on top. Besides, onion and beef go together like... fill in with the analogy of your choice.

The provolone cheese should be sharp. Usually this means an aged cheese.

Red cabbage can be used to make the slaw or some combination of red and green.

The slaw should be made the day before to soften the cabbage and for the flavors to meld.

Why the Italian white toast? Inspiration came from Louis' Lunch in New Haven Connecticut. They are considered the oldest hamburger maker in the country and they have always served their burgers on white bread. It just works.

Why not toasted and buttered buns? There is not much taste in a potato roll for instance and this is already a rich sandwich - the butter would be overkill.

Slaw is not crucial. I have also made this with crispy lettuce.  I just like the flavor the mayo and vinegar brings.

The onion might be better placed on the burger and cheese. As it stands, the onion was sliding off the sandwich - a little.

The burger itself would be better if smashed down after it hits the hot pan. As you can see, it doesn't fit the bread. Alternatively, you could cut the crust off the bread.