Welcome to Burger Night

Each week is full of challenges…work, school, childcare, insomnia, or any mixture of the aforementioned. In fact, the week begins with the dreaded Monday…a day which by name alone causes many to shiver in fear.  In the worst of these weeks, the only thing that can get us up and moving is the knowledge that the weekend is coming.  Friday has thus become the near opposite of Monday.  Songs are written about it, restaurants are named for it, and it is generally loved by all.  Where Monday is dreaded, Friday is revered.  Monday…bad.  Friday…Awesome!  This is all on the assumption that Saturday is even better, and mostly because the work week is over.

When those that work Monday through Friday finally reach their weekend, what is it that they do?  Well, they do what they didn’t have time to do during the week.  They go out to eat with friends, go to the movies, get their hair done, and visit a few watering holes.  The down side to the practices mentioned is that the majority of my adult life I have worked in restaurants, bars, and salons.   In consequence, while others are leaving to begin their weekend, I am heading to work.  While this has been the source of some minor frustration throughout the years, I am no worse for the wear.  I still have ways of enjoying my Fridays in spite.  In that spirit, I say, “Welcome to Burger Night.”

Every Friday, with little exception, we have burgers.  They are my second favorite food and given the opportunity I would happily eat a burger everyday.  Sometimes they are just regular beef burgers with salt and pepper. Other times, they are something special.  I saw a recipe a few weeks ago using the Argentinian condiment of chimichurri on some incredible cowboy cut steaks.  The thought of the herbal ‘dressing’ melting over the top of a steak as the oil in the chimichurri heated up made my mouth water.  I immediately thought how a burger might look dressed up the same way.

You’ll find a million different recipes for chimichurri.  Some use parsley, others cualantro (which I didn’t even know existed.)  I was inspired by the fresh summer flavors of a mojito in making mine.  Yep, mint and lime!

Taking flat leaf parsley, mint, lime juice, red wine vinegar, olive oil, garlic, oregano, crushed red pepper, salt, and black pepper, I assembled my ‘mojito’ chimichurri.  By processing the ingredients in a food processor, you can get a fragrant, smooth, bright green paste.

With the chimichurri finished, you can set it covered in the refrigerator, letting the flavors combine even further.   For the burgers, I wanted something more than a ‘run of the mill’ burger to go with the fresh and boisturous flavors of the chimichurri.  Instead of just salt and pepper, I decided to add grilled onions and garlic to the burger meat before cooking them.  The onions add flavor and more.  I almost always use ground sirloin or bison for our burgers.  While this lowers the intake of saturated fats in our diets, it can always take away some moisture.  The sautéed onions help to keep even a ‘well-done’ burger tender.  For an extra boost, I also added some crushed red pepper flakes.

 

Once the onions are translucent, they are done.  The trick to these is a fine dice, making them almost melt inside the burger once it is cooked.  Once the onions have cooled completely, it is time to assemble the burgers. To spice it up a little further, I also added about a teaspoon of cumin, a pinch of oregano, and a 1/4 cup of cilantro (and of course salt and pepper) before I formed the patties.

1 pound of meat can make four really decent sized burgers.  (I won’t be mad if you just make 2 though.  Ya know, if you’re really hungry.)

 I would venture to say that when it comes to burgers, a grill is always best.  There is just something about it, some strange “grill magic” that just makes things taste better.  However, when you live in the city, sometimes that is not an option.  Alternatively, I would say pan cooking the burgers can do well.  Then again, sometimes you have bad ventilation or an extra sensitive smoke alarm.  In that case, it is okay to broil them.  I admit that we always broil…  On the same token, we always have great burgers…so mind your time and broil away.

After it was all said and done, I had some beautiful burgers.  Add a bun and whatever veggies you like to garnish it (I tend to go a little on the minimalist side) and the burgers are ready for a healthy dollop of the chimichurri.

If you hadn’t noticed, this round came with a healthy portion of my (self-proclaimed) famous sweet potato fries.  It was a good fit.  That just left one final component that needed some ironing out.

In my opinion, little else goes better with burgers than a nice beer…perferably an ale.  However, I thought with the elevated flavor level I would try something bold and outside of the box.  I’m walking through the wine store trying to decide if I want a sturdy Red Zinfandel or a fruity Pinot Noir to put a finish on our Burger and Fry-day.  Then I saw that a special “Tour de France” display had been set up in the store, highlighting several affordable wines from around France.  Then the little devilish thought came creeping in…Bordeaux.

 Sure enough, this burger has just enough spunk to tangle nicely.  Still, I think Bordeaux and I think warm fireplace and snuggling.  As good as it was, it didn’t fit the summery flavors of the lime and mint in the chimichurri like I had wanted.  I would ultimately suggest the Red Zin…and tell me which one you decided on so I can give it a try.  Maybe even on the next Burger night.