Black and Blue burger with pickled peppers

This burger was a throwback to my days of waiting tables at Houlihans. On the menu was a black and blue burger with a Cajun seasoning and a melted blue cheese. I used to order it all the time when I worked there. Of course I had to kick it up a notch so I switched the blue cheese to a Gorgonzola and I added the pickled jalapenos and pimentos. Personally, I love blue cheese. I love it on steak. I love it on salads. I love it on chicken. When you melt it it takes on a whole new texture which is creamy and delicious. The first step was to use vegetable oil to coat the burger on both sides. Then I crusted and rubbed in the blackening seasoning which consisted of Cajun flavors mixed with the typical salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Then I seared in the crust with the burger over high heat on the grill. After one flip I put the big chunk of Gorgonzola and closed the lid to thoroughly melt the cheese. I chose two types of peppers to add to the burger. I love jalapeños especially when they are pickled. It adds a bit of tang and a bit of spice to the burger. My second peppers was a tribute to my man Jose Andres who my lovely wife Ann introduced me to last year. He has a show on PBS called "Made in Spain." One of his favorite types of peppers is the Pimento. It is grown in Spain and he often pairs it with aged cheeses and olives for a tasty snack. The Pimento is a sweet pepper so it pairs well with the more spicy Jalapeño. I also like the color combo of the red and the green peppers on the white cheese. It makes the dish look very appetizing. All of this was on a soft fresh kaiser roll and I used ketchup on the burger to really make this one of the best burgers I have had. I am still looking forward to next week and again if anyone has any suggestions please feel free to write them in.

Cuban Burger

This week's burger was one of my favorites. A Cuban sandwich inspired burger. I grilled the burger over high heat with a little salt and pepper coating. The burger had perfect grill marks when I flipped it after about six minutes. Then I put two thinly sliced pieces of swiss cheese and closed the grill cover to melt the cheese while I prepared the rest of the burger. I always like to initially grill the burger with the cover open to form a high heat from below to sear the meat and then close the cover to create an oven like effect to melt the cheese and to finish the burger. I chose a Ciabatta bun for the Cuban burger to make it more like a sandwich. The sauce for the burger was equal parts mayo, Dijon mustard, and chipotle mustard. After mixing the sauce in a mixing bowl I added it to both sides of the ciabatta and covered the bottom with two pieces of smoked jamon and two flat "sandwich stackers" dill pickles. After the burger was ready and the cheese was melted I then took the burger off of the grill and placed it on the ciabatta. I then returned the entire sandwich to the grill and used my heavy duty cast iron skillet to act as a press. I placed the heavy skillet on the sandwich and closed the grille cover over it. I then flipped the burger and did the same on the other side. When it was done after about 4 minutes on each side I had a panini like burger in between a pressed ciabatta bread sauced with a chipotle cream sauce and topped with smoked jamon, swiss cheese, and dill pickles. The sandwich was killer. Definitely the best one so far on this burger trip. You could taste the sauce with just a little kick and the ham was very tasty and didn't overpower the fact that it was a burger at all. I also just love ciabatta bread with the hard exterior to add some texture and the tasty interior and it is just a great sandwich bread. Overall this burger is moved to the top of my list as a great burger with Cuban flavors to die for. I know I have lots of fans so if you have any suggestions please e-mail them to me. See you next week with another burger.

Spicy sausage burger with bacon and eggs

In week three I decided to play with some classic breakfast foods. I took some spicy sausage patties and mixed them with regular beef and added in a cracked egg to act as a binder. Then I hand formed a burger with the mixed spicy Italian sausage and the beef burger. It was pouring raining out so this had to be an indoor burger. I used my cast iron grill pan to sear the burger with a little butter on both sides while the thick cut bacon was in the oven on the racks. After a quick sear on both sides and the American cheese I put the pan in the oven with the bacon at 400 degrees. Then I went to work on my fried egg. With a little salt and pepper I fried the egg over easy so the yolk was still slightly wet. When all was said and done I took the sausage burger covered with melted American cheese out of the oven and put it on top of a sliced kaiser bun. Then I topped with two pieces of bacon, the fried egg, and a little ketchup to complete my breakfast burger. When I sliced the burger in half the yolk from the egg dripped down onto the rest of the burger creating a very breakfasty sandwich with a little kick from the spicy burger patty. The only thing I wish I had thought of was to add a little hot sauce into the ketchup. Overall the burger had great flavor and textures. Week three was a success. Looking forward to next week's burger.

Philly Cheesesteak Burger

This was my take on the Philly cheese steak. The classic cheese steak option is what they call a whiz "wit" which means you want cheese whiz and onions. I started with a fresh Portuguese roll and smothered it with a gooey warm cheese whiz sauce. Then I sautéed the black pepper seasoned white onions on my cooking stone on the grill with a little butter and vegetable oil. The onions caramelized until they were almost a creamy texture. Next I cooked the burger to a perfect medium rare only flipping it once with some beautiful grill marks from the close to 500 degree grill. After the burger was finished which takes about 5 minutes on each side I then put the burger aside to let it rest so that the juices could recollect. Then I placed the burger on the cheese sauced bun and covered it with another layer of the cheese sauce and finally topped it with a heaping spoonful of the caramelized white onions and topped it all off with some ketchup. I don't now if it was the better quality bun or the fake processed cheese sauce but this burger was a hit. Its gooyness from the cheese and the different textures inside made the best burger I have had in a while. This was definitely a winner and one I would certainly recreate again but not for another 30 weeks. I am looking forward to next week in my trip to create the perfect burger. See you next week.