Mmm...Burger

The other day as Asharae and I were enjoying a nice sunny walk in our neighborhood when we caught a whiff of something that smelled wonderful.  I instantly found myself wanting to find the source.  I thought if I throw on some charm, maybe wink at them, smile, and see if I could get a bite of whatever it was that smelled so good.  But then I thought I might be perceived as creepy or just plain weird.

Most of the time good ‘ole burgers are the source of that familiar smell; on our walk it smelled like shrimp fettuccini, but that’s beside the point.  The point is, I like burgers.  And what is not to like? 

Bobby Flay is known for his grilling skills so I knew I had to start with him.  He has this great recipe for an Arthur Avenue Burger, but I decided to give it my own twist:

Tim’s South of the Border Burger

Ingredients

1 cup grated parmesan cheese

2 teaspoons all-purpose flour

1 lb 80 percent lean ground beef

1 small minced serrano pepper

¼ cup thinly sliced green onions

1 teaspoon black pepper

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 ½ tablespoons canola oil

Directions 

To make the fricos (crunchy cheese discs), combine the parmesan and flour in a bowl. Heat an 8-inch nonstick pan over medium-high heat. Add 3 tablespoons of the cheese mixture and cook until light brown on the bottom. Turn over with a spatula and continue cooking until crispy. Remove to a plate to cool. Wipe out the pan with a paper towel and repeat.

Combine the ground beef, serrano pepper, green onions, and olive oil. Dive in there with your hands and mix it all together.  Divide the meat into equal portions (I did 3). Form each portion loosely into a 3/4-inch-thick burger and make a deep depression in the center with your thumb (it is a Bobby Flay trick). Season both sides of each burger with salt and pepper.  Heat canola oil in a sauté pan or griddle until it starts to shimmer.  Cook the burgers until golden brown or slightly charred (I did it for 2 ½ min or so) and then flip burgers and cook for until the other side is golden brown or slightly charred (around 3 minutes for me).  Remove the burgers and let them sit to the side covered by aluminum foil for 5 minutes.

We toasted our buns to make them more delicious.  Place the burgers on top of the bottom bun and place a cheese frico on top.  We then topped our burger with a dollop of some delicious Peach-Pineapple Salsa (store bought…sorry) and finished it with some fresh lettuce leaves.  

Consume immediately.

The fricos added a great crunch and the sweet salsa was a great compliment to the spicy burger. 

Remember: Don’t feel like you need to follow this recipe to a “T” (for Tim); feel free to add your own twist on your burger canvas and you might just surprise yourself with the masterpiece you create…