I wish I’d thought to take a picture. These burgers were pretty! Pretty good, too. Best I ever made. The only thing missing was bacon.
Burgers:
1.5 lbs ground chuck
1 tbsp Luscious Soy Paste (thicker, richer than soy sauce)
2 tsp annatto oil (made with annatto, garlic, thyme, paprika, and black pepper)
2 tsp garlic oil
1 tsp A1 Sesame Teriyaki sauce
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp smoked paprika
kosher salt
black pepper
green onions, chopped
Toppings:
smoked gouda
baby spinach leaves
Avocado spread:
avocado, roughly chopped
sour cream (more or less equal to the avocado)
smoked paprika
annatto oil
kosher salt
black pepper
I mixed all the burger ingredients (except the cheese) together. 1.5 lbs made 6 burgers. With chuck, it’s important to make the patties flat and wide because they’ll shrink and get taller as the meat loses fat. After forming the patties, I sprinkled both sides with more kosher salt and let them rest for a few minutes. Sear on medium-high heat for about 5 minutes per side, or until they’re nice and charred. I added the smoked gouda during the last few minutes so it would wilt but not disintegrate over the burger.
Instead of ketchup & mustard, I wanted something different that would blend well with the smoky flavor of the burger and the cheese. I cut up an avocado and mixed it with more or less an equal amount of sour cream. Added the annatto oil & spices, mixed until mostly smooth with a few small chunks of avocado goodness.
As it turned out, I was the only one to use the avocado spread. Everyone else had an aversion to green goo, and they missed out. The smoked gouda was the star flavor, definitely, but it all worked well together. Topping the burger with baby spinach leaves was better than regular lettuce. I wish we’d had bacon and some red onion slices, but otherwise these burgers were perfect.