Some Sunday burgers

I was feeling a bit burgery last weekend so I defrosted 3 pounds of ground beef and made some burgers on Sunday.

Lunch was mushroom-stuffed burgers from a recipe I received from a mailing list I subscribe to. The mustard and Worcestershire sauce were mixed into the meat; they weren't used for the stuffing. Everything else was sliced, chopped, and sauteed in butter.


These were pretty good as the stuffing helped keep the burger moist and added some nice flavor and texture. The recipe actually calls for ground pork but since I have an abundance of ground beef that's what I used. I didn't do a very good job of matching the size of the burgers to the buns, though.



I enjoy the PBS TV series Hubert Keller: Secrets of a Chef and a recent episode featured his Burger au Poivre recipe. Of course, anything "au poivre" will feature pepper and he adds coriander seeds for a different flavor.


I felt that a grainy, country-style mustard would be a better fit than a smooth mustard.


Instead of cooking the burgers on the stove or in the oven I used an iron skillet and grilled them with charcoal, oak chunks, and a closed lid to trap the smoke. I started the skillet in the kitchen since I don't have an outdoor burner and when the oil was hot I added the meat and then hauled butt 100 feet down the driveway to the grill. They really puffed up as they cooked and when they were done I grilled a couple of small baguettes.


French cooking just isn't French without a sauce and these burgers are no exception. After they were done there were a lot of crispy brown bits in the pan, just as Chef Keller had predicted there would be! I followed the recipe and wound up with a very tasty brown sauce.


I would've preferred a thinner burger but nonetheless these were outstanding. The recipe calls for sirloin or ribeye and I'm sure either would've made them even better, but I still thought they turned out great and the sauce is the difference as it really complemented the peppercorns and mustard.


Brad

I will glady pay you tomorrow for a burger today. That second one looks like messy goodness. Bet it tasted great.

Those looks incredible! You cooked those perfectly too... that second one really does look tasty...

Dude, food like that would make me feel burgery any day!

Those burgers are so different from each other that you could have them back-to-back days and not get tired of them. I also like that the French burgers are on hogie looking baguettes.

Great job Brad!

I am not sure how I missed this the first time... great looking burgers. Au Poivre is my absolute favorite steak and I like Chef Keller too. Thanks for sharing.

Everything looks great, but I'm ALL over that 3rd burger.

I like that "French dip" idea, as it were. Looks inviting.

Awesome looking burgers Brad!!
Thank you for adding the link to the burger thread