America's Greatest Gourmet Burgers

Submitted by Manami

"Curtis Stones' take on the American classic, taken from Episode 161: Ava's Menu, from his popular TV Show. I was watching the show and it looked so good that we decided to make it ourselves. Well, it was delicious! Took a little poetic license with it, though."

 

• Ready In: 50mins
• Ingredients: 24
• Serves: 4

ingredients

• FOR THE BOIS BOUDRAN SAUCE

• 1 tablespoon sherry wine vinegar
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1⁄2 cup ketchup (we used Heinz)
• 2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh chives
• 2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh tarragon

• FOR THE BURGERS

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 -3 shallots, finely diced
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• salt & freshly ground black pepper
• crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
• 1 1⁄4 lbs freshly ground beef chuck (preferably prime grade)
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped Italian parsley
• 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1⁄2 teaspoon salt
• 1⁄4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
• 1 large egg, beaten to blend
• 8 slices bacon
• 4 slices gruyere cheese
• 4 slices frozen foie gras (we didn't use)
• 1 small black truffle (didn't use, way too pricey)
• 4 brioche hamburger buns, split in half

directions

1. TO MAKE THE BOUDRAN SAUCE:

2. Place the vinegar in a large bowl. Gradually add the oil, whisking constantly, until blended.
3. Whisk in the mustard and Worcestershire sauce. Whisk in the ketchup, chives and tarragon. Set aside.

4. TO PREPARE THE BURGERS:

5. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in heavy nonstick small.
6. sauté pan over medium heat. Add shallots.
7. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and sauté for 5 minutes or until translucent.Add garlic and cook for 1 minute longer. Remove from heat and allow to cool.
8. Gently mix the ground beef, parsley, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, salt, pepper, crushed red pepper flakes(if using), shallots and garlic in large bowl until well blended. Mix in egg. (Don't overwork it - it will become too dense!).
9. Divide the beef mixture into 4 equal mounds and shape each into a 4" diameter patty. Set the patties aside.
10. Lay the bacon slices in a heavy nonstick large frying pan and cook over medium heat about 8-10 minutes or until crisp and golden. (Can also use the microwave method).
11. Remove from heat and set aside; allow to rest for 1 minute. Transfer to paper towels and break the bacon slices in half.
12. Lightly toast the brioche buns cut side up for 1-2 minutes or until lightly toasted.
13. Meanwhile, heat a heavy large nonstick griddle pan or heavy large sauté pan over medium heat.
14. Drizzle the pan with 1 tablespoon olive oil and cook the patties 2-3 minutes or until brown on the bottom.
15. Turn the patties over. Top the patties with Gruyère cheese and cook about 3 minutes longer or until the patties are cooked to medium-rare doneness.
16. Set the patties on the bun bottoms. Place the crispy bacon on top of the patties.
17. Heat a heavy large nonstick sauté pan over high heat until it begins to smoke.
18. Add the foie gras (if using) and cook for 25 seconds on each side until the foie gras is cooked on the outside but still soft in the center (you will need the fan on full force for foie gras it will release a lot of fat that will begin to smoke - next to health reasons - another reason we did not cook - all the smoke alarms!).
19. Place the foie gras on top of the bacon on the patties.
20. Shave the truffle(if using, we didn't, price.
21. too exorbitant, and we dislike them)very thinly over the foie gras (you may not need the entire truffle - Curtis used summer truffles, said they are cheaper).
22. Serve a little drizzle of the Boudran sauce on top of burgers and then cover with the bun tops.
23. We served it with Boudran sauce, sautéed mushrooms, oven fries, mixed greens salad and a dessert of fresh fruit.
24. We made a fancy burger into a classy meal!

Reviews

[JDauray]

Usually I am good at following directions, but I had leftover stuff, was missing some other ingredients, and was tired and couldn't concentrate, so I jumbled the ingredients differently, and what I will say is this recipe overall is very forgiving so, try it and make whatever changes you like. The mix of ingredients is great. So, we had the brioche bun, which we rubbed with butter and grilled quickly, then set aside. I had some leftover sliced of bacon that were already cooked. We had leftovers from a bag of oddly chopped foie gras we got cheap. From having made the foie gras for another meal, I had a leftover sauce (originally a half cup balsamic vinegar and half cup port cooked to a thick sauce). So, I took the sauce and warmed it back up and added 2 tbsp Dijon mustard and 2 tbsp beef/veal stock concentrate, and once thickened, I mixed in the 2 tbsp chives and 1 tbsp parsley and set it aside (keeping it warm. We took some grass-fed beef, sprinkled it generously with Worchestershire sauce, then a meat rub (my own recipe), and Maldon salt. We cooked the burgers on a stove top grill/griddle with butter, and while that cooked, we sauteed a sweet onion, adding 3 cloves of garlic and a large shallot (both minced) during the last two minutes of cooking, along with 2 tbsp parsley. We then put the slices of Gruyere on the burgers and covered them, so it melted. Topped the bottom of each bun with some pieces of warm and thick bacon, heaped on the onion mixture, then drizzled a good amount of the sauce over it, placed the burger with cheese on top, seared the foie gras to set over the cheese, and then heavily smeared the top of the bun with the remaining sauce. Amazing! One thing I would say, is that the truffle could be replaced with a grilled or baked Portabello mushroom cap - I know my husband would have loved it that way.

 

[Coral_Jayne]

Great burgers! I had no time to make the bois boudran, but the flavor of the burgers was lovely.

 

[clarityDC2]

Phenomenal! Everything went together amazingly well!

 

[Wendy's Kitchen]

Di, these were sensational!! I did not add the bacon nor the cheese. Served on sourdough toasted bread, with salad and also had on hand a bbq balsamic sauce I previously reviewed and which I served as an aleternative as well..also roasted baby potatoes...we were in heaven...who needs take-out!