“Date” Night Burgers
The Inspiration…
During the pandemic the restaurants in my area were either shut down or only open for take-out. While my husband and I tried to provide our local restaurants with business as much as possible, we couldn’t help but feel that by the time we got home with our food, it was a little lack-luster. I could not seem to shake my hankering for a big juicy burger with all the fixin’s, so I decided to create one for a “date night” at home. This one has everything I was looking for, quality meat, sweet onions with balsamic and dates (the “date night” thing is starting to make sense now!), peppery arugula, and tangy goat cheese. "It is simply the perfect bite.
The star of this show is really the balsamic and date caramelized onions. You had me at balsamic! No, - it was dates…or was it those delectable onions?? Either way, you will be doing yourself a disservice if you don’t try them for yourself. It sounds like a lot of onions, but the way they reduce down to be sweet and buttery is just what I need in my life.
Go ahead - double the recipe! Put them on this burger…or chicken…or eat it by the spoonful. Heck - I may or may not have finished my last batch off using some leftover crackers. They may or may not have been stale crackers… Let’s face it - they were just a vehicle for the onions. There is no shame in my onion-eating game.
The tangy goat cheese is the perfect accompaniment to those caramelized onions I’m drooling….err…WAS drooling over. Apply it liberally to the top bun. I may even suggest making extra so you can dunk each bite for optimal goat cheese exposure. It is THAT good.
The real key to making this one of the most delicious burgers you have ever eaten is in cooking those burger patties. I suggest starting with a blend of beef that has 80% fat. I like them about an inch thick and I create an impression in the center of the burger to help keep the patty from shrinking while it grills. To do so, I cover each patty with parchment and push down slightly with the bottom of a glass. This keeps the center of the burger from swelling, and therefore, keeps the rest of your burger from shrinking so it should still fit nicely on your burger bun.
I also think it is important to place a cold burger patty directly onto your hot grill. In my experience this has kept the burger juicier - and who doesn’t want that?
Well, you have all the components. What are you waiting for?? Go try these. You won’t regret it!
This is a test
Ingredients
- Testing