Classic Surf and Turf, Grilled Beef with Brown Butter Lobster Pie

Pairs well with:

Zinfandel

Bright and full-bodied, this Zinfandel wine is a curious contradiction in tastes.

I live on the seacoast of New Hampshire and Maine, lobsters here are the best in the country. Burger and Lobster Pie, classic American dishes, it only made sense to pair them.,

Ingredients:

Brown Butter:
1 & 1/2 cups salted butter
Lobster Pie Topping:
2/3 pounds cooked Maine lobster meat cut into 1/2 inch chunks
15 Ritz crackers crumbled
1 tablespoon grated lemon peel
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon white pepper
2 teaspoons Sutter Home Triple Cream
2/3 cup brown butter from Brown Butter listed above
6 cooked shelled & cleaned Maine lobster tails, meat weighing 2 ounces each
Beef Patties
2 pounds freshly ground chuck, 80/20 blend
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
1/4 cup Sutter Home Zinfandel
Vegetable oil for brushing on the grill rack
6 good quality hamburger buns
6 pieces of Boston Bib lettuce

Instructions:

Prepare a medium/low fire in a charcoal grill or preheat a gas grill to med/low.
To make brown butter: Place butter in a fire proof pan, cook on the grill over medium/low heat until butter is golden brown, stirring frequently to prevent burning, this will take 15-20 minutes. Remove from direct heat to a warming rack if available or off the grill completly, cover to keep warm. (There will be sediment in the bottom of the pan from the milk solids, not to worry, there’s plenty of melted butter without using the sediment)
To make Lobster Pie topping: Combine Lobster meat, Ritz crackers, grated lemon peel, lemon juice, white pepper, Sutter Home Triple Cream and brown butter, mix well, cover and set aside.
Butterfly the lobster tails and place tails in the pan of brown butter, cover to let tails warm and absorb the butter flavor
Bring grill up to med/high
To make and cook patties: Combine ground chuck, kosher salt, ground pepper and Sutter Home Zinfandel, gently mix and form 6 patties handling meat as little as possible to avoid compacting.
Brush grill with vegetable oil. Place patties on grill rack, close lid cook 4-5 minutes on each side for medium, turn only once.
Remove patties from grill, place on a platter and tent with foil, allow to rest 2-3 minutes.
Brush cut side of buns with brown butter, place on grill cut side down for about 2 minutes untill golden brown.
To assemble burgers: On the bottom bun place a piece of Boston Bib lettuce curve side up, spoon on a layer of the lobster pie topping, (1/12 portion) a beef patty, than a lobster tail and top with an additional portion of the lobster pie topping. Add bun tops, genlty slice burgers in half with a serrated knife and serve at once.