Fondue Burger

Pairs well with:

Cabernet Sauvignon

This rich red easily complements your homemade chicken dishes, red meats, game, and mildly seasoned pastas.

Ingredients:

3 slices of white bread
3 oz hard apple cider
2 cloves of garlic – smashed
2 oz regular goat cheese
1 oz grated Romano cheese

2 lbs sirloin – cubed
1 lbs chuck – cubed
2 eggs – beaten
2 tbsp fresh cracked black pepper
1 tbsp Kosher salt
1 tbsp ground Fennel seed

1 stick softened butter
6 Ciabatta buns
6 tbsp Dijon Mustard

6 Portabella mushroom caps
4 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 Large red onion – sliced into ¼ inch thick slices

Instructions:

1) In a work bowl, soak the bread with the hard apple cider to make a paste. Mix the paste with the garlic, goat cheese, and Romano cheese to make the fondue filling. Set aside in a cool place until ready for use.

2) Working in small batches, grind the sirloin and chuck cubes in a food processor until it achieves the appearance of ground meat while still feeling like small bits when run through the fingers (processing times vary by processor, four cubes with a one second pulse works for mine).

3) Mix the meat, eggs, black pepper, salt, and Fennel seed until well combined and the egg is evenly distributed. Form into 12 ¼ inch patties.

4) Place the fondue filling on half of the meat patties (1/4 inch thick keeping to ½ inch away from the edges of the patties. Top each of the filled patties with one of the unfilled ones. Seal the edges by pressing together. Keep the finished burgers on a cool pan until ready for cooking.

5) Place the finished burger patties on a clean and oiled grill set to High heat. Cook until the color changes on the side of the burger then flip and cook for the same amount of time (approximately 3-4 minutes on each side). Once finished cooking, set aside to rest.

6) Evenly spread butter on the cut side of each of the halves of the buns to coat. Toast the buns on the grill on High Heat on the cut side only. Approximately 1-2 minutes. Remove from the heat, and spread 1 tablespoon of Dijon Mustard on the top half of each bun.

7) Coat the Portabella mushroom caps and Red Onion slices evenly with the Olive Oil and place on the same grill. Cook for approximately 2-3 minutes on each side. Remove the vegetables from the heat.

8) Cut each of the mushrooms into 4 slices and place 4 slices on the bottom of each bun. Place a burger on each of the mushroom portions. Next, Place one slice of Red Onion on the burger. Finally, top the burger with the top of the bun.

9) Enjoy!