Jersey Girl Farm Stand Burgers, Which Exit?

Pairs well with:

Gewurztraminer

Hard to pronounce yet easy to drink, this wine combines lychee fruit and white peach flavors with a hint of spice.

Ingredients

Blueberry Basil Mayo

1/2 cup farm fresh soft goat cheese
1/4 cup Hellman’s mayonnaise
1/2 cup fresh New Jersey blueberries
1/3 cup fresh basil leaves, torn
1/2 tablespoon fresh parsley leaves, roughly chopped
1 teaspoon garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon lemon zest
1/4 teaspoon Kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Farm Stand Salsa

1 ear summer sweet sweet corn, husk left on
1 ripe large nectarine, pitted, finely diced
1/2 cup cucumber, skin on, seeded, finely diced
1/4 cup Vidalia onion, finely diced
1/2 teaspoon fresh Serrano pepper, seeded, finely chopped
1/4 teaspoon garlic, minced
2 tablespoons fresh basil, chopped
1 1/2 teaspoons blueberry honey, or other fragrant local honey
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon lemon zest
2 tablespoons Colavita extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
1/8 teaspoon Freshly ground black pepper

For the Burger Patties

2 lbs. Meadow Brook Farms ground beef, or any quality hormone free ground beef
4 tablespoons, + 8 oz. Sutter Home Gewürztraminer, ice cold
1 teaspoon fresh garlic, minced
1 teaspoon organic culinary lavender buds
1 1/2 teaspoons Kosher salt
6 brioche hamburger buns, or potato roll
2 tablespoons, plus extra for oiling grill Colavita extra-virgin olive oil for buns
6 oz Blue Moon Acres baby arugula, or 2 bunches fresh arugula, washed, ends trimmed

 

Instructions

To a food processor add the goat cheese, mayonnaise, blueberries,basil, parsley, garlic, lemon zest, kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper. Process until very smooth. Taste and adjust the seasonings if needed. Place the blueberry basil mayo in a glass bowl, cover with plastic wrap, refrigerate or place in a cooler packed with ice until ready to use.

Preheat a gas grill to med-high.

Peel away the first few outer layers of husk from the corn. Be sure to leave a few layers on for protection and steaming. Grill the corn over direct heat, turning often, until the top layer of husk is completely charred. Depending on your grill, this could take from 7 to 12 minutes. Remove the corn from grill and let it rest/steam for 5 minutes. Remove the husk from the corn. With a sharp knife remove the kernels. Put the kernels in a medium sized glass bowl. Add the diced nectarine, cucumber, onion, serrano pepper, garlic, and basil. In a separate small glass bowl whisk together the blueberry honey, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Keeping the whisk moving, slowly drizzle in the the olive oil. Add the kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper. Taste and adjust the seasonings if needed. Pour the vinaigrette over the corn and nectarine mixture and toss until all the flavors are incorporated. This salsa tastes best once it has had a chance to rest covered at room temperature for approx. 30 minutes.

The juiciest burgers are made with simple, quality ingredients and minimal handing. I like to take it a step further. I keep the meat exceptionally cold by mixing the meat in a stainless steel mixing bowl set over an ice bath. It may sound strange but, this keeps the flavorful fat in the meat and off of your hands. This step is completely optional, but I encourage you to try it out.

Prepare an ice bath if using. To a large stainless steel mixing bowl (set over an ice bath, if using) add ground beef, 4 tablespoons of Gewürztraminer, garlic, lavender, and kosher salt. Gently fold the ingredients together just until they are evenly distributed though out the meat. Pour the remaining 8 oz of chilled Gewürztraminer into a glass and sip throughout the rest of the burger preparation.

Line a cookie sheet tray with parchment paper or wax paper. Divide the meat into six equal portions. Handling the meat as little as possible, form into individual patties appropriately sized for your buns. Wrap tray with plastic wrap and refrigerate or place in a cooler packed with ice until moments before they hit the grill.

Place the brioche buns on a cookie tray. Brush the insides generously with Colavita extra-virgin olive oil. Set aside.

Saturate a paper towel with Colavita Olive Oil. Use a long set of tongs to rub the oil drenched paper towel over the grill. Remove burger patties from the refrigerator or cooler and immediately place on the hot oiled grill. Cook 5-7 minutes per side or until an internal temperature of 145 degrees for medium-rare. Drop grill temperature to med -low. Transfer patties to a platter, loosely tent with foil and let them rest for 5 minutes.

Place buns oiled side down on the grill. Toast each bun until light and golden. Transfer buns to a large cutting board toasted side up.

Remove the blueberry basil mayo from the refrigerator or cooler.

Build all 6 burgers assembly line style from the bottom up. First, generously spread blueberry mayo inside the top and bottoms. Next place one sixth of arugula on each bun bottom, then the burger patty, next a generous amount of the farm stand salsa, replace bun tops.

Whisk the finished burgers over to your friends and family (or the judges) and smile big, because you know they are about to eat the FRESHEST NEW JERSEY FARM STAND BURGER they’ve ever tasted!