Triple A (Apple, Arugula and Andouille) Burger

Pairs well with:

Cabernet Sauvignon

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

Snacking on apples and brie while grilling andouille-beef burgers one summer evening inspired this tasty combination for an outstanding Triple “A” burger.

Ingredients:

Apple Celery Slaw ingredients:

1 Granny Smith Apple
2 celery stalks, thinly sliced
2 leeks, thinly sliced
1 tablespoons hot pepper jelly
3 tablespoons mayonnaise
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon salt

Garlic Butter Ingredients:

8 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
1 clove garlic, minced
1 dash red pepper sauce (Tabasco preferred)

Andouille Burger Ingredients:

2 tablespoons olive oil
½ cup finely chopped onion
1 mild banana pepper, seeded and finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
½ pound andouille sausage, minced
2 ¼ pounds ground chuck
1 ½ teaspoons sea salt
1 teaspoon fresh cracked black pepper
1 teaspoon cayenne
2 tablespoons Vegetable oil
2 tablespoons hot pepper jelly
6 (1 ½ ounce each) slices brie cheese
6 large Kaiser rolls, split
3 cups Arugula
6 (1/4 inch thick) slices Creole Tomatoes

Instructions:

Apple Celery Slaw Preparation:
Core the apple and thinly slice.
Coarsely chop the leaves of the celery.
In a medium bowl, combine the apple, celery leaves, celery, and leeks.. In a small bowl, whisk together the pepper jelly, mayonnaise, Dijon mustard and salt and add to the slaw mixture. Toss together, cover and set aside in refrigerator until ready to use.

Garlic Butter Preparation:
Combine the butter, garlic, and pepper sauce in a small bowl. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Andouille Burger Preparations:
Preheat grill to medium-high heat
To prepare the burgers: Place a cast iron skillet over medium high heat of the grill. Add the oil, onion, banana pepper and garlic. Saute for 3 minutes, remove from the heat, and transfer the skillet ingredients to a large bowl.

Add the andouille sausage, ground chuck, salt, pepper, and cayenne. With your hands or a large spoon, gently mix, handling the meat as little as possible to prevent compacting it. Divide the mixture into six equal-sized patties to fit the rolls.

Brush the grill rack with the vegetable oil and place the patties on the rack. Cover the grill and cook the patties for four minutes. Turn the patties and continue grilling for an additional four minutes or your preferred degrees on doneness (with internal temperature of at least 160 degrees F).

Over indirect heat of the grill and in a small cast iron skillet, heat the pepper jelly until melted.

During the last two minutes of cooking, brush each patty with a teaspoon of pepper jelly and top each with a slice of cheese and cover the grill to melt the cheese. Remove the burgers to a platter and tent with foil for 5 minutes before assembling burgers.

In the meantime, place the cut side down of the rolls on the outer edges of the rack to lightly toast.

To assemble the burgers, spread a generous amount of the garlic butter over the cut sides of the rolls. On each roll bottom, place ½ cup arugula, a slice of Creole tomato, a cheese-topped patty and an equal amount of Apple Celery slaw. Add the roll tops and serve.
Makes 6 burgers