50/50 Wine Burger

Ingredients

1 lb. fresh round beef (70/30)
1 lb. fresh ground buffalo or elk
1 medium sweet (vidalia) onion diced
1/4 cup fresh cilantro chopped
1/4 cup fresh parsley
1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne red pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
6-1/2 tablespoon (each) pats of butter
1 750ml bottle of merlot wine
1/4 cup olive oil (light or extra virgin)
6 Crusty whole wheat hamburger buns

Instructions

1. Place ground beef and buffalo or elk in a large mixing bowl. 2. Peel onion and dice. Rinse fresh cilantro and parsley and chopped each filling a heaping 1/4 measuring cup. Place in mixing bowl with the meat. 3. Put cayenne red pepper, ground white pepper and sea salt in mixing bowl. With you hands mix by squeezing the contents of the mixing bowl until distributed evenly. About 30 squeezes, flipping the mound three of four times. 4. Using your hands, cup the meat into six evenly distributed balls and place on a large plate. 5. With your thumb, poke a hole to the center of each meat ball. Place a 1/2 tablespoon pat of butter is each hole. With your hands pinch the hole closed and form each meat ball into a patty about 1/2 inch thick. Try not to expose the butter. 6. Place the patties in a 13x9x2 (two rows of three patties) baking dish. Open the bottle of merlo wine and pour entire content into baking dish. Cover the baking dish tightly with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator on a level shelf. Let the burgers soak for 12-24 hours. 7. Brush grill with olive oil. Preheat barbecue grill (medium high) for about five minutes. Place burgers on direct heat cooking each side for about 4 minutes turning repeatedly to keep the burger from burning. The butter will create intense flames. Have a water spray bottle handy to control the flames. 8. Serve burgers on a whole-wheat bun with your favorite condiments and vegetable fixings. Enjoy.