Asian Inspired Burgers with Napa Cabbage Slaw

Pairs well with:

Merlot

Get cozy and get pouring. Our Merlot is the wine for long weekends and lengthy chats.

Ingredients

Slaw:
2 ½ cups Napa Cabbage, very thinly sliced, Julianne style
1 ½ cups fresh bean sprouts, cleaned and dried
½ chopped finely chopped fresh cilantro (plus ¼ cup for the patties) ½ cup thinly sliced scallions
Slaw dressing:
2 ½ tablespoons Rice Wine Vinegar
1-tablespoon sugar
½ tsp red pepper flakes
¼ teaspoon kosher salt (plus ½ tsp for the patties)
¼ teaspoon freshly ground pepper (plus ½ tsp for the patties)
½ cup Colavita Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Patties:
3 teaspoons finely minced fresh garlic
¼ cup finely chopped fresh cilantro
¼ cup finely chopped shallots
2 teaspoons finely minced fresh ginger
2 tablespoons Dark Soy sauce   

½ teaspoon koshe salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 – ½ pound ground chuck
Vegetable Oil for coating the grill racks
6- 6 inch wide, round pita pocket loaves

 

Instructions

For slaw preparation, combine the cabbage, bean sprouts, cilantro and scallions into a 2-quart bowl and mix well. To make the slaw dressing, combine the vinegar, honey, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper into a 1-quart bowl and whisk to mix well. While whisking this mixture, slowly drizzle the oil. Continue whisking until well combined. Add the slaw dressing to the cabbage mixture and toss well. Allow the slaw mixture to rest in the refrigerator for one hour before starting the patty preparation. To begin making the patties, combine the garlic, cilantro, shallots, ginger, soy sauce, salt and pepper into a 3-quart mixing bowl to form the seasoning mixture for the beef. Add the beef into the bowl with the seasoning mixture. Incorporate the meat with the other ingredients by mixing with your hands. Take care not to over mix the meat mixture. Form the meat mixture into 6 equal sized patties that will fit inside the pita bread pockets. These patties may be slightly thinner than traditional patties. Preheat a gas grill for a medium-high temperature. When grill is ready, brush the grill rack with the vegetable oil. Place the patties on the grill, cover and cook, turning just once, about four to five minutes on each side for medium doneness. During the last few minutes of cooking the burgers, place the pita bread pockets on the outer edges of the grill. Toast each side of the pitas for 30 seconds to 1 minute per side. When pitas are lightly toasted on each side remove them from the grill. Remove the top portion of each pita by cutting across 2 inches down from the top of each pita. To assemble the burgers, place the cooked burgers inside each pita pocket and then add equal portions of slaw (at least 1/3 cup) to each pita-burger. Insert the cut off tops of each pita into the pita burgers behind the meat and slaw, forming a decorative wing with the extra pita section. Use the decorative wing to scoop up any extra slaw that might fall out of the pita burger. This recipe makes six burgers.