Blue Cheese Caesar Burger

Pairs well with:

Pinot Noir

Every pour of our Pinot Noir brings you a delicious blend of berry flavors and the romantic aroma of violet.

Ingredients

½ head of garlic
8 Tbsp (1/2 cup) extra-virgin olive oil
1 large head of romaine lettuce
4 ounce wedge of parmesan cheese
3 Tbsp mayonnaise
1 Tbsp anchovy paste
1 Tbsp Dijon-style mustard
½ cup freshly-squeezed lemon juice
Salt
Pepper
6 egg hamburger buns (as puffy as possible)
10 ounce wedge of blue cheese
40 sundried tomato halves, packed in oil
2 ½ lbs ground chuck (70% lean)
3 small red onions
3 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
Vegetable oil to grease grill

 

Instructions

Smash garlic cloves on cutting board with the side of a knife. Discard skin of garlic and cut each clove in to 2-3 pieces. Place cloves in a ceramic or glass bowl and add 7 Tbsp. olive oil to them. Allow them to sit and marinate while Caesar salad ingredients are prepared. Wash and drain romaine. Remove outer, dark green, soft leaves and store for future use leaving crisp middle and inner leaves which are green at tip and yellow at bottom. Slice romaine leaves in 1” strips from side to side working from tip to base. This quantity should yield approximately 4 cups of chopped lettuce. If there is extra lettuce, store for future use. Wrap sliced leaves in paper towel, place in salad bowl, and place in refrigerator to remain crisp until the burgers are ready to be assembled. Grate parmesan cheese (microplane is best but small-holed side of a box grater will work) and set aside. Using a sturdy fork, smash garlic in bowl with oil until garlic has been broken into very small pieces and oil smells strongly of garlic. In a bowl, mix mayonnaise and anchovy paste until paste is completely dissolved in mayonnaise. Add Dijon mustard, lemon juice, and 1 Tbsp. of the garlic olive oil to the mixture one ingredient at a time, stirring between each addition. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Place dressing in refrigerator. Slice hamburger buns in half. Brush inside of both halves with remaining 6 Tbsp of garlic oil. Discard garlic pieces. Slice blue cheese into 6 even slices. Pull sundried tomatoes out of oil and place in a food processor. Grind until tomatoes are pureed. Place in a bowl with 1 pinch of salt and 6 grinds of pepper. Add ground chuck to this mixture and mix by hand to blend ingredients. Stop as soon as ingredients are mixed; as not over-handle the meat. Form meat into 6 even-sized, uniformly-flat patties, approximately ¾ inch thick. Preheat grill to high and set stainless steel pan on grill as it heats. Slice onions into long, thin strips (approx. 1/4” x 3-4”). Heat remaining 1 Tbsp olive oil in stainless steel pan on grill. After 1 minute, add onions to pan and turn heat down to medium. Stir onions until they begin to become translucent (approximately 10 minutes). Add balsamic vinegar to pan and stir contents until onions appear caramelized and velvety soft (approximately 5 minutes). Set onions and pan aside until ready to assemble burgers. Grease grill using paper towel dipped in vegetable oil. Turn one side of grill to medium high and place burgers on that side of the grill. Turn heat on the other side to low and place buns, garlic oil side down, on that side of the grill. Watch buns very closely and remove as soon as they begin to brown (about 1 minute). Cook burgers for approximately 5 minutes on each side or until juice begins to bubble up from inside burger. Place blue cheese on top of burgers and leave on grill until cheese begins to melt (approx. 1 minute). Remove from grill. Turn off grill. To assemble burgers: place caramelized onions on bottom half of bun. Place burger on top of onion, blue cheese side up. Poke burgers with a fork 4-5 times. Spoon 1-2 teaspoons of Caesar dressing onto each burger to be absorbed. In a medium bowl, toss romaine, parmesan, and remaining dressing until leaves are well-coated. Place mound of dressing-coated leaves on top of burger. Place bun on top of burger while tucking salad onto burger.