Brown Butter Burger with Grilled Halloumi and Pear Chutney

I love grilled Halloumi and came up with an appetizer using my homemade pear chutney.My husband said it would be great as a burger and wa-la.

Ingredients:

Fresh Pear Chutney

2 tablespoons butter

3 Bartlett pears, peeled and cored, cut into 1-inch pieces

1/2 cup cider vinegar

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup golden raisins

1 jalapeno pepper, minced

1 (1-inch) piece fresh ginger, grated

1/2 teaspoon mustard seed

1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika

1/2 teaspoon hot paprika

1/2 teaspoon allspice

1/4 teaspoon salt

Patties

2 1/4 pounds ground chuck (20% fat)

2 tablespoons cream

1 tablespoon ground black pepper

1 teaspoon salt

Browned Butter

1 stick unsalted butter

Grilled Halloumi

3/4 pound chunk Halloumi, cut into 6 equal portions

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 lemon, cut into 6 equal pieces

1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar

Vegetable oil – for rubbing on the rack

6 brioche hamburger buns, split

12 medium size basil leaves

Instructions:

To make the chutney, in a medium fireproof saucepan, melt butter on a gas grill set on medium-high heat. Add and saute pears, about 2 minutes. Add the cider vinegar, sugar, golden raisins, jalapeno pepper, fresh ginger, mustard seed, smoked paprika, hot paprika, allspice and bring mixture to a boil. Cook until thickened, stirring occasionally, about 45 minutes. Season with salt. Sit aside.

To make the patties, combine all of the ingredients in a large bowl and mix together well while handling the meat as little as possible; this prevents it from becoming too dense. Divide the mixture into 6 equal portions and form into patties leaving a slight indention in the center of patties; this allows the final product to be more equal in thickness when finished. Set aside until grilling.

To make the brown butter simply place stick of butter in a skillet and place on a gas grill over medium-high heat. Stirring until butter is melted and becomes a wonderful nutty color. Set aside to use for basting patties.

To make grilled Halloumi and lemon, brush with olive oil. Place on gas grill on medium high heat and grill for 5 minutes on first side. Remove lemon, flip cheese and continue grilling cheese for two more minutes. Remove from heat and place on platter, squeeze 1 slice of grilled lemon on each slice of cheese and drizzle all slices with balsamic vinegar.

Heat the grill to medium-high. When the grill is ready, with a paper or cloth towel, rub the grill rack with vegetable oil to prevent sticking. Place the patties on the rack and cook until done to preference, 3 to 5 minutes. Remove the patties from the grill and place the buns, cut side down, on the outer edges of the rack to toast lightly.

To assemble the burgers, top each bun bottom with a patty, baste with brown butter, place 1 slice of Halloumi on top of each patties, using a melon baller place a scoop of pear chutney on each slice of Halloumi, it’s okay if it’s a little messy. Place 3 basil leaves on each pile of chutney. Spread a little brown butter on bun and place on top of basil.