Chinese Five Spice Burgers with Asian Slaw and Plum Sauce

Pairs well with:

Sauvignon Blanc

With hints of passion fruit, melon, and citrus, this wine beckons you to kick back and find a perfect porch swing.

I spend a lot of time traveling for work overseas.I absolutely love to buy the spices from the country I am visiting and create some American favorites with my new International spices. I fell in love with Chinese Five Spice and decided to create an Asian burger. After making them, I served them to a pool full of kids and they said they were the best burgers they had ever eaten. It was then that I knew I had a winner.

Ingredients:

Ingredients

Patties

1 cup fresh breadcrumbs, crust removed
½ cup milk
1 ¾ lbs ground beef, 80/20
½ lb ground pork
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 ½ teaspoons Chinese Five Spice powder
3 garlic cloves, pressed
4 scallions, sliced, green parts only
1 teaspoon rice vinegar
2 teaspoons sugar
1 tablespoon grated ginger
2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped fine
¼ cup Sutterhome Sauvignon Blanc wine
2 teaspoons kosher salt
½ teaspoon pepper

Maple and Chinese Five Spice Glazed Bacon

12 thick cut slices apple wood smoked bacon
¼ cup pure maple syrup
¼ teaspoon Chinese Five Spice powder

Plum Sauce

½ cup sour cream
½ cup jarred plum sauce
4 teaspoons fresh lime juice
2 teaspoons ground ginger
2 teaspoons Sriracha chili sauce

Asian Slaw

1 cup shredded red cabbage
½ cup shredded carrots
¼ cup green onions, sliced
¼ cup dried ramen noodles
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon rice vinegar
1/8 teaspoon salt

6 sesame seed rolls
Vegetable oil, for rubbing on the grill rack
6 thick slices Provolone cheese

Instructions:

Directions

To make the patties, put the bread crumbs and milk in a small bowl and soak for 1 minute. Squeeze the milk out of the bread crumbs, discard the milk and put the breadcrumbs in a large bowl. Add to the large bowl, the beef, pork, egg, Chinese Five Spice, garlic, green onions, rice vinegar, sugar, ginger, parsley, wine, salt and pepper. Mix, making sure not to over mix as this will make the meat tough. Divide the mixture into 6 equal portions and form into patties. With your thumb, press a little indentation in the center of each patty; this allows the burgers to maintain their uniform thickness while cooking. Refrigerate or keep on ice until grilling. Making the patties first allows all the flavors to marry while making the rest of the toppings.

Heat the grill to medium-high. To make the Maple and Chinese Five Spice Glazed Bacon, using a large and heavy cast iron pan, add the bacon slices to the pan. Put the pan on the grill and cook the bacon until the bacon is crisp on both sides. Remove the bacon from the pan and place on a paper towel lined plate to drain for 1 minute. Mix the maple syrup and Chinese Five Spice together in a small bowl. Remove the paper towel from underneath the bacon and using a small basting brush, brush both sides of all the bacon with the maple glaze and put back on the plate. Set aside until needed.

To make the Plum sauce, add the sour cream, plum sauce, lime juice, ginger and sriracha chili sauce to a medium size bowl and mix well. Refrigerate until needed.

To make the Asian slaw, add the red cabbage, carrots, green onions, ramen noodles, sesame oil, rice vinegar and salt to a medium sized bowl. Mix well and set aside until needed.

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. Flip once and cook another 3-5 minutes. Do not push down on the patty as this will release juices into the grill. Top each patty with a piece of Provolone cheese and cover the grill and cook for 1 minute longer. Remove the patties from the grill and place the buns, cut side down, on the outer edges of the grill rack to toast lightly. Remove from the grill. Put the bacon slices back directly on the grill for 1 minute to heat up.

To assemble the patties, spread one tablespoon of the plum sauce on the bottom buns of all 6. Place one burger on top of each bottom bun. Put 2 slices of bacon on top of each burger. Put about ¼ cup of the Asian slaw mixture on top of each burger. Drizzle about 1 tablespoon of the plum sauce on top of the Asian slaw. Top each burger with the toasted top buns.

Makes 6 burgers