Pacific Northwest Oktoberfest Burger

Pairs well with:

Cabernet Sauvignon

This rich red easily complements your homemade chicken dishes, red meats, game, and mildly seasoned pastas.

Ingredients

Cranberry pear wine relish:
1 cup frozen or fresh cranberries
1/2 cup Sutter Home Cabernet Sauvignon
1 pear, peeled and diced
1/4 cup honey
1/2 vanilla bean, split open
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 cup whipping cream

Sour cream dressing:
1 cup sour cream
1 tablespoon chopped chives
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper

Rosti:
4 tablespoons Colavita extra virgin olive oil, divided
4 cups frozen shredded potatoes (hash browns)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon crushed caraway seeds

Patties:
2 packages Johnsonville Brats Original Bratwurst (19.76oz.each)
1/4 cup diced onions
1 apple, peeled and diced
1/2 teaspoon smoke salt

Oil for greasing grill

1 cup Treasure Cave Crumbled Feta cheese

4 tablespoons butter
6 Artisan white bread slices, (1/2-inch thick slices)
6 lettuce leaves

 

Instructions

Preheat gas grill.

Place all ingredients for the relish, except for the cream, into a frying pan and place on the gas grill. Cook on high until sauce thickens, about 10 minutes. Place relish into a bowl. Remove vanilla bean and discard. Stir cream into relish and set aside.

In a small bowl stir all the ingredients together for the sour cream dressing. Set aside.

Remove bratwurst from casings and place meat in a large bowl. Add onions, apple and smoke salt and mix together. Form into 6 patties to fit your bread slices. Set aside.

In a large frying pan, heat half of the olive oil on gas grill. Add shredded frozen potatoes, salt, pepper and caraway seeds and cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Remove potatoes from pan and cool until ready to handle. Form 6 thin potato patties and cook with oil in frying pan, 3 at a time until crisp on both sides, about 5 minutes. Keep warm.

Grease grill rack. Grill burgers on medium hot gas grill until done about 3-5 minutes per side. Place crumbles of feta cheese on each burger for the last few seconds of grilling time.
Spread butter on both sides of bread slices and grill briefly until lightly toasted, a few seconds.

To assemble burgers, place lettuce leaf on bread. Spread cranberry pear wine relish on lettuce, followed by potato patty, sour cream dressing and the meat patty. Serve this burger open faced.

Makes 6 burgers