Rainy Day Burger

Living in Oregon, you have many rainy days, great for making hot juicy burgers. I enjoy looking thru the garden for herbs and toppings than going to the local market to complete the best burger around. The Pacific Northwest is a wonderful place to find locally grown and worldwide ingredients to create great Rainy Day burgers.

Ingredients:

Caramelized Onion and Basil Spread:

1/3 cup Worchester
3 tablespoons olive oil
4 medium cloves of fresh garlic chopped
1 tablespoon light brown sugar
1 large sweet onion, cut into 6 (1/4-inch) slices
1 cup fresh chopped basil leaves

Patties:

2 pounds ground chuck
1/4 cup Sutter Home Pinot Noir
1/3 cup crushed KettleTM brand New York Cheddar with Herbs chips (2 cups loosely packed)
1/4 teaspoon Morton Hot Salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
4 tablespoons sweet pickle relish

Vegetable oil for brushing on the grill rack
6 Kaiser rolls, split
6 slices pepper jack cheese
1 cup of finely shredded purple cabbage

Instructions:

Prepare a medium-hot fire in a charcoal grill with a cover, or preheat a gas grill to medium-high.

To make the caramelized sliced onions and basil spread, combine the Worchester, olive oil, garlic and light brown sugar in a 16-inch nonstick, fireproof skillet. Cover with a lid and place on grill. Once mixture has thickened and the brown sugar has completely dissolved, add 6 onion slices. Cook onion slices for 2 minutes on each side. During the final minute, top the onions with the cup of basil. Cover and remove pan from heat.

To make the patties, combine the chuck, pinot noir, crushed chips, hot salt, pepper, and relish in a large bowl. Mix well, handling the meat as little as possible so it does not get compacted. Divide the mixture into 6 equal portions and form into patties slightly larger than the roll.

Brush the grill rack with oil. Place patties on the rack, cover, and grill until done to preference, 5 to 7 minutes on each side for medium. During the last few minutes of cooking, brush cut sides of buns with the liquid from the caramelized onion and basil spread. Place the rolls, cut side down, on the outer edges of the grill until lightly browned. Add one slice of pepper jack cheese to each burger and move to side of grill to keep warm.

Assemble burgers by placing 1/6 cup shredded cabbage on the bottom of each roll, a patty and one onion slice from spread. Place roll top on each burger and serve.