Stuffed Blue Cheese Burgers with Pickled Mushrooms and Red Onion

By lorik

Ingredients

• Variation from Fine Cooking:
• 6 oz. cremini mushrooms, thinly sliced
• 1 red onion, thinly sliced into rings
• 1 cup red wine vinegar
• 1 ⁄2 cup olive oil
• 1 tsp. dried basil
• 1 tsp. dried oregano
• Kosher salt, to taste
• Freshly ground black pepper, to taste, plus 1 tbsp.
• 2 lb. ground beef
• 4 oz. blue cheese
• 2 tbsp. dehydrated garlic flakes
• 1 tbsp. coriander seeds
• 1 ⁄2 tbsp. dill seed
• 1 ⁄2 tsp. crushed red chile flakes
• 1 ⁄2 tbsp. dried onion flakes
• 4 hamburger buns, toasted
• Dijon mustard, for serving
• 1-1/2 lb. ground 80% to 85% lean beef, preferably chuck
• 2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 4 oz. crumbled creamy blue cheese, such as Point Reyes Farmstead Original Blue
• Red Wine Pan Sauce (Recipe Follows)
• Red Wine Pan Sauce:
• 4 Tbs. unsalted butter
• 1/4 cup finely chopped shallots
• 1 cup lower-salt beef or chicken broth
• 3/4 cup red wine
• 1 Tbs. balsamic vinegar
• 2 tsp. Dijon mustard, preferably grainy
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Details

Servings 4
Adapted from saveur.com

Preparation

Step 1

1. Place mushrooms and onions in a bowl. Bring vinegar, oil, basil, oregano, salt, and pepper to a boil in a 1-qt. saucepan; pour over mushrooms and onions. Let cool; cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.

2. Season beef with salt; divide into 4 flat patties about ⅓" thick. Place 1 oz. blue cheese into the center of each patty; fold sides of meat up and over cheese. In a spice grinder, grind 1 tbsp. black pepper, garlic flakes, coriander, dill, chile flakes, and onion flakes into a coarse powder. Rub spice mixture over each burger, coating it completely.

3. Heat a charcoal grill or set a gas grill to high; bank coals or turn burner off on one side (see Grilling 101). Grill burgers, flipping them once, until cooked to desired doneness, about 12 minutes for medium rare. If outside starts to burn before burgers are cooked, move to cooler section of grill until done. Serve on buns with pickled mushrooms, red onions, and Dijon mustard.

Variation:
Gently break the meat into large pieces in a large bowl. Add the Worcestershire sauce, 1 tsp. salt, and 1/2 tsp. pepper and gently mix with your hands; avoid overworking.

Wet your hands and shape the meat into 8 equal 1/2-inch-thick patties. Make a slight indentation in the center of 4 of the patties to hold the cheese. Divide the blue cheese into 4 equal portions, shape into disks, and set a disk in each of the 4 indentations. Top the cheese with the remaining patties and gently but firmly seal the edges to completely encase the cheese. Refrigerate, uncovered, for at least 20 minutes and up to 4 hours.

Prepare a hot charcoal or gas grill fire. Grill the burgers, covered with vents open, until nicely marked and cooked to your liking (2 minutes per side for rare, 3 minutes per side for medium rare, 4 minutes per side for medium). Don't press on the burgers while they're cooking—you want to keep the juices and cheese inside the burger, not on your grill.

Serve with the Red Wine Pan Sauce.

For the Red Wine Sauce:
In a medium sauté pan, heat 1 Tbs. of the butter over medium heat. Add the shallots and cook, stirring often, until softened but not brown, about 2 minutes. Add the broth, wine, vinegar, and mustard. Increase the heat to high and bring to a boil, stirring frequently. Boil until reduced to 1/2 cup, about 9 minutes.

Off the heat, whisk in the remaining 3 Tbs. butter. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve warm.

nutrition information (per serving):
Calories (kcal): 560; Fat (g): fat g 39; Fat Calories (kcal): 350; Saturated Fat (g): sat fat g 20; Protein (g): protein g 37; Monounsaturated Fat (g): 14; Carbohydrates (g): carbs g 5; Polyunsaturated Fat (g): 1.5; Sodium (mg): sodium mg 1000; Cholesterol (mg): cholesterol mg 155; Fiber (g): fiber g 0;