Cabernet and Gorgonzola Burger Sliders

Cabernet and Gorgonzola Burger Sliders Recipe

Ingredients:

16 oz organic ground beef with at least 20% fat (makes three 1/3 lb patties)
SYD Hot Rub, or Salt & Pepper
2 tablespoons butter
1 medium red onion peeled, cut into half and sliced into 1/4 inch rings
½ cup good Cabernet Sauvignon
1 package of Italian Gorgonzola Cheese
Mixed greens of your choice (butter lettuce, arugula, or iceberg lettuce)
½ cup of spicy mayo (Mix some Sriracha hot sauce into ½ cup of mayo)
Hamburger buns

Method:

1. Divide the 16 oz of beef into three portions of about 1/3 lb for each patty. You can use more beef and more buns to make enough for your party.

2. Shape each beef portion with your hands into a round patty about ½ inch wider in diameter than your bun. Make a depression in the middle of the patty. This will help ensure that the middle will not bulge out after cooking. Sprinkle with some SYD Hot rub on both sides and place on wax paper lined cookie sheet. Cover in plastic wrap and leave in fridge until ready to cook.

3. Cook the sliced red onions with 2 tablespoons of butter in a medium hot sauté pan. Season with some SYD Hot rub. Cook onions about 5 minutes if you like your onions less mush, or 15 minutes if you like your onions mushy like onion jam. Add the Cabernet and simmer until reduced to a syrupy liquid. Remove and set aside.

4. Heat up your grill to 450°F or perform the hand test. The test is a measure of how long you can hold your hand 6 inches above the grill before withdrawing your hand. 2-3 seconds is equivalent to about 450°F. Ensure that your grates are cleaned and oiled before cooking to reduce sticking.

5. Put patties onto the hot grill, close the grill cover, and wait until they develop a nice char (about 5 minutes). Some flaming is normal as the grease drips but if it flames excessively, move the patty to another spot where it is not flaming. After about 5 minutes, flip over and repeat to get a nice char on the other side. After char has developed on the second side, move the patty to a cooler spot on your grill and cook until internal temp is about 150 degrees or until there is no pink in the middle (I used an instant read thermometer). During the last minute of cooking, add some crumbled Gorgonzola cheese and wait until the cheese melts. Remove.

Safety Note: With burgers, it’s advisable to cook until medium as there could be traces of Salmonella if eaten medium rare. Only cook medium rare if you ground the meat yourself from a whole piece of meat where you sliced off possible contaminated surfaces.

6. Toast the inside surfaces of your burger buns on your grill. Remove once toasted and browned.

7. Spread some spicy mayo on your buns, add greens of your choice on the bottom half, add your melted Gorgonzola beef patty, top with Cabernet onions, more spicy mayo, and the top half of your bun.

8. Enjoy immediately with your favorite ale or beer.

Know more tasty Italian Food recipes here.