You smell this Charbroiled Herb Flavored Burger made with Piedmontese beef cooking on the grill and you will want it. Try it!
As a child, there were two things I always looked forward to doing. One was running around the neighborhood with a large beach towel on my back, pretending to be a superhero and saving the world from evil. The second was Saturday downtown market day. I would go with my mother on a bus, which I always loved, heading to the market to get produce, poultry, and eggs for the week. We would always stop off either at this diner located inside of a store called Mcleods, complete with the red bar stools lined up along a long and vast counter. The waitress behind the counter in uniform complete with diner tiara, and pies displayed in carousels, along with additional posters for the best tasting milkshakes in town. which I always got, strawberry. Another place we would go sometimes was the garden grill located inside the Hudson's Bay department store. You have to understand this was the early seventies and the sixties designs were still prevalent, and always diner in ambiance. My dish of choice at either of these establishments was Hamburger Deluxe. Sounds like a posh burger, and to me it was, but to a mature palate, simple people's food. The burger with mustard and ketchup, and melted cheddar cheese well cheese slices. On the side, a nice golden brown, deeply fried, crinkle-cut french fries. I would savor that hamburger and fries, dipping each fry into the ketchup biting one crinkle by crinkle at a time. This day and age we would call that mindful eating in a zen sort of way but back then this little boy just loved playing with his food and try to bite in between each crinkle of the fry, sipping well sucking for dear life to get a bit of strawberry milkshake from the straw as it was thicker than thick, but then giving up and using the spoon.
Time passed and the cape and the superhero retired. The pay sucked and workplace injuries too many to mention, and customer respect and appreciation fleeting, plus if I was still running around the neighborhood like that I would be in counseling for many hours explaining my irrationality and absurd and crazy behavior labeling my illness as (Superman syndrome). It's junior high school and word is out Mcdonald's is rolling into town. I can't tell you the hype that was going on, and us juniors planning our menu item that we were going to try. For me it was the BIG Mac. Double patties burger with three slices of bun to keep it together, a special thousand island sauce, some shredded lettuce and onion, with a side of fries, not crinkle-cut but just thin, crispy, golden brown, pillowy soft insides goodness. My mother would sometimes not frequently deliver this burger to school for me to have for lunch and I would have to fend off lunch traders wanting to do some swapping, but I would tune everything out and chomp down on that Big Mac burger and dip multiple fries at a time, wanting to finish before someone could snafu some of them.
Today we have many burger joints going from fast food to the modern gourmet burgers, and ideas and compilations many, and innovative, not forgetting to mention the veggie burger revolution. I have opted for the ground beef burger today, more so using Piedmontese ground beef I bought from The Italian Center Shop. Organic beef from grass-fed happy cows, from Messinger Meats, A local farmer from Lacombe, Alberta, dedicated to bringing clients the best in quality and service, raising hormone and chemical-free livestock. A recipe come to be known to us as the Charbroiled Herb Flavored Burger. In the ground beef, I mixed in several herbs such as oregano, rosemary, parsley, along with spices of paprika, onion powder, minced garlic stem removed, sea salt, freshly ground black peppercorns, and some Italian style bread crumbs, huge in the flavor department. To ensure the moisture and juiciness of this burger I splashed in some good quality extra virgin cold-pressed olive oil, and a splash of homemade Merlot red wine, hugely aromatic and robust in flavor a nice soft touch to this puppy. Can't forget to have a drop for yourself to ensure the wine is good. To give this burger some pizazz, a nice mixture of grated authentic Italian D.O.P. Asiago Cheese, nicely aged and airy and slightly pungent.
The key to any successful burger is the mixing, I prefer to use my hands squishing those morsels of meat in between my fingers, massaging all those herbs and spices lovingly infusing each strand of ground Piedmontese beef to heights of flavor that will have your stomach groaning and taste buds rejoicing in bliss. I know a lot of people use eggs in the mixture as a binding agent which is good, but I find it a bit heavy to eat. The mixture then has time to marinate, for me I left it overnight, then took it out, hand-formed the burgers, fired up the BBQ and grilled these babies with a slice of melted gooey goodness Raclette cheese to a nice medium temperature ensuring the juices to run down your chin. As for garnishes, I sauteed some red, yellow peppers, onions, garlic and chanterelle mushrooms which have such beautiful rustic somewhat acidic flavor. Now, this is the icing on the cake. I asked myself what would do this burger justice, a little crisp bite to finish it off, then out of nowhere, I thought Tempura Tomatoes, nicely battered to a golden crisp color and inside the tomato juicy acidic and sweet, beautiful addition. The bun ciabatta, buttered then grilled slightly as the grill marks faintly appear, a splash of condiment of mustard, ketchup, mayo. Top it with a piece of crisp, fresh green leaf lettuce, then the bun. A little pressure and press of the hands to form down the bundle and we are set to chomp on this beauty.
This burger tastes wonderful, hints of the rosemary, oregano, and parsley, along with the minced garlic enveloped into the beautiful moist olive oil infused medium cooked grass-fed beef, which you can taste, then a hint of the red wine along with nice melted strands of Asiago topped with the melted Raclette, smooth creamy, buttery. The sauteed peppers onions and chanterelle mushrooms add another texture and flavor to this burger, sweet, earthy goodness. Then when you think it's all over a nice crunch from the tempura tomato followed by the juiciness of that tomato oozing out. A bit of freshness from the lettuce all encased in this slightly toasted garlic ciabatta bun. I love it a nice hand full of those crispy potato noodles a recent recipe we made, would be great, even inside the burger would be good too. What a way to bring in the spring, beautiful weather, wonderful friends and family, and this Charbroiled Herb Flavored Burger, on the grill. You smell this cooking on the grill and you will want it, try it!
Happy Barbecuing!
PrintCharbroiled Herb Flavored Burger
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 4 burgers 1x
Ingredients
Burger:
- 1 lb good quality lean ground beef
- 2 tablespoon Italian bread crumbs
- 1 tablespoon cold pressed extra virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
- 1 teaspoon fresh parsley chopped
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon of paprika
- 1 clove garlic minced
- ¼ cup grated D.O.P Aged Asiago
- 4 rustic ciabatta buns, cut in half, buttered and dusted lightly with garlic powder
Sautéed Vegetables:
- ½ red pepper diced
- ½ yellow pepper diced
- 4 chanterelle mushrooms chopped
- ½ small yellow onion chopped
- 1 clove of garlic minced
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- Salt and pepper to taste
Tempura Tomatoes:
- 1 ripe vine tomato
- 4 tablespoon Tempura flour
- 2 ½ tablespoons ice cold water
- dash of sea salt and fresh cracked black pepper
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ⅛ teaspoon garlic powder
- ⅛ teaspoon paprika
Garnish:
- 4 leaves of green leaf lettuce
- 4 pieces of Raclette cheese
Instructions
Burger:
- Place ground beef into a medium stainless steel bowl.
- With hands washed break up the ground beef.
- Add olive oil, breadcrumbs, oregano, rosemary, parsley, onion powder, minced garlic, paprika, salt and black pepper.
- With hands blend spices into meat till well incorporated.
- Add in grated Asiago and mix well again.
- Cover with plastic wrap and put in fridge.
Sautéed vegetables:
- In a sautée pan, drizzle olive oil to coat pan.
- Bring pan and oil to medium heat and toss in onion and garlic.
- Stir for a minute and then add red and yellow peppers, sautée for a few minutes.
- Add in chanterelle mushrooms and cook for another few minutes till vegetables soften.
- Set aside.
Burgers:
- Take ground beef out of the fridge and uncover.
- Scoop out a handful of the ground beef and roll into a meatball, the flatten into a hamburger shape, then place on a plate.
- Repeat this until all the ground beef is used up.
- Preheat barbecue grill to around 400°F.
- Clean and oil grills.
- Place burgers on grill after around 10 minutes or so, then turn burgers 180 degrees.
- Cook for another additional 5 minutes.
- Flip the burger and repeat the steps again.
- Just before burgers are done place a piece of Raclette cheese on top to melt.
- Take ciabatta buns cut in half and butter and dust with garlic powder.
- Place on top rack of grill and cook for about 2-3 minutes, till grill marks appear.
- Take ciabatta buns off of grill along with burgers, let rest a few minutes.
Tempura tomatoes:
- In a medium sauce pan fill with canola oil about ½ full and place on medium to high heat.
- Slice tomato into thin slices
- In a bowl toss in tempura flour, salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, and paprika.
- Mix well, then take cold water and mix into tempura. The batter has to be a bit thick as we don't want the juices of the tomato to run out.
- Take tomato slices and put in tempura batter. Let excess drip off then place carefully into oil.
- Fry till batter is nice and crispy golden brown.
- Take out of oil with slotted spoon and place on a plate lined with paper towel.
Assembly:
- Take bottom of ciabatta bun.
- Put some mustard, ketchup, mayo, on bun.
- Place burger onto bun.
- Put some of the sautéed vegetables on top of burger.
- Add a few slices of the tempura tomato.
- Lay a nice leaf of lettuce.
- Place top bun on and squish down with your hand a bit to settle everything.
- Ready to serve.
- Enjoy!
Notes
I let the ground beef marinate overnight.
When I am not cooking, I enjoy playing musical instruments, singing, writing. I have learned over the years to live in gratitude and enjoy the moment.
Meaghan says
A Mom who delivered McD's to you.. What a lucky boy you were!! This burger looks delicious! I have to say I've been really impressed with Messinger Meats - everything I have tried has been fantastic and the selection at the Italian Centre is very good. Having the fresh meat in the shop is a great addition.
Hi Meaghan
Yes I was fortunate, now thinking about it I could have made a fortune selling those burgers to those starving, fast food craving kids. I don't know if my mother would have been in on this deal anyway, so fortune lost. I love that The Italian Center has this amazing product of meats, and having Messinger meats producing the quality they are, I feel very fortunate. Its amazing that they bought e Italian cows and are raising them here, I wonder if the cows have their permanent residency, or are they on a working visa, lol. Thank you Meaghan for your comment.
Happy Cooking!
Loreto
Brittani says
Now this is a burger! I've already pinned it for later because the flavour sounds amazing 🙂 And how cool are those tempura tomatoes? Never would of thought of that!
Thank you, I am so grateful for that inner voice that gives me so many creative and sometimes absurd ideas. The surprising thing is they all have tasted amazing, like these tempura tomatoes, at first I though the juices would run into the oil, I would have a small kitchen fire and end up with cajun tomatoes, but with the batter being thick it seals all around the tomato giving it this golden brown crispy coating then inside the tomato is steamed and juicy. My mouth is watering again and its too late to eat anything so I will have to just dream.
Happy Burgering!
Loreto
Patricia says
I have to try this. I love your stories!
Thank you, it means a lot to me that you took the time to read the post, I am most gracious, and yes you have to try this burger, would love to hear how you made out.
Mangia! Mangia!
Loreto
Vicky Chin says
Wow! Looks amazing! I love the idea of the tempura tomatoes. It prevents the tomato juice from making the buns soggy. I have to make it, so my son won't ask me to take him to McD's again. ?
Wouldn't that be nice kids asking us to cook instead of going to Mcdonals, storing mass amounts of happy meal toys. THose tempura tomatoes were incredible so crispy then when you bite in the juices run and the flavor of the tomato delicious. Thank you Vicky so much for your comment and hope you enjoy the burger.
Happy grilling
Loreto
Julia says
This story has taken me back, way back and I can taste the burger, hear the music and feel the vinyl seats. So be it a different diner. Talk about nostalgia. This burger looks amazing and I am most defiantly making them. I also have to use my hands when working with meat, herbs and spices. A far better way to get the flavour right through the meat. Great post!
Thank you Julia really appreciate you taking the time to read the post. Making this burger revived many great childhood memories, and the diverse flavors inside this burger with the herbs, Asiago cheese, and those tomatoes omg I want it again. You are also right on the money hand working anything always makes it better, I find that if I use utensils it feels a bit clinical. Have fun with these burgers and have a wonderful weekend.
Happy Blogging.
Loreto
Sean says
Yeeeesh, I wish I hadn't seen this recipe... because now I NEED a burger like this! I've been on-and-off craving a good burger lately, and there are just so many great flavours going on here. I'm suddenly very, very hungry. LOVE the idea of herbs in the burger too.
Thank you Sean. I love using herbs in the burger and the red wine really added a nice touch. Really elevates the burger experience, and the idea of tempura tomatoes there were amazing, really surprised me. I will never doubt that inner voice again, lol.
karrie @ Tasty Ever After says
At first I thought this was the best looking veggie burger I've ever seen...and then I saw that it's Loreto posting!!! hahaha! We buy a very good quality ground beef from a local farm where it's humanely raised with no antibiotics or growth hormones. Just visited the farm last week and got a few packages of beef. Taking one out of the freezer tomorrow and will make these for Wednesday dinner. Will take your advice and marinate the meat overnight too. Yummy in my tummy 😉
I am writing this trying to concentrate as Nicoletta is on skype laughing like crazy at your comment about it being vegetarian burger and of course it's my post and it's a fat juicy beef burger, I am laughing with her now. I would have to say that I do feel for the animals that give their lives for us to consume, and I ate that burger with the utmost respect and gratitude, and bliss. Local farmers humanly treating their animals does change the taste of the fair, and you know what maybe that was the cows purpose and they are like highlanders and can reincarnate, lol.
Just a thought, makes me feel better.
Have a most wondeful day, and thank you so much I look forward to your comments, they are so refreshing.
Loreto
Carol Borchardt says
What a delightful story! Some of my fondest childhood memories are eating breakfast at the Cozy Cafe then doing some shopping which always included grocery shopping. Thanks for taking me back in time.
You are so welcome Carol, those are great memories to hold on too. Thank you so much for taking the time to read through our post. I am very grateful.
Have a wonderful evening.
Clara says
I too paraded around the neighborhood with a towel in tow, although mine was draped over my head as I pretended to be the Virgin Mary, much to dismay or glee of my Irish Catholic mother (I could never quite figure it out!) Really enjoying the dash of red wine to the ground beef and all the aromatic herbs added. Can't wait to give this recipe a go. Thanks!
Too funny you had Nicoletta and I laughing thinking I was the only quirky one. Never knew anyone to want to be the virgin Mary, one reason being how to explain the immaculate conception theory to all those skeptic scientists, and then fighting the crowds of followers, lol. Sometimes I like my burger just plain ground beef salt and pepper really tasting the flavor of the beef and yet other times my creative self comes and wants to play. I have to say love the kicked up, rack em up flavorful herded burgers. Thank you for the wonderful comment and the wonderful memoir of child hood.
Have a great day
Loreto!