Originally published on June 25, 2014
The other day I talked about how I was craving Spanish food one night and so I went online in search of the best Spanish ingredients and created something from them. Last night, I was craving Greek food and so I did the same thing. Hooked up with my BFF Google, asked him what some of the most common Greek ingredients are, and then used those to create a burger. The results? Let’s just say that I plan to revisit Greece very, very soon.
Ingredients:
1 pound medium ground beef
1 pound ground pork
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 tablespoon paprika
1 head of garlic, plus 3 cloves
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, grated
1 onion, sliced into thick rings (do no separate the rings)
2 tablespoons fresh oregano, chopped, plus 1/2 cup whole oregano leaves
1 tomato, sliced
10 – 12 leaves of leaf lettuce
1 cup fresh mint leaves, whole
1 lemon, cut in half
1 cup tzatziki
8 hamburger buns
4 tablespoons mayonnaise (approximately)
Salt
Pepper
Directions:
1.) Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Wrap the entire head of garlic in aluminium foil. Drizzle on some olive oil, then sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place in the preheated oven and roast for 45 – 60 minutes, until the entire head has softened and turned golden brown. Remove from oven, allow to cool slightly, and then squeeze out the soft cloves of garlic into a bowl. Set aside.
2.) Next, prepare your burger patties. To a large bowl add ground beef, ground pork, Worcestershire sauce, egg, paprika, 3 cloves of garlic, grated onion, 2 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano, salt, and pepper. Combine until all ingredients are evenly incorporated, but do not over-mix. Divide patties into 8 even portions (do this using your hands and pressing lines into the meat in the same pattern as if you were cutting a pie.) Then, taking one portion at a time, shape them into patties and make a little well in the centre with your thumb. Be sure to make an indentation, but not to go all the way through the burger. This will allow for expansion when the patty is cooked. Set aside on a plate.
3.) Turn an indoor or outdoor grill to medium heat and oil the grates well and brush the fruit side of the lemon halves, as well as the onion rings, entirely with olive oil. When the grill is hot, place them directly onto the grill, and cook for about one minute. After that time you can remove the lemon halves, but flip the onion rings and cook for another minute to allow them to be cooked through thoroughly. Move to a plate, tent with foil to keep warm, and set aside.
4.) Place the burger patties directly onto the grill and cook, without moving or touching them, for about 5 minutes. Flip, cook for another five minutes and then feel for doneness. When patties are cooked to your liking, set them aside on a plate.
5.) Brush each side of every hamburger bun with mayonnaise (this is a little trick to keep them super moist and delectable, but you can use butter or skip this step entirely.) Place face-down on the grill, and press them down slightly so that they get as much heat as possible. I actually like to take another empty skillet and place it on top of the buns, but this does make them really flat. If you don’t like them that way, you can also skip this step and just leave them alone on the grill. Grill the buns for about 2 minutes before removing them and placing them on a plate.
6.) At this point I like to just place the patties, toppings, and buns all separately on the table and let people build their own. If you want to assemble them for everyone though, or just want to make your own Big Fat Greek Burger, assemble like so: Place open bun on a plate. Onto the bottom portion spread some of the roasted garlic. Onto the top half place a couple of lettuce leaves, some fresh oregano, some fresh mint, a grilled onion ring or two, and a slice of tomato. Place patty on top of roasted garlic and squeeze some of the grilled lemon directly onto it. Top with tzatziki, close burger up together, and place two toothpicks into each half before slicing the entire burger in half (unless you can pick it up and eat it whole in which case, I applaud you.)
7.) Serve and enjoy!