Thanks to the Memorial Day holiday the grilling season is officially here! Kyle decided to kick off the season by making an innovative burger that would still preserve the rich flavor that make burgers so dreamy. He wanted to taste the flavor of the burger and not have it’s toppings overpower it.
Jamie Oliver’s Insanity Burger just happened to catch Kyle’s eye during a Google search. This burger is basically a bacon cheeseburger on steroids. This pumped up burger includes Oliver’s burger sauce, a fusion of many traditional condiments with the addition of Chipotle Tabasco and bourbon. He then uses a technique of brushing both burger sides with yellow mustard and more Chipotle Tabasco to develop a charred crust packed with flavor. This combination elevates the traditional burger and enhances, instead of overpowers, the pure beefiness of the burger patty.
The only ingredient Kyle had to buy specifically to make this recipe was the Chipotle Tabasco. After cooking with it once, he now feels compelled to put it on EVERYTHING – he is also questioning why he didn’t use it sooner! This condiment has the perfect balance of smokiness and slight heat that ramps up any dish.
Oliver marinates the onions in vinegar which quickly “cooks” or pickles them, therefore mellowing their flavor. As you might remember from the Chunky Avocado Salsa recipe, Kyle is not a big fan of the overpowering harshness of raw onions, so, this burger appears to be Kyle’s burger soul mate.
To dial down the need for so much cooking coordination throughout making this burger, Kyle decided to cook the bacon ahead of time, reserving some of the bacon fat in the skillet. He toasted the buns in the bacon fat in the skillet while the burgers cooked in the cast iron pan.
Oliver’s cooking time seemed really short (maybe he was cooking them rare?), so Kyle added a couple minutes to the cook time to achieve more of a medium-rare to medium burger. The recipe also called for gherkins, but in Kyle’s version he used Bread and Butter pickles (not everyone truly appreciates this type of pickle, but they should give it a fair try). The sweetness of the Bread and Butter pickles enhanced the sweetness of the bourbon in the burger sauce while contrasting with the spicy smokiness of the Chipotle Tabasco.
The original recipe seems to be created for kitchen preparation, however, it can totally be cooked (in the cast iron skillet) on the grill, making it a great summer cookout option. Just a small side note: Epicurious goes into great detail as to why we should always grill our burgers in cast iron skillets – ALWAYS! We couldn’t agree more!
To add to the ease of the preparation of this delicious burger recipe, one can prepare the onions and bacon ahead of time. In fact, some of the bacon can easily go into a simple side salad! But, that just may be me, I love bacon in everything.
The sloppy gloriousness that is this burger can be made to be more picnic friendly – just prepare the burger sauce without the chopped lettuce, schmear it on the bottom bun and top the burgers with the whole lettuce leaves. It is still a tad bit of a juicy mess, but, it is totally worth it!
This combination elevates the traditional burger and enhances, instead of overpowering, the pure beefiness of the burger patty – just the way we like it!
Adapted from Jamie Oliver.
- 1¾ lbs ground chuck steak
- Olive oil
- ½ of a large red onion
- 1 or 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 4 - 8 pickles chips (I used Bread & Butter, but feel free to use whatever you like)
- 4 brioche burger buns (or 4 gluten free buns)
- 4 slices of thick cut smoked bacon
- 4 teaspoons yellow mustard
- Tabasco Chipotle sauce
- 4 slices of extra sharp cheddar
- Burger Sauce:
- ¼ of an iceberg lettuce
- 2 heaping tablespoons mayo
- 1 heaping tablespoon tomato ketchup
- 1 teaspoon Tabasco Chipotle sauce
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- optional: 1 teaspoon brandy or bourbon
- Divide ground meat into 4 and, with wet hands, roll each piece into a ball, then press into flat patties roughly 5 inches wide and about ¾ inch wider than your buns. Place on an oiled plate and chill in the fridge.
- Next, finely slice the red onion, then dress in a bowl with the vinegar and a pinch of sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.
- Finely chop the lettuce and mix with the rest of the burger sauce ingredients in a bowl, then season to taste.
- In a large skillet over medium heat, cook bacon, turning regularly until it is crispy, about 6 to 8 minutes. Remove pan from heat, drain bacon on paper towels, and remove all but 1 or 2 tablespoons of the fat from the pan. Reserve the pan for toasting the buns.
- Heat a large cast iron skillet and the large pan with reserved bacon fat over medium-high heat. Pat your burgers with oil and season them with salt and pepper. Put burgers into the cast iron pan, pressing down on them with a slotted spatula.. After 1 minute, flip the burgers and brush each cooked side with a ½ teaspoon of mustard and a dash of Tabasco. After 3 minutes, flip onto the mustard side and brush again with another ½ teaspoon of mustard and a second dash of Tabasco on the other side. Cook for 2 to 3 more minutes, by which point you can place some crispy bacon on top of each burger with a slice of cheese. Cover the pan for the last minute to fully melt the cheese.
- While the burgers cook, toast 2 split buns in the bacon fat in the other pan until lightly golden, about a minute. Repeat with the remaining 2 burgers.
- To build each burger, add a quarter of the burger sauce to the bun base, then top with a cheesy bacon burger, a quarter of the onions, and the pickle slices. As the burger rests, juices will soak into the bun, so serve right away to reduce sloppiness.
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