G.O.M. Burgers

Jeff on Saturday, July 4

I’ve been on a bit of a burger kick lately. It’s a forgiving medium; when you start with nice grass-fed beef and add your favorite toppings, you’re going to end up happy.

For this burger, I was craving caramelized onions and a little cheese-based funk. A Gorgonzola-onion-mushroom combo scratched the itch.

Prepping the Toppings

The toppings are simple:

chopped onions and mushrooms
salt and black pepper
a few dashes of red wine vinegar

Sauté on medium heat, stirring occasionally, until everything kind turns into a caramelized jammy amalgam. (Is that an appetizing word? Close enough.)

Set these aside for now. We’ll come back to them soon enough. Oh yes.

It’s Patty Time

This is a good place to get creative, if you feel like it. It’s important to avoid over-working the meat; other than that, it’s hard to go wrong. I incorporated the following into mine:

Lots of crumbled Gorgonzola cheese (bleu would work great, too)
A light dusting of smoked paprika

Give the center a nice dimple so your patties come out nice, flat, and restaurant-y, then salt and pepper each side before plopping them onto a medium-high pan with olive or avocado oil.

Cook them for a few minutes on each side — you’ll develop a good sense for your heat source as you cook your daily burger — then let them rest for a few minutes.

Toast Some Buns

To take your burgers to the next level, oil your pan and place your buns down for a couple minutes to get them golden and crispy. If you’re going protein-style, you lucked out and get to skip a step!

Let’s Plate Some Burgers

At last, it’s almost time to eat. Assembly instructions follow.

(Optional) Spread some sauce on the bottom bun. Chipotle ranch works well.
(Required) Pop your perfectly cooked patty down.
Give yourself a generous layer of that delicious mushroom/onion combo.
Finish it off with the top bun

Get yourself some pasta salad — I’m partial to the Spicy Chipotle or Buffalo and Gorgonzola varieties — and finish off your plate. This, my friends, is eating gourmet at home in the age of COVID quarantine.