Ultimate Burger
Hunger and desperation are sometimes the greatest spurs to imagination.
I cooked up this crazy recipe this past summer, in the Oregon Cascades, when I found myself called upon to grill burgers for a household of people who’d been out in the mountain air, swiming, kayaking, and hiking all day. I had some nice, organic beef from a cow that had been raised on pasture, but, as I knew from experience, however flavorful it was, the beef was going to be pretty lean. Fortunately we’d brought some pâté for our hosts, so inspiration struck, and I sliced up the pâté and secreted une petite tranche at the heart of each burger. No one picked out the flavor of the pâté, but they all commented on the great, rich flavor of the burgers.
The burger pictured just came off the grill and was made with some of the ground meat from the sacred bull. Two slices of pâté at the heart, some of Cabot Creamery’s habanero cheddar melted on top, some grilled onion rings to crown the whole, a few Sungold tomatoes on the side, and we had a feast worthy of a Tuesday.
Now back to the slave pits!
Tags: beef
September 29th, 2009 at 3:19 pm
Yum, Larbo!
I wish my other half liked pate, because I’d TOTALLY make these otherwise!
September 30th, 2009 at 6:43 am
This might be just the way to sneak it by him and get him started down the slippery slope of eating pâté and speaking French! I slice the pâté pretty thin, so it doesn’t stand out as a separate ingredient. The interior of the burger gets cooked just enough for the pâté to melt, ooze, and bring out the flavor of good, grass-fed beef.
October 1st, 2009 at 8:22 am
I picked up some pate while in QC – I think I may just give this a try and not tell him about it beforehand!
October 1st, 2009 at 2:36 pm
Go for it!