No trip to Los Angeles, for me, is complete until I make a mandatory pit stop at this landmark burger restaurant. I don’t think I can mention their name, but I’m sure you can figure it out. Anyway, the sheer simplicity of the burger is what makes it so great—hot and freshly made to order with quality ingredients. This is my homage to this place and all the feels eating their burger gives me. Every burger needs a good sauce, and my tangy, sweet, and savory ketchup/mayo/mustard-based sauce isn’t rocket science, but the ratio of the ingredients, and the addition of sriracha and Worcestershire sauce, gives it a nice little zip. The bacon jam is sweet with oak and chicory undernotes, as a result of cooking the bacon down with bourbon, maple syrup, brown sugar and coffee—and American cheese, melty, lipsmacking American cheese —yep, my job here is done. Enjoy!
MAKES 4 SERVINGS
FOR THE SAUCE
1 cup mayonnaise
1⁄2 cup minced bread-and-butter pickles
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
Juice of 1⁄2 lemon
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon granulated garlic
1 teaspoon ground white pepper
1 teaspoon sriracha
1⁄2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon ketchup
Pinch of kosher salt, to taste
FOR THE JAM
8 strips bacon
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 cup chopped medium yellow onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
1⁄2 cup bourbon
1⁄2 cup prepared coffee
1⁄2 cup maple syrup
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
FOR THE BURGER
2 pounds ground beef, (80% lean/20% fat)
Kosher salt and black pepper Vegetable oil, for oiling the cooking grid
4 slices American cheese
4 hamburger buns
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature, divided 4 romaine lettuce leaves
4 slices of beefsteak tomatoes
TOOLS
Big Green Egg
FOR THE SAUCE
1. Place all of the ingredients in a medium bowl and mix until well incorporated. Set aside until ready to use.
2. Prepare the Big Green Egg to cook direct at 425°F. To make the jam, place a cast-iron pan on the EGG cooking grid and add the vegetable oil and bacon. Cook until browned and crispy, about 3 to 4 minutes on each side. Remove the bacon and place it on a paper towel–lined plate to drain and let slightly cool. Leave the bacon fat in the pan. Once the bacon is cool enough to handle, coarsely chop it and set it aside. In the pan add the onions and garlic to the bacon fat and sauté for 3 to 5 minutes, until caramelized.
3. Add the bourbon to the pan and reduce by half. Then add the coffee and reduce by half. Add the maple syrup, vinegar, and chopped bacon back to the pan. Bring to a boil, then continue to cook for 10 minutes, until slightly syrupy and glaze-like. Let the mixture cool slightly and then transfer to a food processor and blend until smooth. Cool the jam to room temperature before serving.
FOR THE BURGERS
1. Form the beef into 4 equal-sized patties, about 1⁄2-inch thick. Use your thumb to create a dimple halfway into the center of each burger (this step helps reduce burger shrinkage). Season both sides of the patties liberally with salt and pepper and let rest for 10 minutes. Use the vegetable oil to oil the cooking grid to prevent the burgers from sticking. Cook the patties on the EGG cooking grid to desired doneness, ensuring a hard sear on both sides. (For medium doneness, this is about 4 minutes on each side.) Add the cheese and let it melt.
2. Add the Big Green Egg plancha to the EGG. To toast the buns, spread about 1⁄2 tablespoon butter on the cut side of each bun and place on the plancha for 30 to 45 seconds, until lightly toasted.
TO ASSEMBLE
1. Smear some of the sauce on the cut side of each bun. Place a patty on each bot- tom bun, top with jam, lettuce, and tomato, then finish with the top of each bun.
RECIPE EXCERPTED FROM ‘EGGIN’ DAVID ROSE COOKS ON THE BIG GREEN EGG’ BY DAVID ROSE. PUBLISHED FALL 2021 BY ANDREWS MCMEEL PUBLISHING. COPYRIGHT 2021 DAVID ROSE PHOTOGRAPHY COPYRIGHT BY KATHRYN MCCRARY ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
