The “Newton” Burger

I was archiving my photos this weekend and realized that I never even posted my winning burger from the 4th of July Star Spangled Burger-Palooza Contest. I posted photos on the recap, but never shared my recipe ingredients.

Ingredients:
2 Small Shallots – finely chopped in food processor
6 Sprigs Fresh Parsley – stems removed, finely chopped in food processor
1 lb. Organic Grass Fed Beef – I used Eel River
Salt and Pepper to Taste
1/2 Medium Granny Smith Apple – cored, chopped in food processor
1 Teaspoon Lemon Juice
4 Tablespoons Paula Deen’s Smokey Apple Cinnamon BBQ Sauce
3 Tablespoons Mayo
Sliced Applewood Smoked Cheddar
Soft Hamburger Buns – I got mine from the Nugget’s bakery section

I prepped my shallots and rinsed and dried my parsley before putting them into my Oster blender with the food processor attachment.

I got a nice, fine, dice and then added it to my ground beef.

I then put my peeled granny smith apple chunks into the food processor with the lemon juice for a few quick pulses. I tried grating the apple, but it released too much fluid and I wanted my apples to remain juicy so they would add moisture into the burger. It was a take on the portobello mushroom “Perfect Turkey Burgers” that I have made before.

Add the apples and 2 tablespoons of the BBQ sauce into the ground beef and gently mix, be careful, you don’t want to over work the meat.

Note: This is where I stopped taking photos of the process because everyone showed up for the party.

I divided the meat into 4 patties. I made small indents in the center for more even cooking, and I placed them between layers of waxed paper on a plate into the fridge for a few hours until “go” time.

I set all the grill burners to medium/high, placed the burgers onto the hot grill and the total cooking time was 8 minutes – 4 minutes per side.

I then spread a mixture of 3 tablespoons mayo with the remaining 2 tablespoons BBQ sauce on each side of the untoasted buns. I placed the burgers on the bottom buns, and then topped them with thin slices of the applewood smoked cheddar cheese before placing the top buns. The cheddar almost looked like red apple slices – the cheese end was actually covered in paprika.

The smokey apple flavor was incredible! I have made the burgers several times since – once by adding a little cinnamon and liquid smoke to Sweet Baby Ray’s BBQ Sauce (it’s what I had on hand.) In the event that you want to make your own sauce – the main ingredients of the Paula Deen sauce are apple cider vinegar, ketchup, corn syrup, salt, onion and garlic powders, tomato paste, molasses, water, brown sugar, honey, mustard seed, lemon juice, salt, pepper and cinnamon.

A first place win in the beef burger category – Woohoo!  and it took just under 3 months to share the recipe.

Question – What’s your favorite burger toppings? Toasted or not toasted bun?