Burgers are the ultimate sandwich in my opinion. This French inspired burger is perfect if you want to take your meal to the next level. Making a classic sauce, such as Bearnaise makes a delicious addition. Include caramelized onions with Herbs de Provence and you won't want a plain hamburger ever again.
Ingredients
4 bread buns of your choice (recipe)
4 pre-made patties or homemade recipe
1 cup shallots, sliced thinly 1" long
2 tsp Herbes de Provence
6" piece of leek, sliced lengthwise thinly
tomato, sliced
watercress or spring greens
1/3 cup bacon jam
Mock Bearnaise or
My Quick Bearnaise:
4 egg yolks
1 tbsp lemon juice
1/2 tbsp white wine vinegar or tarragon vinegar
1/2 cup butter, melted
1-2 tsp dried chervil
1-2 dried tarragon (use fresh its great!)
tt salt and pepper
pinch cayenne pepper
Instructions
Read Susie's Tips and Tricks below
1. Begin by preparing all of your ingredients. You want everything to come together seamlessly and quickly.
1. In a saute pan, add some oil and gently caramelize shallots or onions with Provence herbs until nicely coloured. True caramelization can take some time. Its okay if you merely saute to soften and become translucent. Set aside. If you have the time and inclination though, go for it. Then add the leeks and let them crisp as desired. Set aside.
2. Preheat your oven to warming mode so that your patties stay hot after preparing them to your desired done-ness. I grill mine approximately 6 minutes per side.
Bearnaise:
1. Place a saucepan on simmer with a few inches of water in it. Place a stainless steel bowl over top confirming it is slightly larger than the pot (made that mistake once). You do not want the water to touch the bottom of the bowl.
2. Whisk together egg yolks, lemon, and vinegar. Blend well, it will thicken slightly. Set on top of simmering (not boiling) water and add butter slowly, a few tbsp at a time while whisking. It will thicken and increase in volume. If the bottom appears to be scrambling; remove from pot for a couple seconds and then continue. Taste your sauce and add salt, pepper, and cayenne.
3. The sauce tends to thicken upon standing. That's okay, you can thin it a bit with warm water. I set the pot and bowl (covered) on a cool burner so that the sauce keeps warm from the residual heat.
Toast your bread, add tomato, greens, caramelized onions, bacon jam, and crispy leeks. Assemble your patty and add Bearnaise as desired. French fries taste great with this sauce too.
Susie's Tips and Tricks
A true Bearnaise is a reduction of the vinegar, white wine, herbs, shallots and peppercorn. It takes about 25 minutes to make though. This version is pretty good and works well in a burger recipe. No eggs? Use my mock version from mayonnaise, noted above.
Don't worry about fresh tarragon or chervil. Who finds that at every grocer? Not me; use dried or substitute fresh basil or thyme. It's still going to be fantastic.
Herbes de Provence is a mixture of savory, marjoram, rosemary, thyme, and oregano. Sometimes in USA, they include lavender.
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