Marsala Burgers
15
Did you know that May is National Hamburger Month? Well, to be honest, neither did I. I made these burgers not because of the food holiday, but because they looked fabulous, and I finally had a bottle of marsala in the kitchen. Whatever the reason for making them, I’m glad I did! Tom and I love chicken marsala, and we both always get mushrooms on our burgers. In fact, I don’t really think a pizza is a pizza and a burger is a burger without mushrooms.
Tara is the one who thought to adapt Giada’s veal marsala into these burgers. I love adapting certain dishes to making other ones entirely – kind of like I did with the baklava French toast (um, disregard the pic) and French onion chicken, for example. The crusty baguette was a great touch, and instead of sharp cheddar I used smoked gouda. It’s one of my favorite cheeses and I knew it would complement the mushrooms and marsala well (it did). I used lean ground sirloin because I like the flavor and also because the patties go back into the sauce briefly, which makes them really moist, so there’s no need to worry about the lower fat content (in my opinion). These were great, and I’d definitely make them again. They’re a great spin on my standard mushroom burger.
Marsala Burgers
Serves 4
Adapted from Smells Like Home
1.25 lbs. ground sirloin or beef
1/2 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
sea salt and freshly ground pepper
a little olive oil
1 Tbsp. butter
1 shallot, sliced
1 clove garlic, minced
6 oz. cremini mushrooms, sliced
3/4 cup marsala
1/2 cup beef broth
4 slices smoked gouda
French baguette or crusty rolls, for serving
Lightly mix together the ground sirloin and Worcestershire. Form the mixture into four patties (if you are using baguette, you’ll want to make the patties oblong). Season on both sides with sea salt and fresh pepper.
Heat a heavy skillet, preferably cast iron, over medium heat. Add a little olive oil and when it shimmers, add the burgers. Cook the burgers until they are just undercooked to your liking (so if you like your burgers medium, cook until medium rare). Remove from the pan and set aside.
Add the butter to the pan, and then add the shallot, garlic, and mushrooms. Saute until tender and the mushrooms have lost all their juices. Increase the heat to medium-high and add the marsala. Scrape up any browned bits from the pan and reduce the liquid by half. Add the broth and reduce again by half. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Add the burgers back into the pan and continue cooking another minute or so. Top with the cheese and melt (cover with a lid if you have one to make this easier). Serve the burgers on the baguette/rolls and top with the mushroom mixture.
Elly, some of your best food comes from your ‘switch-ups” of classics. Chalk this one up as another devlish creation.
Summeer has begun if burgers are on our plates Elly. Your combination looks delicious!
The smoked cheese with the grilled hamburger must have been so tarty!!!
I don’t eat beef often but these burgers look very tempting.
Love that marsala twist! Great stuff. Your baklava french toast is a classic still…
So glad to you enjoyed this burger as much as we did, Elly! Beautiful photo!
Burgers are so versatile if people just let themselves explore the options as you did. Love the combo of marsala and smoked gouda.
Great picture, and I’m definitely making this soon!!
I love making “burgers” out of entire dishes … you can really get a burger to embody what an entire dish does and the results are usually some amazing flavors packed between a bun!
Love the mushrooms and marsala flavor here.
What I wonderful sounding burger. I love those shrooms on top!
These look delicious! A nice variation on your typical burger! And boo, I totally missed National Hamburger Month.
I just made this recipe tonight…it was DELICIOUS!! My husband was licking the plate. Thank you for posting another great recipe!
So glad you & your husband liked them, Julie!