Manly Mike's Pub Burger

Well, my friend is Mike is back!  He's here to share a BURGER.  It's NOT a slider, it's a BUR-GER.  A manly burger at that.  This pub favorite is right up my alley, it's got all of the elements I love on my burgers.....a mayo sauce, shallot marmalade (ok, so it's not that manly), garlic and some great accompaniments.  I'm excited to make this burger, or have Mike make it for me next time I'm over at the Homant House. 

Mike's here to defend his masculinity and go on and on about how "real men" make crepes (see below) and use words such as "mastication" to ensure that you all know he's the manliest man I know. ;)  Hahaha!

Enjoy!  OH and all you ladies out there, get your MAN to make this burger for ya.

Manly Mike's Pub Burger

I know it’s been awhile since I’ve last submitted an entry, but I have to address something that Jen mentioned in the intro of my first post.  She tried to set me up as a her "Manly" contributor, then goes and mentions that I made a Boston Cream pie out of several layers of crepes.  Crepes, while delicious, are not very manly. Thanks Jen for the great set up, you  might as well have told everybody “Here’s Mike, he’ll be giving a man perspective in my blog.  He enjoys watching Glee while wearing a pink fluffy robe, getting  pedis, and dancing to John Mayer songs.  In my defense,…uhm…, ok so there may be no manly defense for making crepes, but it was damn good. 

To atone for that moment of weakness, it’s time to go talk about the tabla rosa, the blank slate, the empty canvas, the lump of clay just waiting to be molded into that manly masterpiece of mastication – the humble hamburger.  There could be a daily blog devoted just for hamburgers (there probably is) which could run for years without running out of ideas for different types of burgers.

One of my favorite burgers, and the inspiration of this recipe, comes from The Red Coat Tavern in Royal Oak, MI.  I don’t often order burgers in restaurants, as I feel they are often under-seasoned, overcooked messes that I could make better at home, but I make an exception for the Red Coat.  If you’ve never been there, the Red Coat is sort of a British-style pub.  They cook their burgers perfectly to order (medium-rare means medium rare, not well done like some places), they shred their lettuce so you don’t pull out one big piece if you don’t bite completely through it – I hate that - but the best part is their house-made mayo-sauce.  It’s part mayo, part malt vinegar, part onion, part ???, all love.   I can’t figure out everything that’s in there, but I think  I’m close.  The Red Coat also has a great selection of beer, with ales and lagers from all over the place.  On a recent trip, they featured a beer from the oldest brewery in Europe on tap.  I wanted to put the best of the Red Coat into a burger – so without further ado, I present to you “The Pub Burger”:

The Pub Burger:

For the Burger.......

1 lb. Ground Chuck

½ Cup Beer (I used a Nut Brown, but any dark would also work well, I’d avoid PBR)

½ Cup Bread Crumbs

2-3 cloves of garlic, thinly minced

1 egg

4 slices of sharp cheddar cheese

Lettuce, shredded

4 slices of Tomato

Salt and pepper to taste

For the Shallot Marmalade....

3 Shallots, chopped

½ Cup Beer

2 tsp Brown Sugar

1½ TB butter

Salt and pepper to taste

For the Mayo-Sauce.....

4 TB Mayonnaise

3 tsp Onion powder

3 tsp Malt vinegar

2 tsp beer

Directions:

Melt the butter in a pan over medium heat, and add the shallots and lightly salt and pepper to test.  Let the shallots start to sweat a little, about 5-6 minutes or so, then add the beer and brown sugar.  Turn heat to down to low, stirring occasionally until the beer is fully reduced.

Meanwhile, in a large bowl lightly mix the ground chuck, beer, bread crumbs, minced garlic, egg, salt and pepper.  Gently shape into patties – you want to try to avoid compacting the meat too much, just enough to keep it together on the grill.  Preheat the grill, and I like grilling it on high heat (about 500 degrees) for a shorter amount of time, but I also like it medium rare.  After flipping the burgers once, add the cheddar cheese.  I also like to toast the buns, but it’s a matter of preference.

Mix the mayo in a small dish with the onion powder, malt vinegar, and beer.

Assembly:

Spread a little mayo-sauce on the bottom and top buns.  Add the paddy and top with onion marmalade, tomato slice, and shredded lettuce.  It will be, and I argue should be, messy, so make sure you have enough napkins on hand.