With the long weekend starting in several hours, I wanted to share one more Big Green Egg recipe with you that my family loved.
Last weekend, I tried out Bobby Flay’s recipe for blackened burgers with pepper jack and remoulade.
Burgers are always a hit in our house and this recipe added in one of my favourite flavours – heat.
The blackened aspect of the burger is explained in Bobby’s cook book, Bobby’s Flay’s Barbecue Addiction, as doing it Louisiana style in a cast iron grill on high heat.
Good thing I have a cast iron grill because it worked like a charm.
Basically you make up a dry rub and put it one on side of the burger. Put it in the pan on very high heat and sear the meat so it has that black and charred crust that adds so much flavour.
The fun part of this recipe was getting a little fancy for me as I got to make my first ever remoulade. This is basically a mustard, mayo spread for the bun of the burger.
We topped the meal off with corn on the cob and home-made guacamole.
What an ideal summer recipe when you got the need for some high heat grilling.
Here is the recipe which I cooked of course on my large size Big Green Egg.
Ingredients
Burger
- 1 tablespoon of paprika
- 1 teaspoon of dry or fresh thyme
- 1/2 teaspoon of garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon of onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon of cayenne
- salt and pepper
- 2 lbs of lean ground beef
- 1 tablespoon of canola oil
- 8 slices of pepper jack cheese
- 4 slices of ham, thinly sliced
- 4 soft hamburger buns
- 4 slices of red onion
- 2 tablespoons of your favourite hot sauce
Remoulade Sauce
- 1/2 cup of mayonnaise
- 1/4 cup of dijon mustard
- 1/2 cup of yellow (normal) mustard
- 3 tablespoons of your favourite hot sauce
- 3 cornichons, diced – I learned that these are pickles!
- 2 green onions, diced
- salt and pepper
Process
Remoulade
Whisk together the mayo, both mustards, the hot sauce, cornichons and the green onions in a small bowl and season with salt and pepper. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before serving to allow the flavours to get friendly with each other.
One piece of advice. This recipe makes a lot. Way more than you need for 4 burgers. But it will last if you put it in a jar.
Burger
I like to make my burgers early in the day and let them sit in the fridge for a few hours.
First, combine the paprika, thyme, garlic and onion powders, the cayenne, salt and pepper in a bowl. This will be the dry rub.
Next take your ground beef and form 4 uniform and flat patties. The recipe says to stick to less than 3/4 but I always just eye-ball mine based on hunger. Make a slight depression with your thumb on one side of each patty.
When you are ready to grill, brush both sides of the burger with oil and then season one side with the rub, really making sure to rub in the spices.
Get your grill up to a pretty high heat (I was over 400 F) and place your cast iron pan on the grill to let it warm up. I put a little oil in the pan just to help with the sear.
Once the grill is ready, place the burgers in the pan with the rub side down. You should hear a nice and loud hiss as the meat sears.
Do this for about 2 minutes to get a nice crust. Don’t be crazy and go longer, you don’t want to burn the spices.
Flip the burger, season with salt and pepper and grill the burger on medium heat until you reach your desired doneness.
I actually put mine directly on the grill for about 6 more minutes to finish them off.
As you reach the last few minutes of cooking, cover the burgers with the pepper jack cheese and close the lid.
When the time is up, the cheese will be fully melted and the burgers are ready to leave the grill. Put them on a plate to rest.
Now you take the slices of ham and throw them on the grill for about 30 seconds. Just long enough to get some char lines.
Do the same for the buns. Place them on the grill until they are nice and toasted.
Plating
Spread the remoulade on the top and bottom of each bun and add a few slices of red onion on each bottom bun.
Place your burger on the bun, then add the ham and finally drizzle some hot sauce on the ham and place the top bun on.
Boom. Your blackened burger with pepper jack and remoulade is ready to eat.
Conclusion
This was a tasty gourmet burger that you would easily pay $12-15 for at a restaurant. It was juicy, had that perfect crust and the heat of the remoulade was perfect.
This weekend, fire up the grill and let Bobby Flay be your inspiration.
Hope you enjoyed this recipe for a blackened burger with pepper jack and remoulade on the Big Green Egg.
Awesome recipe