Tastes of Oz: Burgers

So, contrary to popular belief, I haven't joined a cult or become a hermit. I just got back from a three week trip to AUSTRALIA, where I visited my older sister and her fiancé, who are living over there and teaching! We journeyed into the Outback without internet or other amenities (i.e. showers) for two weeks, which explains my lack of posting. However, I swear, there was no shortage of eating on the trip. And now, I'm really glad, and really excited to be back!

Between the jet lag and the serious extent of field research (AKA stuffing my face), I didn't even know where to begin writing my first post. Since we were out camping, with limited resources, the kitchen victories were few and far between. Not only that, but because this is chiefly a cooking blog, I wasn't too sure about penning restaurant reviews or idle storytelling. I didn't just want to write about the food in Australia, I wanted to give y'all something you could DIY! Your own taste of Oz... So.

Let's talk about BURGERS! 

 

Down in Australia right now, it's wintertime. While most Aussies were turning to stews, curries and hearty meat pies to keep them warm in their adorable, snow-less version of the coldest time of year, my fellow Canadians and I were still looking for summer barbecue fare. Behold, the glorious hamburger! Just like us regular fast food noshing North Americans, Australians embrace the burger as a culinary phenomenon, and boy, they do it well. Beef, lamb and even kangaroo burgers make regular appearances on Aussie menus. While we sampled burgers-a-plenty on the trip (obviously in the name of science), I tried to keep notes on some of the more distinct flavours we came across. How can YOU get a bite of Australia at your next BBQ? Read on.

#1. The Aussie Burger. 

Burger patty (your choice) + roasted beetroot + fried egg + back bacon. These three toppings make regular appearances on burgers EVERYWHERE down under. I know, I know, it sounds weird, but the tang of the beetroot, cut with the silky, saucy yolk of the fried egg, and the salt of the back bacon work really well together. Something I discovered at my first meal on the day we arrived in Melbourne.

#2. The Nacho Cheese Burger.  

Burger patty (your choice) + original Doritos + shredded iceberg lettuce + melted cheese + salsa & sour cream sauce. One thing Australian hamburgers have in common with the North American variety is that they're looking to serve up something indulgent, weird and delicious too. We were driving to Clare Valley for an afternoon of wine touring, when Steve (my sister's fiancé) and I got into a huge discussion about food. Big, greasy, over the top, dirty diner food. By the time we stopped in the next town, we had talked ourselves into a salivating starvation. We NEEDED something to eat. I popped into a bakery and ended up getting a Peppersteak pie, only to go next door to join the others at their fast food joint. They were noshing on giant burgers & crispy fries.

Long story short, I ended up eating the pie I had bought AND the Nacho Cheese burger, because I was told that I NEEDED to try it. NEEDED with a capital "WRAP YOUR FACE AROUND THIS, IT IS SO GOOD-- you need to eat more or you're going to get plastered at light speed this afternoon."

I had to take my glasses off, it was so huge and so messy.  Dear people who made this burger: you were doing it right.

#3. The Steve Special. 

One of the best burgers I ate on the didn't come from a restaurant or even an Australian at all. It came from Steve, who masterminded this recipe some time ago and then made it for us one night at a campsite in Alice Springs. The savoury, well seasoned bite of meat in these burgers gives way to a creamy, rich, cream cheese center, spiced up with a zip of freshly chopped jalapenos.

Note: This recipe is rustic at best, so use every kitchen skill and instinct you have to make it happen. COURAGE! It will be WELL worth it

STEVE's Spectacular Super Secret Surprise Burgers

Makes 5-6 Burger patties

 Ingredients

1 package lean ground beef
2 eggs
breadcrumbs
secret sauce of your choice (i.e. bbq)
3 cloves garlic
1 medium onion
salt & pepper
jalapenos
1 package cream cheese
Any extra seasonings or herbs you like.

1. Finely chop both garlic and onions, then put into a bowl with the beef and eggs. 

2. Add some sauce and seasonings of your choice to the bowl, along with a generous amount of bread crumbs. Combine with your bare hands, really well, until everything is evenly mixed. (If too dry, add more sauce.)

3. Halve and seed the jalapenos, (as many as you like, to your taste) and then finely chop them.

4. In a separate bowl, add one package of cream cheese and the tiny jalapenos. Mix to combine!

5. On a plate (or wax paper) flatten some of the meat and form it into a bowl shape. Fill the bowl with the jalapeno cream cheese mixture. Then, take another handful of meat and flatten it on top. Seal it up tight! Continue this until all the meat/cream cheese is used up.

6. Preheat a grill to hot, and cook the burgers to your personal preference. ENJOY!

Say Cheese!...Burger Pizza.

Are you fond of celebrity mash up couple names like Brangelina and Kimye? Do you find yourself often in a tizzy when choosing between two foods upon which to indulge? Are you looking for a recipe which will blow your freakin' mind next pizza night?

Look no further, friends. In celebration of Bite Club having 30 followers on our Facebook page (WOOHOO!), I am sharing with you one of my original recipes.

I invented this on the advent of my roommate's birthday this year. Her birthday fell on a Tuesday, which is pizza night, the most holy day of the week in our flat. I wanted to make her something awesome that still fell under the religious dietary restrictions of our pizza-for-dinner rule. (Amen.) Well, Rebekah's favourite food is burgers. Any time we go to a restaurant, it's a rare occasion indeed that she doesn't order a burger of some kind.

After searching the internet, unsatisfied with pizza recipes that seemed not burger-y enough, or involved hyper processed American cheese, I took matters into my own oven mitts and invented this. Crispy homemade crust, smothered in caramelized onion and mushrooms, ground beef sauteed in burger sauces, and topped off with two kinds of cheeses and pickles. Yes, you read that correctly. Pickles on pizza. Keep the faith. When I made it a second time, for awesome friends Josh and Reb who visited in February, the smell filling the apartment was intoxicating. As we sat around, eating the slices of heaven, even the two of us who had eaten it before would stop between bites and shake our heads in disbelief at the sheer...punch of flavour packed onto this pizza pie. 

This recipe is insanely good. It has crunch, bite, luxurious ooze, a hint of sweet from the caramelized onions, savoury from the beef and salty tang from the pickles. Not to mention, it's FUN! It's the food that childhood and stoner dreams are made of. Dude, imagine a cheeseburger had a baby with a pizza. DUDE. I MADE IT. Now, you should too.

Cheeseburger Pizza

Makes 1 pizza... the pizza of your burger loving dreams.
A Bite Club Original Recipe

Ingredients

1 recipe, basic pizza dough

2 medium cooking onions, diced
1-2 tbsp butter
8 oz. (227g) your choice of mushroom, (I used white) sliced

1/2 lb medium or lean ground beef
2-3 tbsp mustard
1/3 cup ketchup

1-3 tbsp tomato sauce
1 cup cheddar cheese, grated
1 cup mozzarella cheese, grated
2-3 dill pickles, diced

cornmeal, for sprinkling

1. Cut up the onions and add to a large frying pan over medium-low heat with the butter, stirring to make sure they are evenly coated. Cook and stir occasionally to caramelize them, about 45 minutes until golden brown. (Hint: this is a good time to prepare the pizza dough, if you haven't already!) When the onions are golden, add the mushrooms into the same pan and cook until brown. Salt the mixture to taste.

2. Empty the mushrooms and onions into a small bowl and set aside. Put the ground beef into the same pan and crumble it with a wooden spoon. Cook over medium heat until just browned.  Turn off the heat and add the mustard and ketchup to the beef, stirring until it is creamy and evenly mixed. Leave to cool.

3. Preheat your oven to 425 degrees. Generously sprinkle a baking sheet with cornmeal, and roll out the dough onto it, all the way to the edges. Grate the cheeses if you haven't already.

4. Spread the dough with a thin layer of tomato sauce. Then, spread the ground beef evenly over the mixture. Follow this with the onions and mushrooms. Cover the entire thing with the grated cheeses. Over the stop, sprinkle the diced pickles.

5. Bake for 30 minutes. When it's finished, remove from the oven and let cool for an additional ten minutes. Slice, serve and live the dream.

I Am Jack's Step By Step Photos.

1. Melt butter in a medium frying pan over medium-low heat. Add the onions, stirring to ensure they are properly coated in butter.

2. After about 35 minutes. The onions will be a golden brown. Add the sliced mushrooms and cook them together, until the mushrooms are browned and slightly shrunken. Empty into a separate bowl, return the pan to the heat.

3. Add the ground beef into the same frying pan, cooking over medium heat until just browned. Do not overcook, remember, you'll be baking the pizza for another half an hour!

4. When the beef is cooked, turn off the heat. Stir in the ketchup and the mustard until it is evenly mixed and properly coated. Yes, it looks kind of gross. Is it delicious? ABSOLUTELY.

5. Preheat your oven to 425 degrees. Sprinkle a baking sheet with cornmeal generously, then roll the dough out so it meets all of the corners. Spread with a thin layer of tomato sauce, as much to your liking

6. Spread the beef evenly over the dough, followed by the mushrooms and onions.

7. Sprinkle both cheeses over the entire pizza, and top it off with the diced pickles.

8. Bake for 30 minutes, until cheese is melted, and golden brown.

9. Allow the pizza to cool for 10 minutes. Slide it onto a wooden cutting board, slice and serve!