TODAY Food Club

It's almost Father's Day and I'm sure that most dads would be very happy if you grilled him a burger on Sunday. Here's a great burger with some pickled asparagus instead of pickles and a very unique asparagus cheddar. Haven't bought dad a gift yet? I have a great suggestion, buy him a meat grinder. If you have a stand mixer in your kitchen, simply buy him the meat grinding attachment. They are less than $100 and include the finding attachment along with a sausage stuffing attachment. Dad would love it, I promise. Everyone is trying "to up" their burger game and this is a sure way to do it! I will be making this burger live on air - Thursday 6.16.16 at 9am on WISH-TV IndyStyle if you want to see how I freshly grind meat for my burgers. Tune in, they will livestream the segments on Facebook.

Asparagus Cheddar Cheeseburger

• Servings: ½ pound burger
• Yield: 4 servings
• Prep Time: 30 min
• Cooking Time: 10 min

Ingredients

• 2 pounds beef (I used a combination of chuck, brisket and short ribs - at least 80/20)
• 3 tablespoons soy sauce
• Salt and pepper
• 8 slices thick-cut bacon (I like maple bacon or jalapeño bacon)
• ¼ cup mayonnaise
• 3 tablespoons ketchup
• 1 tablespoon mustard
• 2 tablespoons dill relish or chopped green olives
• 1 tablespoon prepared horseradish
• 4 slices asparagus cheddar cheese (or your favorite cheese)
• 4 tablespoons garlic butter, softened
• 4 hamburger buns, split
• Lettuce
• Tomato slices
• Red onion slices
• Pickled asparagus

Preparation

1. Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Add meat to a cutting board and cut into cubes. Lay cubes on baking sheet and freeze for 10 minutes. Add meat grinding attachment to stand mixer using the coarse bringing plate. If you don't want to grind your own meat, simply use ground chuck 80/20. Once beef is very cold, but not completely frozen, add to hopper and turn mixer on. Press cubes down hopper until all meat is ground, then add soy sauce and gently combine. Form into 4 equal patties that are slightly larger in circumference than the bun, then depress the centers for even cooking. Refrigerate until ready to grill.
3. Place bacon on slotted pan or parchment lined baking sheet and cook in oven for 17-20 minutes, or until crispy. Lay bacon on paper towels to drain.
4. While bacon is cooking, make the sauce. In a small bowl, mix together mayo, ketchup, mustard, relish and horseradish. Refrigerate until assembly.
5. Pre-heat a grill or cast-iron skillet to medium high heat. Generously season both sides of patties with salt and pepper. Grill patties for 10-12 minutes, or to desired doneness, only turning once. Add cheese during last few minutes of cooking, making sure it is thoroughly melted. Spread butter over cut sides of buns and lightly toast.
6. To assemble burgers, add some lettuce to each of the toasted bun bottoms followed by a tomato slice and then a cheeseburger patty. Add 2 strips of bacon followed by some onions. Add the pickled asparagus and drizzle on some sauce, then add toasted bun top. Enjoy!

Recipe Tags

• Grilling
• American
• Entree