Alaskan Last Frontier Stuffed Pot Roast Burger with Zesty Lemonnaise & citrus salad

When I was a child, my Father would fix pot roast with lemon gravy and a tossed citrus salad with Blue Cheese dressing. I want to re-create those zesty, tangy flavors in a burger.

Ingredients:

Ingredients for Patties

2 pounds boneless chuck pot roast, twice ground
2 fresh medium-size basil leaves, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon fresh garlic, crushed in garlic press
1/4 teaspoon dried rosemary leaves
1 3/4 teaspoons course sea salt (in grinder)

6 tablespoons Robertson’s Lemon Curd (reserved until assembling burger)

Lemon Mayonnaise (lemonnaise)

3/4 cup mayonnaise
1/4 teaspoon lemon zest
8 of 20 segments extracted from 3 medium size Eureka or Lisbon lemons
1/4 teaspoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon honey Dijon mustard
1/8 teaspoon lemon pepper
2 fresh medium-size basil leaves, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon peeled ginger root, crushed

Filling for Patties

4 1/2 ounces Rosenborg Castello Danish Blue Cheese or other quality Blue Cheese, crumbled
6 lemon segments
6 Mandarin orange segments, drained (preferably Native Forest Organic Mandarins in unsweetened Mandarin Orange Juice or other quality brand of unsweetened Mandarin segments)

Citrus Salad

1 1/2 cups of selected greens from a chilled, 5oz bag of Fresh Express prepackaged salad, preferably Spring Mix (mix of baby lettuces, greens, and radicchio) or 5-Lettuce Mix
6 lemon segments
6 Mandarin orange segments, drained
3/8 teaspoon of ground sea salt (= a dash [1/16 teaspoon] of salt on each salad portion)
3/8 teaspoon of McCormick Valencia orange peel (= a dash of the orange peel on each salad portion)

4 tablespoons vegetable oil for brushing grill rack

6 Crustini rolls, split

Instructions:

To season the ground pot roast, turn out meat onto a large sheet of heavy duty aluminum foil. Use another sheet of foil or if available, an ice water-filled rolling pin to flatten the ground meat into a slab approximately 1/4 inch thick. Using a cold spoon, gently rub the basil and garlic into the meat. To release the full flavor of the leaves, roll the dried rosemary between your fingers, sprinkling it evenly over the meat. Salt the meat then fold slab in half and enclose in the foil. Set aside in cooler for flavors to develop while preparing the lemon mayonnaise.

Heat a gas grill to medium-high.

To make the lemonnaise, grate enough peel from one lemon to obtain 1/4 teaspoon of zest. Peel the lemons, removing all the pith to expose the flesh. With the tip of a knife remove a total of 20 segments. Squeeze the juice of the remaining lemon into a small bowl. Seed and rough chop 8 segments, reserving 12 segments for the cheese filling and the citrus salad. Combine mayonnaise and zest in a chilled mixing bowl, gently fold in the chopped lemon, add 1/4 teaspoon lemon juice, mustard, lemon pepper, basil, and ginger. Mix well, cover and keep chilled until assembling the burgers.

To make patties, using a digital scale weigh out six 1/3 pound (5.3 ounces) portions of the seasoned meat, flatten each portion. For each patty, spoon 3/4 ounce of Blue Cheese crumbles over one half of the patty, gently break 1 lemon and 1 Mandarin orange segment into small pieces and distribute over the Blue Cheese. Fold over the opposite side of the patty to enclose the filling and then re-shape the patty to fit the bun. Depress the center of each patty.

When the grill is ready, brush the grill rack with vegetable oil. Place the patties on the rack, offsetting them from the fire to prevent flare-ups. Cook 4 minutes on each side for medium. Remove patties from grill and place in a foil tent to allow juices to redistribute.

While patties are resting, place Crustini buns, cut side down, on the cooler edge of the grill to lightly toast.

To assemble burgers, spread 1 tablespoon of the lemonnaise on the cut sides of the bun bottoms. On each bun bottom, place a grilled patty. Spread 1 tablespoon of Robertson’s Lemon Curd on top of the patty. Top with 1/3 cup selected salad leaves, add 1 lemon and 1 Mandarin segment broken into small pieces. Add a dash sea salt and a dash of orange peel. Spread another tablespoon of lemonnaise on bun top and place on top of the salad. Secure with skewer and serve immediately.

Makes 6 burgers