Fiery Mongolian Beef Burgers with Cool Sweet and Sour Cucumber Salad

Pairs well with:

Sauvignon Blanc

With hints of passion fruit, melon, and citrus, this wine beckons you to kick back and find a perfect porch swing.

One of my favorite Asian dishes is Mongolian Beef.I used this as the base of my burger and added some spicy mayonnaise and cooled it down with a sweet and sour cucumber salad. This burger is a huge hit with everyone who has taste tested it for me.

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 ounces seasoned rice vinegar
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
2 medium size garlic cloves, finely minced
1/2 large English cucumber, thinly sliced
1/4 cup grated carrot
1/2 large red bell pepper, thinly sliced into rings then cut in half across
1/2 small purple onion, thinly sliced into rings then cut in half across
1 tablespoon coarsely chopped cilantro
5 tablespoons mayonnaise
1 tablespoon Sriracha chili sauce
2 pounds 80/20 ground beef
2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
3 tablespoons Tabasco Chipotle flavored hot sauce
2 teaspoons oil
1 – 1/2 teaspoons finely chopped gingerroot
1 large garlic clove, finely minced
1/2 cup light soy sauce
5 tablespoons lightly packed light brown sugar
2 tablespoons butter, softened
6 fresh bakery sesame hamburger buns
6 – 1/2″ thick tomato slices
12 crisp inner leaves of butter lettuce with the spines removed

Instructions:

Preheat an outdoor grill to medium high.

For the cucumber relish, combine the sugar, salt rice vinegar, red pepper flakes and garlic in a small bowl; whisk and set aside.

Place the cucumber, carrot, red bell pepper, purple onion and cilantro in a separate medium size bowl. Whisk the dressing and pour over the cucumber mixture. Toss to coat, cover and keep cool until ready to serve.

For the Hot Chili Mayo, place the mayonnaise and chili sauce in a small bowl, stir well and keep cool until ready to use.

For the Mongolian Beef Burgers, place the ground beef, salt, black pepper and Tabasco sauce in a large bowl. Mix well to incorporate being careful not to overwork the meat. Divide meat into 6 equal portions and roll into meatballs. Flatten meatballs between your hands and shape into 6 patties that are the approximately the same size as the buns. Place on the hot grill and cook until desired doneness is reached, approximately 5-6 minutes on each side for medium. For the last 3 minutes of cooking time, move the patties to the outside of the grill while you cook the sauce.

Place a small sauce pan over the hottest part of the fire, pour in the oil, gingerroot and garlic; sauté for approximately 1 minute before adding the soy sauce and brown sugar. Stir until the sugar is dissolved. Stir sauce often and slide the pot to the outside if it begins to cook too quickly; simmer until ready to serve. Transfer the cooked patties to a serving platter and cover with foil to keep warm.

Spread a small amount of butter onto the cut sides of the bun. If needed, quickly scrape off the outside of the grill to clean. Place buns on the grill, buttered side down and toast until golden brown, approximately 2-3 minutes.

Remove the buns from the grill and place on a platter, buttered sides up. On the top halves of the bun, spread approximately 2-3 teaspoons of the Chili Mayonnaise on each. On the bottom half of the bun, place a slice of tomato. Dip the patties, one at a time into the soy sauce mixture, turning over to coat well; place each one on the bottom half of the bun on top of the tomato. Toss the cucumber mixture once more before topping the patties with equal amounts then top with lettuce. Close the hamburger with the top half of the bun. Cut in half if desired and serve immediately.