Mans Best Friend Burger

Walk around any neighborhood in my town of Tinton Falls, or by Seven Presidents Beach in Long Branch, or around the reservoir in Brick, Central New Jersey claims a share of canine happiness, along with their owners of course.So I thought that it would be neat to create a burger that made both ends of the leash happy. This is a nice mix of ground sirloin and chuck steak, bacon, cheese, and liver – yes, liver. Definitely not for the faint of heart or the arteries, but Fido and your friends will need a leash to hold yourselves back from this treat. Woof!

Ingredients:

Patty
1 lb ground sirloin beef
1 lb ground chuck beef
1 Tbs kosher salt
4 Tbs Worcestershire sauce
1 Tbs olive oil

Toppings
8 oz foie gras, liverwurst, or calves liver, sliced thin
16 slices hickory smoked bacon, fried and crumbled
8 oz smoked gouda, sliced thin
1 cucumber, sliced
2 large carrots, sliced

Bun
6 Kaiser Rolls, halved, brushed with olive oil.

Dressing
3 red peppers, roasted and mashed
1/2 cup kalamata olives, crushed
1/3 cup mayonnaise
4 cloves roasted garlic, mashed

Other
Kosher salt to taste
Ground black pepper to taste
Olive oil for brushing
16 oz chicken stock
Smoked paprika

Instructions:

Preparation
Mix Patty ingredients gently, prepare patties slightly larger than the rolls, about 1/3 inch thick. Set aside.
Fire up the grill to 350degrees and place a cast iron pan to heat.
Also place a small pot of chicken stock, bring to boil
Start frying the bacon in the pan.
Once stock boils, blanch carrots and cucumber, not more than 3 minutes. Remove from broth, season with paprika and set aside. Remove the pot from grill.
Coat peppers and garlic in oil, wrap in foil and roast on grill until well done, 20 minutes.
Once cooled, assemble dressing ingredients, refrigerate until ready to use.
Fry bacon until crisp, remove and set aside. Drain drippings, but leave a bacon greased pan.
If using calves liver, place liver into a tray and soak in milk for twenty minutes, discard milk and pat liver slices dry. Otherwise prepare liverwurst or foie gras for frying.
Sear liver in pan with bacon drippings until crispy, set aside.
Adjust grill to medium high, toast buns on all sides, set aside.
Grill burgers, 4 minutes each side or medium doneness, top with gouda until melted. Set on platter to rest.

Assembly – as you prefer, but try this in order:
Bottom bun – dressing – bacon crumbled – liver/foie gras/liverwurst – cucumber slices – Burger/gouda – carrot slices – dressing – top bun