Pride of the Northwest Burger
When most people think of the Northwest they think of salmon, however there are a bounty of fresh treats grown in Oregon and Washington that go great with a good old fashioned burger.The Pride of the Northwest burger, featuring apples and sweet onions from Washington and hazelnuts and Oregonzola cheese from Oregon, has best ingredients the Northwest has to offer.
Ingredients:
1 Walla Walla sweet onion
1 cup hazelnuts
1 half cup butter (whole stick)
4 Granny Smith apples
2 tsp and 1 half tsp salt
1 and a half tsp ground cinnamon
1 half cup brown sugar
2 lbs black Angus ground sirloin
1 half lb ground pork
2 tsp pumpkin pie seasoning
1 quarter cup vegetable oil
6 poppy seed buns
1 and a half cups of crumbled Oregonzola cheese
Instructions:
Preheat gas grill to medium-high (300 degrees).
Slice onion into 6 paper thin slices and set aside.
Spread hazelnuts on a cookie sheet and place on grill rack. Roast covered for 15 minutes. Transfer to a bowl to cool for about 10 minutes. Chop nuts coarsely in a food processor.
Cut butter into cubes and place in a cast iron skillet on the grill rack. Peel and core apples and cut in half through the length of the core. Cut apple halves in to ¼ inch slices. Add apple slices to the butter and season with ½ teaspoon of salt and cinnamon. Sauté for 5 minutes. Add nuts and sauté for another 5 to 10 minutes until the apples are tender. Add brown sugar and stir to dissolve in the butter. Remove from heat and cover loosely to allow steam to escape.
In a large bowl, combine the ground sirloin, ground pork, salt and pumpkin pie spice. Mix well, handling the meat as little as possible. Shape into six patties. Brush the grill rack with vegetable oil and place patties on the rack. Cover and cook for about 10 minutes, turning once. After turning place buns face down on cooler part of grill to toast.
To assemble burgers place a slice of onion on each bun bottom followed by a patty. Place ¼ cup of the Oregonzola crumbles on top of the patty and add 1/2 cup of the apple mixture. Place the bun top on the apples and serve.