Really Good Beef Burger Smothered by Southern Style Mashed Black Eyed Peas with Virginia Ham & Bacon topped with French Fried Onions & Basil Pesto
Ingredients
Black Eye Pea Mash
10 slices of bacon
1 small red onion, minced
2 medium cloves of garlic, minced
2 cans of Luck’s Black Eyed Peas (12 to 15 ounce can), or any variety (1 can drained, the other can not drained)
2 ounces of diced Virginia Ham
For Burgers
2 pounds ground beef
2 tablespoons Worcestershire Sauce
5 slices bacon (cooked from earlier), chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 small red onion, minced
pepper
salt
Buns & Toppings
6 Hamburger Buns, Sweet Hawaiian Variety (preferred), or regular soft variety
4 tsp of butter, room temperature
¼ cup ketchup
2 tomatoes, sliced thin
2 red peppers, sliced very thin
1 can of French Fried Onions (15 oz or larger)
8 oz of store bought fresh prepared pesto (basil pesto), good quality
Instructions
To make black-eyed pea mash get a grill safe pan and add 10 slices of bacon and fry until crispy. When the bacon has cooked completely you can remove the bacon from the pan and cut into bite sized pieces. Remove all but 2 tablespoons of bacon oil from pan and begin to sauté your onions and garlic. After about 3 minutes add your ham. After ham has browned, add your cans of black-eyed peas. Cook for about 10 minutes, mashing with fork or spoon, until mixture thickens somewhat. After mixture has thickened somewhat add half of your bacon to the black-eyed peas and continue to cook for an additional 3 minutes. Keep warm until ready to assemble burgers.
In a large bowl add your ground beef, Worcestershire sauce, remaining half of bacon, onion, garlic and pepper. Mix forming six patties. Sprinkle a small amount of salt on the outside of each burger. Cook each patty for about 6 minutes on each side for medium rare.
After burgers are finished cooking, it is time to assemble the burgers. Apply butter to each side of the hamburger bun and grill for about a minute until buns are lightly golden. On the bottom side of the bun add a layer of ketchup. On top of ketchup add your sliced tomatoes and red peppers. Place burger on top of sliced red peppers and place your black-eyed pea mash on top of the burger. Place some of your French fried onions on top of your black eyed pea mash and on the other bun place a good spoonful of your pesto on the top bun and join to the burger and serve. Serves six.