Saigon Firecracker Burger w/Chile Sauce

Pairs well with:

White Merlot

Imagine sipping a lighter Merlot. This fresh, pale-pink wine is a nice change from traditional red or white wines.

Ingredients

For the Chile Sauce:
2 Tbsp sesame oil
4 Tbsp fresh ginger root, minced
6 garlic cloves, minced
½ cup rice vinegar
¼ cup Sriracha chile sauce 
½ cup unsweetened coconut milk
¼ cup sugar
For the Firecracker Burger:
1lb beef sirloin (cut into ½â€Â cubes)
1lb beef chuck (cut into ½â€Â cubes)
1 cup scallions (finely chopped)
1 cup dry roasted unsalted peanuts (crushed).
¼ cup of Chile Sauce Mixture (see above)
Vegetable oil for grilling
For the garnish:
6 French Baguettes – Split
24 Fresh Mint Leaves
1 cup of Chile Sauce Mixture (see above)
6 Iceberg Lettuce Leaves

 

Instructions

Preheat a charcoal or gas grill to medium-high heat. For Chile Sauce: In a small flameproof sauce pan, combine sesame oil, garlic, and ginger and sauté on the grill for 2 minutes or until fragrant. Stir in rice vinegar and Sriracha chile sauce and bring to a boil. Stir in sugar and coconut milk and simmer for 5 minutes or until thick. Remove sauce from heat and bring to room temperature. For the Burger: Add sirloin cubes to a food processor and pulse just until ground (about 8-10 times) and remove ground sirloin from processor and put in a large bowl. Add chuck cubes to food processor and pulse just until ground (about 8-10 times) and remove ground chuck from processor. Combine both meats in a large bowl and mix in scallions, crushed peanuts and ¼ cup of chile sauce mixture. Working the meat as little as possible, form 6 equal oval patties (they should be about the same size and shape as the baguette). When ready to cook, brush the grill rack with vegetable oil and place the patties on the grill. Cook 5 minutes on each side for medium. To Assemble: Place 4 mint leaves on each baguette bottom. Place a burger on top of the baguette bottoms and top each burger with chile sauce and an iceberg lettuce leaf. Add the baguette tops and serve.