The Cool Greek

Ingredients:

Marinated Cucumbers
1 Cucumber (Seed or Seedless)
1 Cup Vegetable Oil
¼ Teaspoon of Kosher Salt
½ Cup White Wine Vinegar
½ Cup Sugar

Yogurt sauce
1 ½ Cup Plain Yogurt
½ Teaspoon Fresh Ground Pepper
2 Teaspoons Garlic Powder

Greek Spices
2 Teaspoons Kosher Salt
3 Tablespoons Paprika
1 Teaspoon Fresh Ground Pepper
1 ½ Teaspoons Dried Oregano
2 Teaspoons Granulated Garlic Powder

Patties
2 Pounds Ground Chuck (80/20)
8 Oz.Feta Cheese
6 Ciabatta Rolls (sliced in half lengthwise)
¼ cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil for brushing rolls

Instructions:

To make the Marinated Cucumbers, slice the Cucumber into rounds. (Figure at least 4 – 6 rounds per burger depending on the size of the Cucumber) Combine the Vegetable Oil, Kosher Salt, White Wine Vinegar, and Sugar into a bowl and whisk until blended well. Add Cucumber rounds to the mixture making sure all the Cucumbers are covered. Cover and refrigerate.

To make the Yogurt Sauce, mix the Yogurt, Fresh Ground Pepper and Garlic Powder together in a small bowl and stir until smooth. Cover and refrigerate.

To make the Geek Spices, combine the Kosher Salt, Paprika, Fresh Ground Pepper, Dried Oregano and Granulated Garlic into a Mortar. Using the Mortar and Pestile, grind the mixture together to a fine powder. Set aside.

To make the patties, while handling the meat as little as possible to avoid compacting, divide the meat into six (6) equal portions to fit the Ciabatta Rolls, and season with the Greek Spices on both sides of the patties.

Set Grill to Med- High

When the grill is ready, brush the grill surface with Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Place the patties on the grill and cook turning once until done to preference. Four (4) minutes on each side for Medium Rare, and Five (5) minutes on each side for Medium.

During the last few minutes of cooking, brush the Ciabatta lightly Extra Virgin Olive Oil and place cut side down on the grill surface to toast lightly.

To assemble the burgers on each Ciabatta bottom, four (4) to Six (6) Marinated Cucumber Rounds with excess marinade shaken off, a burger, 1 to 1/12 teaspoon of Yogurt Sauce, a sprinkle of Feta Cheese, Ciabatta top, and serve. Makes Six (6) Burgers