The Nor’wester with Grilled Relish

Pairs well with:

Cabernet Sauvignon

This rich red easily complements your homemade chicken dishes, red meats, game, and mildly seasoned pastas.

It represents a taste of the kinds of foods we eat in the Northwest. It’s made with local ingredients, and has a little kick from the fresh relish. Northwest cuisine is very popular for it’s freshness and it’s uniqueness, with a bent toward combining flavors that may not have been paired up before.

Ingredients:

Relish
8 T. Olive oil, for brushing the grill rack
1 lg. Walla Walla onion, peeled & sliced vertically into ½ inch slices
2 lbs. fresh tomatillos, husked, washed & quartered
4 T. packed brown sugar
Patties
2 lbs ground chuck
12 oz beef chorizo, casing removed
2 tsp. garlic salt
1 tsp. white pepper
2 T. Sutter Home Merlot

1.5 C. Tillamook Extra Sharp Cheddar, grated
6 T. butter, softened
6 good quality, fresh Kaiser Rolls, split

Instructions:

Preheat a grill to med-high. When the grill is ready, brush the rack with olive oil.
Place the tomatillo quarters and the onion slices on the grill. Grill about 5 minutes on each side, or until lightly browned. Remove to cutting board. The tomatillos and onions will be grilling while the patties are being prepared.
In a large mixing bowl combine the ground chuck, beef chorizo, garlic salt, white pepper and the Merlot. Mix well, but lightly. Divide the mixture into six equal portions; form into patties, again handling lightly. Place the burgers on the grill rack, after removing the grilled tomatillos and onions to a cutting board. Cook the burgers for 5-7 minutes on each side to medium – or to an internal temperature of 160 degrees. Insert thermometer into center of patty.
While the burgers are cooking, chop the grilled tomatillos and onion slices into half-inch pieces; place in a bowl. Toss in the brown sugar. Chill until ready to use.
In the last few minutes of grilling time, place ¼ cup of the grated cheddar onto each burger.
Lightly butter each half of the rolls and place, cut side down toward the outer edges of rack, until just toasted.
To assemble the burgers place a grilled patty on the bottom half on each roll. Give the relish a toss to recombine. Spoon a generous portion of the relish onto each patty. Cover with the top half of the roll.