Every week we grill up some burgers in the cast iron skillet, and like to top them with sautéed onions and mushrooms spiked with red wine or whiskey, along with a mix of Worcestershire, beef broth and spices. Since Rick is usually the one making the burgers, I like to call them Rick’s burgers. Each time he seasons them a little differently, and they always turn out great.
While watching Diners, Drive-In’s and Dives, a chef was going through his list of ingredients used to make his top selling burger. Rick wrote down the ingredients, and without knowing any measurements, we just had to give this tasty sounding recipe a try. Here’s how we made ours:
Mushroom Sauce:
1 1/2 cup red wine
½ cup cognac
½ cup sweet marsala wine
1 TBSP balsamic vinegar
2-3 TBSP simple syrup
1 TBSP worcestershire sauce
1 TSP onion powder
1 TSP cocoa
1 TSP paprika
1 TSP tumeric
A dash of smoked salt
Combine all the ingredients into a medium saucepan, along with a variety of mushrooms (we used crimini, portabella, shitake and white mushrooms). Add enough mushrooms so it’s a 50/50 mixture of half sauce, half mushrooms. Cook on medium for the first five – ten minutes, then reduce to low heat and cook until sauce reduces and thickens, for about an hour.
Onion marinade:
2 TBSP bbq sauce
2 dashes worcestershire sauce sauce
A capful apple cider
1 red onion, cut in half
Heat cast iron skillet until smoking. Mix the top three ingredients in a bowl, then add the onion and coat with the marinade. Add to skillet, and cook until onions are tender.
Burgers: Cook to your liking.
Wow — what a great tasting burger! The mushroom sauce was wonderfully decadent, bursting with rich, smoky, tangy, sweet flavors. We loved it so much we could have eaten the sauce by itself! The burgers were moist and cooked just the way we like 'em, and topped with the marinated onions, each bite oozed with gourmet goodness. We both agreed these were one of the best tasting burgers we’ve had in a long time, and this is the way we'll probably make 'em from now on!
