Schlow Burger

By Paul Briand

I expect more from a hamburger than just cheese, ketchup, mustard and relish.

I want some life, some pizazz, some razzle-dazzle.

Not too long ago, the weekend edition of the Wall Street Journal in its cooking and eating section (yes, that Wall Street Journal … it’s come a long way, baby) featured “Burgers To Flip For.”

The story included the recipes for a variety of burgers that kick it up several notches.

This particular burger -- the Schlow Burger -- is named for its creator, chef Michael Schlow at the Radius restaurant in Boston.

I didn’t concentrate on the burger itself, which he makes with beef chuck, brisket and hanger steak.

Instead, I concentrated on his toppings -- a lemon and horseradish mayo and crispy onions.

Ingredients

For the lemon and horseradish mayo:

½ cup mayonnaise

4 teaspoons prepared white horseradish

Juice of 1 lemon

For the crispy onions:

2 large white onions, slice thinly

2 ½ cups canola oil (or enough to cover the onions)

Directions

1. Combine the mayo, horseradish and lemon juice into a bowl and season with black pepper;

2. Combine onions in a medium, heavy-bottomed saucepan, bring to a boil;

3. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 12 to 15 minutes, until onions are golden brown;

4. Remove onions and let drain and cool in a single layer on paper towels;

5. To assemble, with burger on bottom half of a toasted bun, spread plenty of mayo on the patty so that it drips down the sides then add a mound a heap of crispy onions;

6. Top with bun and serve.

For recipe card click here.

Stuffed Cheese & Jalapeno Chicken Burgers

By Paul Briand

Full disclosure: This is a rip-off.

I borrowed -- stole? -- this idea from Burger King and its Stuffed Steakhouse Burger.

But I put a healthy less caloric, less saturated fat spin on this burger that is stuffed with cheddar cheese and jalapeno peppers.

Instead of ground beef, I used ground chicken. I used low-fact cheese. And instead of your typical hamburger bun, I used whole wheat, whole grain deli thins.

Ingredients

4 pre-packaged ground chicken patties

¼ cup crumbled cheese from block of low-fat cheddar

Jalapeno peppers to taste

4 whole grain/whole wheat deli thins

Directions

1. Place the chicken patties in a medium size bowl and add the crumbled cheese and peppers (as many as your palate can handle);

2. Mix all the ingredients together, much as you would a meatloaf;

3. Form the mixture into equally sized patties and place into a large skillet over medium high heat;

4. Cook the patties as you would a hamburger, making sure it is completely cooked through;

5. Serve the patties on toasted deli thins with tomato slices and Romain lettuce and your favorite among the mustard, ketchup and relish genres.

Print recipe card here.

Dynasty Burger with Spicy Hoison Barbecue Sauce

By Paul Briand

This is the third in a series of three articles on dogs and burgers ... specifically new takes on the grilling favorites.

We started with Pesto-Parmesan-Topped Burgers, then moved on to Kielbasa Chili Dogs. Today it's back to burgers, but with an Asian influence, courtesy of Martin Yan of "Yan Can Cook" fame.

For Yan, this burger recipe is not only about the flavor but also about the textures.

"I am so passionate about this homemade burger recipe that I have spent my entire life trying to perfect it — and I am still working on it!" he said in an e-mail to the Associated Press, which wrote a story about this burger. "I'm using chopped fresh vegetables and herbs and incorporating Asian seasonings/spices, trying to find the right combination/proportion of ingredients to bring the flavor to a new level."

Ingredients

For the hoisin barbecue sauce:

1/4 cup prepared barbecue sauce

1/4 cup hoisin sauce

1 tablespoon chili-garlic sauce

2 teaspoons sesame oil

1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro

For the burger:

1 pound ground beef

2 tablespoons soy sauce

2 teaspoons sesame oil

1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger

1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper

4 hamburger buns

4 leaves lettuce

1 large tomato, sliced

1 small red onion, thinly sliced

Directions

1. To make the barbecue sauce, in a small bowl, combine all ingredients and mix well. Set aside;

2. To prepare the burgers, in a medium bowl, combine the beef, soy sauce, sesame oil, ginger and pepper. Mix well, then form the meat into 4 patties, each about 4 inches round;

3. Heat a grill or grill pan to high;

4. Add the patties and cook for 3 minutes on each side for medium-rare. Allow the burgers to rest off the heat for 2 to 3 minutes;

5. Place each burger on the bottom half of a bun. Top each with some of the barbecue sauce, then arrange a piece of lettuce, and slices of tomato and red onion slices on each.

Pesto-Parmesan-Topped Burgers

By Paul Briand

I'm going to go on a burgers and dogs rant for the next few weeks. It's been ideal grilling weather, and I've been looking for new takes on the traditional grilling fare of hot dogs and hamburgers.

Today's burger comes from the "Flat Belly Diet for Men" book that I've written about in the past. Making use of the diet's recommendations and using many of the recipes in the book, including this one, I've lost more than 20 pounds since March. Read about it here.

What intrigued me about this recipe was the topping: pesto, which gave the whole eating experience a nutty quality to it.

Ingredients

1 pound extra-lean ground beef

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

2 tablespoons shredded Parmesan cheese

4 Portuguese rolls, split and toasted

4 Boston lettuce leaves

1/2 tomato, cut into 4 slices

1/4 cup pesto

1/2 red onion, cut into 4 slices

Directions

1. Heat the grill to medium high heat

2. Combine the beef and pepper and form into four patties;

3. Set the burgers on the grill rack coated with cooking spray and grill 4 minutes, turn the burgers, grill another 4 minutes and top with Parmesan. Grill about 2 minutes longer, until the cheese melts, then remove from grill and set aside;

4. Set the roll bottoms on a work surface, top each with 1 lettuce leaf, 1 tomato slice, 1 tablespoon of pesto, 1 onion slice and 1 burger. Complete the burger with the top half of the bun and enjoy.

Some notes: I grilled my red onion slices first, giving them a nice bit of carmelization. I used a lot more Parmesan than what was called for, and I used fresh Parmesan, not the stuff out of the can ... what a difference.

Next week: Kielbasa Chili Dogs

Salmon Burgers with Caesar Slaw

By Paul Briand

If you watch Rachael Ray on the Food Channel or on her own syndicated show, you know that she can whip up a meal in 30 minutes or less. She's built a cooking career on her 30-minute meals, in fact.

So I decided this week to put Ray to the test with her recipe for Salmon Burgers with Caesar Slaw.

From start to finish, I had this meal on the table in 45 minutes. To be fair, however, I probably could have done it in the prescribed 30 minutes, but while I was doing the salmon burgers and slaw, my son David who was visiting for a couple of days was doing a side dish of homemade mac and cheese. So there was conversation. And there was beer.

But the end result was a tasty meal created with only a moderate amount of effort.

A couple of notes on the recipe. Ray calls for a 14-ounce can of salmon. I don't like canned salmon, so instead I used two 12-ounce pouches of salmon.

Ingredients
2 (12-ounce) pouches of salmon
2 egg whites, lightly beaten
Handful parsley leaves, finely chopped
2 lemons, zested and juiced, divided
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
3/4 cup Italian bread crumbs, 3 generous handfuls
Salt and pepper
4 anchovies, finely chopped, optional
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce, eyeball it
2 tablespoons plus 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, divided
Couple handfuls grated Parmigiano-Reggiano or Romano
2 hearts romaine lettuce, shredded
1 head radicchio, shredded

Directions
1. In a bowl with the salmon, add egg whites, parsley, the zest and juice of 1 lemon, 2/3 of the total amount of chopped garlic, the bread crumbs and lots of black pepper and a little salt. Mix together and form 4 large patties or 8 mini patties;
2. To a salad bowl add the remaining zest and lemon juice, remaining garlic, chopped anchovies, Dijon mustard, and Worcestershire;
3. Whisk in about 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil and cheese. Add lots of black pepper, no salt;
4. Add shredded lettuces to the bowl and toss to coat evenly. Now, season the slaw with salt to taste, if necessary;
5. Preheat 2 tablespoons, of extra-virgin olive oil, 2 turns of the pan, in a nonstick skillet over medium to medium high heat. Cook salmon patties 2 to 3 minutes on each side for mini patties, 4 minutes on each side for large patties;
6. Serve salmon patties atop Caesar Slaw.