[Recipe] The "Full Mountie (Always Gets Her Man)" Breakfast Burger

When I started law school, one of my professors told me about a little school tradition: trying a cuisine from a different country every Friday night, AKA the most fun and delicious way to get to know a new city and new friends.  The tradition proved a bit too ambitious for me those years ago, but I've always loved the spirit of it.  So much so that I have now grafted that foodie adventure spirit into, of all things, my cooking rotation.

Specifically, burgers.

We are going Around the World in 80 Burgers.  And also engaging in 50 Shades of Gluttony (Because Burgers Are the Perfect American Food).

Our first venture is to Canada, our neighbor to the North and, therefore, home of the King in the North, Jon Snow Justin Trudeau.  And also the origin of most of the world's supply of maple syrup—in fact, the Canadian province of Quebec is itself responsible for 70% of the world's output, and Canadian exports of maple syrup in 2016 totaled C$487 million (approximately US$360 million).

I love using maple syrup in my cooking.  I don't often eat pancakes or waffles (I know, a travesty), but I still keep maple syrup on hand at all times because I think it adds such a nice, subtle touch of sweetness that also feels strangely full-bodied.  I sometimes add a teaspoon or tablespoon to marinade, and it's, of course, amazing with bacon.  (Check out the recipe for one of my favorite savory-sweet desserts, chive pancake cupcakes with mascarpone maple bacon icing, here.)

The "Full Mountie (Always Gets Her Man)" Breakfast Burger
an original recipe by tammiest
Recipe makes 4 burgers

Ingredients
Maple Sriracha Aioli:
1/3 cup mayonnaise
1-1/2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
1-1/2 tablespoons Sriracha

Burgers:
4 hamburger buns with sesame seeds
3/4 pound lean ground beef (93% or 95% lean)
3/4 pound ground chuck (if you prefer something a little less fatty, you can use 80% lean ground beef instead)
1 teaspoon sweet paprika
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

4 slices thick-cut bacon, sliced in half

4 slices Muenster cheese (or any other cheese you prefer)

4 eggs, cooked over-easy
1 avocado, thinly sliced

Optional: 
Thinly sliced red onion
* Note:  If you want something that will cut a bit more into all the other flavors, add the onion.

Public Service Announcement - Avocados
I love the avocado in this burger.  And, if we're being honest, on all things and all. the. time.  And I'm not the only one: just do a quick Google search for the words "avocado shortage," and you'll see a long string of articles detailing the decline in supply (and the corresponding increase in price).

It turns out there's something else rising: the number of "avocado-related" injuries (or, not so affectionately, "avocado hand").  And I have to say, even though I consider myself a good home cook, there have been times that I've had quite a bit of trouble with my avocados—the pits just sometimes don't want to come out very easily, either because I didn't aim my knife very well or deeply enough into the center or because the avocado isn't quite ripe enough for the pit to come out cleanly.  I've also actually freaked out vicariously while sitting at the counter of a diner and watching one of the line cooks cut open and de-pit what seemed to me an endless string of avocados in the palm of his hand in rapid succession.  It made me very nervous.  Maybe it's me.

But here's my pro (or really amateur) tip: if anything I just wrote resonates with you and you also want to avoid "avocado hand," try out an avocado 3-in-1 slicer.  I have this one from OXO Good Grips.

It is so easy to use and clean up.  And, more importantly, for less than $10, I'm now comfortable making all the homemade guacamole and avocado toast I want.

Directions
1.  In a medium bowl, mix together the mayonnaise, maple syrup, and Sriracha until smooth.

2.  Using your hands, gently mix the beef blend with the paprika, 1 teaspoon Kosher salt, and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper.  Divide and form into 4 patties.  Cover and set aside.

3.  Heat a skillet on medium heat, then cook the slices of bacon for roughly 7 minutes, or until the fat has been rendered.  Remove the bacon from the pan to a paper towel and blot thoroughly.

4.  Reserve about 2 teaspoons of the bacon fat to cook the burgers, 2 at a time for about 2 minutes on each side (for medium rare).

5.  In a non-stick skillet, cook your eggs one at a time in a splash of canola or olive oil (alternatively, you can also wait until you are done cooking your burgers and use the remaining bacon fat to cook the eggs).  Let the oil heat up before cracking the egg into the skillet.  There is no need to flip, but cook to your liking—if you like it to be nice and yolky, you'll likely need only 3—4 minutes.


6.  Either set your oven to broil on high heat or preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.  Brush the hamburger buns with melted unsalted butter and place them on a rimmed baking sheet.

If you have set your oven to preheat, place the buns in the oven and bake about 5 minutes before removing from the oven and placing a piece of cheese on one half of each set of buns (top or bottom doesn't matter), then place back in the oven for an additional 4 minutes.

If you have set your oven to broil, place the buns in the oven for about 3 minutes before removing and adding the cheese for an additional 2 minutes.  In either case, you can fold pieces of the cheese over or break them off and place them in the middle of the bun so that the melted cheese doesn't fall on to the sheet and start burning.

7.  Assemble the burgers: spread the maple Sriracha aioli on the bun without cheese.  On the bottom bun, stack the avocado and, if you've opted to include them, onion rings.  Then add the burger.  Top it with the fried egg, two half slices of bacon, and the top bun.

A post shared by the_tammiest (@the_tammiest) on Jun 30, 2017 at 6:36am PDT