Sunday January 30, 2011 French Onion Burgers With French Oven Gravy

This is a real crowd pleaser. It was very good. Had Mom, Step Dad, and brother in law over to try this one. So with the added people I was a little nervous. Well every week I find myself watching those around me eat and watch their reactions when they take a bite. I am my own worst critic. I was harder on myself and I didn't need to be. Everyone was happy with the presentation and flavors of this meal.

French Onion Burger with French Oven Gravy Fries

http://www.rachaelrayshow.com/food/recipes/french-onion-burger-french-oven-gravy-fries/

Here is the link to the recipe and a video from the show.

All the best parts of the classic bistro soup ... on top of an all-American burger.

Ingredients

• 2 to 2 1/2 pounds baking potatoes
• 7 cloves garlic, peeled (4 smashed and 3 minced)
• 5 to 6 tablespoons EVOO – Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 6 tablespoons butter, divided
• 2 large onions, sliced
• 1 fresh bay leaf
• 1 teaspoon ground thyme
• 1/2 cup dry sherry (Couldn't find Sherry at Sprouts so used a dry Chardonnay)
• 2 pounds ground sirloin
• 3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 4 tablespoons flat-leaf parsley, chopped
• 1 shallot, minced
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 2 cups store-bought beef stock
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 1 baguette, fatter in size, cut on a bias into 1-inch slices (about 8 slices) (I used regular buns and some had onion buns- Just as yummy)
• 1/2 pound Gruyere cheese, shredded (Found in the special Cheese section at Sprouts. It's a hard cheese almost like Parmesan Regiano Cheese)

Preparation

Preheat oven to 425°F. Preheat grill pan over medium-high heat.

 Cut the potatoes in half lengthwise then cut each half into 4 to 5 long wedges, depending on how big the potatoes are. Place the wedges and smashed garlic cloves on a cookie sheet (I thought I already had the garlic but didn't so I skipped this part and it was just fine), drizzle with about 3 tablespoons of EVOO and toss to coat (Don't skip the coating otherwise the potatoes will stick to the pan). Season the potatoes with salt and pepper, and roast for about 20 minutes, until brown and tender. Flip the potatoes and continue to roast for about 10 minutes, until cooked through. If you like them extra crispy (Keep an eye out it may not take the full time depending on the over and size of the potatoes), cook them a total of 45 minutes.

 While the potatoes are in the oven, place a large, nonstick skillet over medium heat with 4 tablespoons of butter. Once melted, add onions, minced garlic (I keep a jar of minced garlic on hand all the time), bay leaf, ground thyme and some salt and pepper. Cook onions for about 10-12 minutes, until caramelized (You want them to cook a little slow so they don't burn). Add sherry and let the alcohol cook out, about 3-4 minutes. Remove the bay leaf and set the mixture aside to top the burgers.

 In a medium bowl, combine the ground sirloin, Worcestershire, parsley, salt and pepper. (To me I was concerned that there wasn't enough flavor in the meat but you want to be careful. You don't want too much seasoning on the burger so it over powers the beef and the onions on top of the burger) Divide the mixture into 4 equal portions and form 4 patties, each about an inch thick. Drizzle the patties with EVOO and place them on the preheated grill pan (Or outside grill). Cook about 5 minutes per side, until pink in the center.

While the burgers are cooking, place a small sauce pan over medium heat, add the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter. Once the butter is melted, add the shallots and cook for 1-2 minutes. Add the flour to make a roux. Cook the flour-butter mixture for about 3-4 minutes, while stirring constantly, until lightly golden in color. Whisk in the beef stock, a little at a time to avoid lumps. Once all of the stock is added, stir in the Dijon mustard (eyeball it) and season with salt and pepper. Turn heat to low and set aside.

(If you used reg buns skip this part and just toast the buns in the broiler)For the French baguette, you want large round slices: Hold your serrated knife on a 45-degree angle and slice, keeping your knife on that angle; just like slicing a flank steak or London broil. Drizzle bread slices with EVOO and season with salt and pepper.

Place under the broiler for about 30 seconds. Flip to the other side and top four of the slices with the shredded Gruyere cheese. Give them another 20 seconds under the broiler to give them a good melt. Keep a close eye on it, because if you're like me, you've burned one too many loaves of bread!

It's burger assembly time! Place a burger on a piece of non-cheesy bread. Top with the caramelized onion mixture and a slice of the cheesy bread. Place a serving of potatoes on the plate and spoon some of the gravy on top.

The Experience
The recipes is written well. It was very easy to follow. Over the past few weeks of this challenge I have learned how important it is to read the recipe before he trip to the store. It really has helped me to picture the preparation.

With any burgers you would figure you need lettuce, tomatoes, and all the other fixing's, however, there is no need with this burger. The caramelized onions and Cheese make this a good one as is. Mom and I ate ours just as it was. Larry (Step Dad) at his with a little A-1 with the onions and Cheese. Vince (Hubby) and Nate (brother-in-law) had some A-1, and the gravy on the burger too. Either way they had it they loved it.

The potatoes fries were yummy and had a good crunch. It is important that you keep an eye out to make sure you don't burn them. You will be pleasantly surprised by the gravy and the potatoes. The Dijon mustard gives it just a little something that takes the gravy to a whole other level of goodness. I even topped the potatoes and gravy with a little of the Gruyere cheese.

The gravy was so good that we even started dipping the burgers in the gravy :-)

With the burgers you want to make sure that you do not omit the parsley. By keeping the parsley in the burgers it helps to keep the patties from drying out. Even the niece had some burger (without the onions of course). Once you decide to make this meal it is good to have a partner outside grilling so you can make sure to focus on the gravy.  Hubbies will feel like they are doing their part in the meal by doing the grilling. Ha ha

I hope you enjoyed this week's blog. Next week is Super Bowl and we will be taking the weekend off enjoying the game and all the game day food. But the week after we will be right back at it.

Once again I thank each and everyone of you for your support. I write my blogs for you in hopes that this gives you the inspiration to try something new and challenge yourselves. In the end if my blogs inspire you to just try a recipe or two, then I have accomplished my goal. Happy cooking and thanks again.