A Twist on the Classic American Cheese Burger & Fries

I’ve heard many peo­ple say pizza is like sex — even when its bad, you’re still hav­ing pizza. That’s how I feel about burg­ers. And a good burger instantly sends me into culi­nary eupho­ria. One of my favorite burger recipes I’ve devel­oped over the years is a twist on gyros, the slow-cooked spiced Greek meat typ­i­cally served with tzatziki sauce. This burger has been lauded by many friends, includ­ing one who swears it caused her to go into labor (on Labor day of all days!). But tonight I decided to take this burger to the next level, and what bet­ter way than to stuff it with cheese? In addi­tion to twist­ing the clas­sic burger, tonight we also made french fries out of but­ter­nut squash. They were crispy and dusted with Parmesan cheese and totally tasty! Keep read­ing for more pic­tures and the full recipe.

Minted Chèvre Stuffed Gyro Burger

Burger:
1lb ground beef
1 tsp. onion pow­der
1 tsp. gar­lic pow­der
1 tsp. dried mar­jo­ram
1 tsp. ground rose­mary
1 tsp. kosher salt
1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

Stuffing:
1/4 tsp. fresh mint, finely chopped
3oz. chèvre (goat cheese)

Mix all burger ingre­di­ents in a small bowl until herbs and spices are well dis­trib­uted through­out the beef. Divide into six equal por­tions, and form into pat­ties roughly 4″ in diameter.

With a fork, mash the mint into the cheese until it is well dis­trib­uted. Divide into three equal por­tions and form into balls.

Flatten one ball of cheese mix­ture onto a beef patty until flat.

Top with another patty and make sure the edges are sealed. Make a small inden­tion in the cen­ter of the burger with your thumb (this will keep the burger from puff­ing up and form­ing a giant grilled meat­ball). Repeat with remain­ing beef and cheese. Allow burg­ers to rest at room tem­per­a­ture for 10 minutes.

Grill burg­ers over medium-high heat for 6 – 8 min­utes flip­ping once.

Serve on grilled bun with spinach, tomato, sprouts and tzatziki sauce (recipe).

The fries were really easy. Peel and seed a but­ter­nut squash and cut into french fry shapes. Toss in olive oil, salt, pep­per and Parmesan cheese and cook in a 425º F oven for 40 min­utes (or until they brown), flip­ping once. We also had some grilled corn on the cob which was fantastic.

Warning, this next photo is not for the faint of heart and really can be con­sid­ered food porn.

Just look at that melted cheesy good­ness ooz­ing out of that burger! Delicious!