Recipe: Brie Mushroom Burgers

I experimented with the recipe last night and it turned out quite good. The mushrooms and onions in the burgers kept it moist and tasty and the brie was subtle but added a nice richness to it. This is how I did it. Since this was an experiment, I didn't take any pictures...so forgive me...but I had many requests for the recipe so here goes...

This is enough to make 3 decent hamburgers.

Ingredients:

1 pound of ground beef (leaner is better for your health but Chuck sure is good)
1/2 Large Portabella cap, finely chopped
1/2 large onion, minced
Whole Wheat Hamburger buns (or whatever your preference)
Hamburger fixins of your choice
salt and pepper--to taste
1 teaspoon Mrs. Dash
1 tablespoon of olive oil
6 slices of brie


I took the pound of ground beef and put it in a bowl and seasoning it with salt, pepper, and Mrs. Dash. I use Kosher salt, and probably used about a teaspoon of each. Mix it up really good, you may have to use your hands.

Then I took the onion and mushroom and shopped them up to a fine chop or close to a mince. I wanted the pieces to be small so that they would evenly distribute throughout each hamburger patty and give flavor throughout. I then took the onion and mushrooms and sauteed them in some olive oil until they were golden brown on the edges and translucent....and you house smells wonderful! I then took those off the burner and let them cool a little.

Now its time to mix the beef and the mushroom/onion mixture. Mix it so that it is all evenly distributed and each bite gets a little of everything.

Now, lets form the patties! You will need to make 2 really thin patties to make one hamburger. Take one of the patties and place 2 slices of brie on it and then top with the other patty. pick up the patties and go around the edge and seal them up so that you cannot see the brie from any angle. Its like a secret pocket of yum on the inside. Form all the patties.

When its time to cook, I sprayed the pan with Pam and got the pan hot so that it would make a nice sear on the patty (because that is the way I like them). You don't want to turn them too much because they are kind of delicate with the brie in the middle. Place them in the pan and wait. When the bottom is nice and seared, it will release from the pan.....flip it over and wait. At this point I turned the stove top down to about middle heat. The leftover heat will sear this side and the lower heat will help cook it through. I left it on this side a few minutes longer to make sure it cooks through, then I covered the pan with foil and just set it aside so that the meat can rest and the ambient heat will continue to cook and keep it warm.

At this point I toasted the buns. Its also great to put the buns in the pan and kind of grill them in the pan with a little butter....but I was trying to cut a few calories so I just toasted them.

Then I fixed them up like a normal burger and we ate. I really like how juicy they were and you really don't notice the brie since it melts throughout the burger, its just the heightened flavor that rounds it out. If you love mushrooms and onions, you could top them with more sauteed ones and eat up!

Enjoy!

Heather