Stuffed Rosemary Burgers

I’m a pretty big fan of playing devil’s advocate. 

Somehow, sometime during my childhood, I developed a sick love for always arguing the opposite point, liking the unlikable, refusing to accept the generally accepted. Much of the time, in fact, most of the time, I didn’t even agree with what I was saying. That didn’t matter. Oh no, not to a seasoned professional like myself.

 

I secretly believe all this is at least partly responsible for why, my whole childhood, I stubbornly, and very vocally, refused to eat red meat while my family, especially my father, could contentedly devour steak and potatoes for almost every meal. 

     Breakfast has bacon? I will not eat it. 

     My sandwich has what? Ham? Yeah, no thanks. 

     Dinner's a steak? Mister, you must be kidding. 

It wasn’t until my father decided to go vegetarian that I suddenly started jonesing for meat. 

  

I love vegetables, don’t get me wrong. I can happily eat handfuls of cherry tomatoes, plain, like they're grapes. And I would never, I mean never, have said I loved meat. That is, until I realized no one else around seemed to love it any longer. Until I realized how rare it was about to become.

 

Generally, I’m quite happy without a honking hide of animal on my plate but sometimes You. Just. Need. A. Burger. 

You ever get that feeling? That mouth watering feeling you get when you smell the charcoal of some neighbor’s barbeque in the middle of summer, and all of a sudden you want to eat an entire rack of the kind of ribs you have to tuck your tie into your shirt to enjoy, or you know, spontaneously case the nearest In-N-Out and steal everything in site that's edible?

 

If not, then, well, fine. This will not apply to you. 

But the other day, despite being the girl who grew up avoiding red meat like the plague, I was struck by exactly that feeling. So, I made these.

Tomorrow, I’ll once again be content to go about my day with stuffed peppers and omelets and vegetable stir-fry and leafy green salads, but for now, this burger will do quite nicely indeed. 

Stuffed Rosemary Burgers

serves 4

1 egg

1 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon pepper

2 tablespoons fresh rosemary, chopped

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

1 lb lean ground beef

¼ cup unseasoned breadcrumbs (substitute gluten free breadcrumbs if desired)

¼ red onion, chopped 

1 tablespoon olive oil 

½ medium yellow onion, sliced

3 cloves garlic, minced

3-4 ounces provolone, cheddar, or Swiss cheese

Preheat grill on medium-high heat.

In a medium sized bowl, combine the first 6 ingredients (through the balsamic vinegar) and whisk together lightly. Add ground beef, breadcrumbs, and onion to the mixture. With your hands, or a fork, mix together until ingredients are combined.

Heat olive oil over medium heat. Add onions, sautéing until softened, then add garlic. Continue to cook until onions have caramelized. Remove from heat and let cool.

Form meat mixture into 4 spheres. Using thumbs, press into each sphere to form an indentation or well. Place ¼ of the caramelized onions and ¼ of the cheese into all 4 indentations. Carefully mold the meat with your hands so that all edges are sealed and the burgers now resemble a traditional patty shape. Ensure none of the filling is still visible.

Lightly oil the grate of the grill. For medium to medium rare, place the patties on the grill and cook for about 5 minutes or until the juices begin to come to the surface. Flip, and cook on the opposite side for another 5 minutes or until desired doneness.