The only thing I love more than food is music, which is why the Riot Fest “Sun’s Out Buns Out” burger contest practically felt like my calling in this life. Every year I say the exact same phrase: Riot Fest is my favorite time of year. And by the time they had to stop holding it here in Denver, it had become such a fixture of my life that off I skipped to Chicago without a second thought
And so with that, I present my entry to the contest: The Jelly Biafra (aka the Too Drunk to Chuck). The Jelly Biafra features a homemade sweet and spicy red pepper jam, bacon, havarti, and red onions sitting decadently atop two butter-toasted onion rolls.
I’ll confess that at least half of the joy of entering this contest was time spent making up punk rock jokes. If you’re not a fan of puns or music, this next paragraph is not gonna be for you.
A piece of me wanted to embrace my inner Chicago with a six patty megaburger called the Fatwagon. What about a venison burger, No Use for a Game? Should I just go shovel up some road kill for The Screeching Weasel? Maybe I should throw everyone for a loop and make a vegan burger called The Propaghandi (works on two levels!). Or perhaps the Suburban Bean-age Wasteland Blues?
Alright, alright.
As with all of my ground beef recipes, I chose to use 100% Grass-fed Beef in this recipe. I love 100% Grass-fed Beef as it is a healthier choice, but more importantly, I find its deeper meat flavor to be significantly more delicious! You can find more about this ground beef, how to find it, its health benefits and more here. But don’t you worry if you don’t have it- this burger will still be delicious with any kind of ground beef it’s made with.
As I played around with the ingredients, I experimented with three different kinds of cheese: mozzarella, havarti and muenster. I started with mozzarella- as it reminds me of Chicago deep-dish- but ultimately the cheese I liked best was havarti. It blends perfectly with the sweet and spicy flavor of the red pepper jelly, the signature ingredient of this dish. Muenster was an extremely close second, so you can’t go wrong by choosing that instead.
My other pro tip on this recipe is related to the bacon. I am no fan of crispy bacon, but in this one specific instance, I would cook the bacon a little crispier than you normally would. Adding bacon is always a good choice. But if you crisp it up just a little, it adds a crunchy element with the red onions that is genuinely superb.
THE SHAPE OF BURGERS TO COME:
This burger is a Smash burger. I was at this point supposed to artfully point out my Offspring joke, but I’ve found myself unable to say anything but crudely point out: there it is. Right there. The goal of a smash burger is to impart an even, crispy char to the outside while leaving the inside cooked to the perfect Minor Threat to your body: medium rare.
Everything I have learned about how to perfect the smash burger I learned from J. Kenji Lopez-Alt over at The Food Lab. Here is a summary of his rules for success; follow them and you will be richly rewarded.
- Smash burgers down immediately, within the first 30 seconds of cooking. If you do it this soon, you won’t lose all the delicious juices. Usually smashing down burgers is a big no-no….unless you do it this early.
- Use a heavy bottomed pot or other heavy surface to smash your burgers. Smash evenly and firmly.
- Use a cast iron or other heavy bottomed pan to cook in, and heat it until exceedingly hot and slightly smoking
- Once you have smashed your burger, don’t disturb it until you are ready to flip. You’ll know it’s ready to flip when it lifts easily from the pan. This helps develop that delicious carmely browning.
I’m not going to lie, this burger falls into the DAMN DELICIOUS category. I’m pretty proud of it.
Shoutout to Bill, Joey and Eva for playing “Punk Rock Burger Puns” with me.
Looking for other unique things to make for your next BBQ? Check out my Colorado Christmas Dog, Kartoffelsalat (German Potato Salad), and Bacon Wrapped Enoki Mushrooms (LINK) recipes!
The Jelly Biafra
Equipment
- cast iron or other heavy bottomed pan
Ingredients
For red pepper jelly:
- 1/2 red bell pepper
- 1 fresno pepper
- 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/3 cup sugar
For Jelly Biafra Burger:
- 2 slices thick-cut bacon
- 1 tbsp butter
- 2 onion buns
- 1 tsp worcestershire sauce
- 1/2 lb 100% grass-fed ground beef
- 2 slices havarti cheese
- sliced red onion
- salt + pepper
Instructions
Make the red pepper jelly:
- Roughly chop bell pepper and fresno. Place in a blender with apple cider vinegar and blend until smooth.
- Pour into a small pot and add salt and vinegar. Boil for 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until reduced by about half.
- Pour into glass container and place in the fridge to cool. As it cools it will solidify into jelly.
Assemble the burger:
- Cook bacon with desired method until a little crispier than you would normally eat it. Set aside.
- Melt butter in a large cast iron or other heavy bottomed pan. Toast the bottoms on the onion buns until golden brown, a minute or so. Set aside.
- Mix the worcestershire sauce into the ground beef, manipulating the meat as little as possible. Form the beef into two even balls.
- Turn cast iron heat up to high, until just smoking. Place each ground beef ball in the pan and immediately press down to form a flat patty. Season with salt and pepper.
- Cook, undisturbed, for about 1.5 - 2 minutes.
- Flip and season with salt and pepper again. Add havarti slices and cook the burgers for another minute or so.
- Spread the top of each bun generously with red pepper jam. Place the burger on the bottom bun, followed by sliced red onions and bacon. Enjoy!
Currently Listening: A Wilhelm Scream – Career Suicide
