Andouille Beef Burgers

Hello and welcome to Mangia Mondays!

I can’t believe this is already the 10th week of this fun foodie blog hop with my fabulous friend Kristin of Delightfully Dowling! We absolutely love checking out your recipes and hope you’ll jump in and share with us your latest kitchen conquest, either by linking up a blog post or commenting!

Given that the fair weather has arrived (I’m not letting a little rain dampen my spirits – spring has officially bloomed in Massachusetts!) we are using our grill three or four nights a week. I thought I’d share with you a recipe that I posted last spring for burgers that Mark and I are obsessed with. When we make them and sit down at the table we are incapable of making pleasant conversation. All that is heard is “MMMMmmmmmm sooooo good”! A bonus:  these burgers are so juicy and so flavorful  that those of us who are trying to reduce the ol’ carb-intake can omit the bun and still have a delicious meal!

This recipe is adapted from Bon Appetit, July 2006. The original recipe calls for pecans in the burgers but, although we love nuts, we omit this ingredient because we feel like there is enough for our taste buds to enjoy without the pecans (save them for a spinach side salad!)
Try these burgers! They really kick it up a notch.

Andouille and Beef Burgers
with spicy mayo and carmelized onions
(adapted from Bon Appetit)

INGREDIENTS

Spicy Mayo
3/4 c mayonnaise
1 T fresh lemon juice
1 t Cajun or Creole seasoning blend
1/4 hot pepper sauce

Carmelized Onions
1 1/2 lbs. onions, thinly sliced
2 T olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 T brown sugar

Burgers
1/2 lb. andouille sausage, cut into 1/4″ cubes
1 t salt
1/4 t ground black pepper
1 1/2 lb. ground beef
8 oz. block blue cheese, sliced*
6 large hamburger buns
watercress tops (optional)

DIRECTIONS

Spicy Mayo: Mix all ingrendients in small bowl. Cover and chill for up to 2 days.

Carmelized Onions: combine onions, olive oil, garlic and brown sugar in large skillet. Cook over medium heat until onions are golden, about 25 minutes. Remove from heat and season with s&p. Set aside.

Burgers: Combine ingredients in large bowl. Form 6 1/2″ patties, pushing sausage cubes into beef. Heat grille to medium-high heat. Grill burgers until brown on bottom, about 3 minutes. Turn over; add blue cheese and continue cooking until desired doneness, approximately 3 more minutes for medium.

To build the burger, spread mayo on bun, add burger, carmelized onions and watercress. Serve with remaining mayo. Listen to those around you say “mmmm, mmmmmmmm” for the next 4.2 minutes.

*A block of blue cheese is easier to use in this recipe than crumbled blue cheese, which can be difficult to keep on your burger when grilling!

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