Now when Hubby declared that this week was going to be ‘Burger Week’ I have to admit to letting out a small groan. Please do not get me wrong, I love a good gourmet burger as much as the next person, but really, a whole week!!! Well day two and my opinion was changed, this Mexican chorizo and garlic prawn burger has to be the best burger that I have ever had and tasted like no other burger ever has.
This burger is in a league of its own, it meaty, rich, so many flavours going on and a delicious hint of all the herbs and spices is just unreal. The burger is moist, the sauces compliment everything so well and the added addition of the garlic prawns is what really pushed it over the edge for me. I know I am passionate about food and I do go on a bit, but even the not so bothered about food person could not be moved by this burger.
There are, I have to say, a lot of ingredients, there also appears to be a lot of prep work involved, but most of the ingredients I bet you will have laying around in your cupboards and the prep is so quick. The added advantage is that you can make everything in advance the day before and bring them out at your next BBQ and knock your guests socks off.
Thankfully the days have gone of the vile cheap sausage and Birdseye burgers being burnt to a crisp on the BBQ by men across the world, now anything can be achieved and like my Hubby says, it just tastes so much nicer. The other plus sides are, not so much clearing up, eating in the garden means you do not have to worry about spillages and this has to be our favourite time of the year in this household, as Summer always see’s us sitting outside enjoying great food, chatting, laughing and just enjoying the great outdoors and last night was no exception, Rosie and Max have just returned from New York and it was so lovely us all being around the table again.
So with Father’s Day being just around the corner, why not treat Dad to a family get together and throw another shrimp on the barbie and try these delicious chorizo burgers.
Buon appetito
For the chorizo burger:
500 grams of ground pork shoulder, ideally 30% fat
2 cloves of garlic, grated
1 1/2 tsp of Mexican chilli powder
1 1/2 tsp of sweet paprika
1 tsp of hot paprika, or cayenne powder
1 tsp of red wine vinegar
1 tsp of tequila
1 tsp of salt
1/2 tsp of freshly ground black pepper
1/2 tsp of dried oregano
1/4 tsp of ground cumin
For the garlic prawns:
8 large prawns (2 for each burger), peeled and deveined
3 sprigs of fresh thyme leaves
1 clove of garlic, minced
1/2 tsp of extra virgin olive oil
1/3 tsp of salt
1/8 tsp of freshly ground black pepper
For the Paprika mayo:
3 tbsp of mayonnaise
1 tbsp of tomato paste
1 1/2 tsp of paprika
1 tsp of yellow mustard
Juice of 1 juicy lime
To serve:
1/2 heaping cup of shredded manchego cheese
A few thin slices of tomatoes
Burger Buns of your choice
To prepare the chorizo burgers:
Mix all the ingredients together until evenly combined. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit in the fridge for at least 1 hour. You can make these the day before and keep them in the fridge, perfect for big get togethers or to take to someone’s house. Just separate with greaseproof paper, also wrap with greaseproof and tie with a piece of gardeners twine, a great gift to give to your host.
To prepare the garlic prawns:
After peeling, deveining and rinsing the prawns (confession time: we brought ours ready done, frozen in a bag and just cooked the lot, we served the left overs in a bowl for everyone to pick at and to allow for people to dip their chips into the gorgeous garlicky oil), dry them really well on a clean towel. Mix evenly with the rest of the ingredients, cover with plastic wrap and let sit in the fridge for 30 min to 1 hour.
To prepare the paprika mayo:
Mix all the ingredients together until even. Set aside.
To make the burger:
Divide the chorizo-mixture into 4 equal portions, then shape into burgers. It’s very important to make sure the diameter of the burgers is slightly larger than the diameter of your buns! The burgers will shrink a little during cooking and you really don’t want to skimp on this delicious burger. Next dust a thin layer of flour on both sides of the burgers so they pan-fry into nice crusts (you can take this as optional). Heat up 1 tbsp of olive oil in a pan over medium-high heat until really hot, then add a small nub of unsalted butter in there and the chorizo burgers (maximum 2 burgers at a time). Leave the burgers to pan-fry without moving, until a nicely browned crust has formed on the bottom. Turn the burgers over, then add the shredded manchego cheese on top (2~3 tbsp on each). Cover the pan completely with a lid and keep cooking on medium-high heat for another 1~2 min (the steam will melt the cheese as well as cook the burgers), just until the center of the burger is cooked through. Transfer the burgers with whatever crispy cheese-bits on the side, onto a plate and let rest. Or as we did, ignore all of that and cook them on the BBQ !
Keep the chorizo drippings in the pan and cook the prawns on high-heat, about 1 min on each side until just cooked through. Then set aside. We didn’t do this as Hubby was cooking them on the BBQ, I did them separately in the house on the hob, but if your BBQ has a side burner you could just as easily do them on that.
If you want to toast the buns, remove any food-solids inside the pan with a bit of oil left, then toast the cut-sides of the buns until golden browned in the same pan. Hubby always toasts our buns on the BBQ, is really is rather good at this BBQ malarky.
Apply a good layer of paprika mayo on both sides of the buns, then put 2 thinly sliced tomatoes and a chorizo burger on top. Slice the prawns lengthwise and place over the burger. Close it off with the top bun and enjoy.
WARNING : These are delicious, but very messy to eat, be prepared to get it everywhere and have napkins at hand.
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