Burgers are such a versatile meal. Be it beef, turkey mushroom, pork, vegetarian, the options are endless, as are the toppings. This one is “Going to the Greek” and takes you in a different direction.
The instructions indicate to create 4 burger patties from the meat and mushroom mixture. We felt that they were too large, so we divided the mixture into 5 equal portions. That’s why under assembly the amounts show 4 or 5 of the lettuce, buns, etc. Our large nonstick skillet wasn’t quite large enough for the 5 patties without them touching each other so we used our griddle atop the stove.
Make sure to have enough napkins because it was quite a challenge to eat the assembled burger due to height, and therefore can be a bit messy. We wondered if perhaps instead of a bun, that a pita pocket might be a better bet. A side oven-baked onion rings complimented the burgers.
Sluovaki-Inspired Blended Burger
Ingredients
Tzatziki Sauce:
- 2/3 cup plain Greek yogurt (with at least 2% milk fat; do not use non-fat)
- 1/3 cup grated seedless English cucumber, patted dry with paper towels
- 2 tsp. chopped fresh dill fronds
- 1 tsp. fresh lemon juice
- 1/4 tsp. kosher salt
- 1 small clove garlic, minced
Burgers:
- 16 oz. ground pork
- 8 oz. white button mushrooms, finely chopped (use a mini food processor for this task)
- 1 teaspoon freshly grated lemon zest
- 1 tsp. dried oregano
- 1 tsp. kosher salt
- 1/4 tsp. cracked black pepper
- 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
- 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Assembly:
- 4-5 butter lettuce leaves
- 4-5 soft white hamburger buns, split
- 4-5 sliced rings red onion
- 2 Tbsp. crumbled feta cheese
- 16-20 thin slices seedless English cucumber
- 8-10 slices Roma tomato
Directions
- For the tzatziki sauce: Combine the yogurt, cucumber, dill, lemon juice, salt and garlic in a small bowl. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.
- For the burgers: Combine the pork, mushrooms, lemon zest, oregano, salt and pepper in a medium bowl. Form into 4 equal-size patties. Pour the lemon juice and olive oil into separate shallow bowls. Dip both sides of each patty into the lemon juice, then into the olive oil to coat.
- Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Cook the patties in the hot skillet, flipping once, until the pork is just cooked through, 4 to 6 minutes per side.
- For the assembly: Put 1 lettuce leaf on each bottom bun. Dollop each leaf with about 2 tablespoons tzatziki sauce (reserve the remaining sauce), then top with 1 patty and 1 red onion slice. Mix the feta into the reserved tzatziki sauce and spoon 1 to 2 teaspoons onto each burger, followed by 4 cucumber slices and 2 tomato slices. Close the burgers with the top buns. Serve immediately.
Recipe adapted from Sarah Meuser, 2022 Blended Burger Contest Winner
Accounting for Taste 