Stuffed Burgers with Gochujang Mayo and Scallion Curls
A Korean flavor bomb of a burger, with the cheese on the inside.
Makes 6 burgers
Ingredients
Stuffed Burger wth Gochujang Mayo and Scallion Curls made in the Adventure Kitchen.
1 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt
1/2 teaspoon granulated garlic
1/2 teaspoon granulated onions
2 pounds ground beef
4 ounces mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup + 2 Tablespoons gochujang (Korean hot pepper paste, see notes)
2 Tablespoons mayonnaise
4 scallions
1 cup shredded red cabbage, tightly packed
1 Tablespoon unseasoned rice vinegar
1/4 teaspoon coarse salt
1 head baby bok choy
About 1/4 cup flavorful peanut oil
6 sesame seed hamburger buns
Instructions
1. Combine the salt, ground garlic, onion powder and several grinds of black pepper in a small dish. Blend well. Put the meat in a large bowl, sprinkle the seasoning mixture over it and use your hands to work it into the meat evenly.
2. Divide the meat into 6 even balls, then divide each of those balls in half. Cut the cheese into pieces about 1/4-inch thick and 1.5 inches in diameter (depending on the shape of your cheese, you might put a couple of smaller pieces together to make this shape.) Flatten one small ball of meat into a disk, and gently press the cheese into the center of the disk. Flatten another ball of meat into a disk and lay it on top. Carefully pinch the seams together well, all the way around the burger. Then pat the burger into a nice patty shape. Continue with all the burgers, then lay the burgers on a wax paper-lined plate or platter and refrigerate for at least an hour.
3. While the meat chills, combine the gochujang and mayonnaise in a small bowl and blend well.
4. Make the scallion curls like this:
Cut the scallions into pieces about 1.5-2 inches long. Cut each piece vertically, then lay flat on your cutting board and slice as thinly as you can into long strips. The thinner the strips the curlier your scallion curls. Drop all the thin strips into a bowl of ice water.
5. Combine the red cabbage, vinegar and salt in a medium bowl, tossing to combine well. Squeeze the cabbage a bit with your hands, then set aside to pickle while you work.
6. Preheat the grill to high. Remove the burgers from the fridge. Brush and oil the grill grate and grill the burgers, watching them and moving them around the grill as needed to cook at an even rate, for about 15-20 minutes, until done. The burgers are done when the outsides are nicely browned and when you put them on the plate, the liquid that accumulates is not red. (If you are used to cooking unstuffed burgers, you may notice that these cook slightly faster, since the thickness of the meat is much less on any given side.)
7. While the burgers are cooking, brush the cut sides of each bun with the peanut oil and place cut side down on the grill. Watch them and remove them when they are lightly toasted.
8. Just before serving, remove the scallion curls from the ice water and press gently in paper towels to remove excess water.
9. To serve, spread the gochujang mayo onto the bottom bun, then lay a leaf of baby bok choy on the bun. Set the burger on top of the bok choy, then top each burger with about a Tablespoon each of pickled red cabbage and scallion curls. Top with another leaf of bok choy, and spread more gochujang mayo on the top bun.
Notes:
Be sure to pinch all the seams completely closed when you form the burgers, to keep the cheesy goodness inside the burgers where it belongs.
If you are new to gochujang, you are in for a treat! It's spicy, tangy, garlicky, and addictive. Now that you know about it, you'll be using it in all kinds of things. (You're welcome!)