Bistro Burger with Seared Short Rib and Oven Roasted Bacon-Wrapped Baby Potatoes

Bistro Burger with Seared Short Rib and Oven Roasted Bacon-Wrapped Baby Potatoes

Last weekend you seared and braised beef short ribs in your slow-cooker for pasta and tacos.  You had a tiny bit left over and froze it. You have a ton of ground beef to use and some Baby New potatoes and leftover bacon from breakfasts.  Here's what you do....Burger Mania!

Please note, if you do not have any leftover short rib meat, no need for this extreme***.  Of course this burger can be made with no short rib meat or, you can add something else, such as caramelized soppressata or bacon.  I was going for an Italian theme with this dish, and had I had prosciutto on hand, I would have wrapped the baby potatoes in that.  

Now, let's get to the recipes. You can serve the burger with any side, and the side featured in this recipe is perfect for chops, steaks, poultry.  It is a bit elegant and insanely flavorful. 

Burger Ingredients:

2 pounds of ground beef (I use 93% lean)#

1 small can fire roasted ground green chiles, diced

***Any leftover beef or salamis you may have

1/4 grated red onion

1 clove garlic, grated

2 tablespoons dry Italian seasoning, 1 teaspoon separated

salt and pepper, 1/4 teaspoon each

Sliced Fontina cheese, two per burger

buns, your favorites

eggs# this recipe serves 4-6 people

sprinkles of smoked paprika for the eggs

Bacon-Wrapped Rosemary Baby Potatoes:

2 pounds baby potato medley (or baby New potatoes) #serves 4-6

1 pound bacon, each slice halved

fresh rosemary sprigs or leaves for rolling potatoes

3 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 tablespoon smoked paprika

1 rounded tablespoon garlic powder, or ground

1 teaspoon dry Italian seasoning (see burger ingredients)

fresh rosemary for oven flavor garnish and serving garnish

Bacon-wrapped baby potatoes wrapped in halved bacon slices and seasoned, oven ready! See directions below!

Bacon Wrapped Baby Potatoes

Preset the oven to 400-degrees

Wash and rinse the baby potatoes in a colander and let them dry. Meanwhile, slice a pound of sliced bacon into halves.  Set aside.  Add three tablespoons of vegetable or grape seed oil to an oven safe high-sided skillet.  

On a cutting board, lay out a half slice of bacon. Add some fresh rosemary leaves to the bacon. Roll a baby potato into a round and place it bacon end down in the high-sided skillet. Once all of the potatoes are wrapped, sprinkle them in the skillet with the spices as noted above. Add larger fresh sprigs of rosemary to flavor the bacon and potatoes and provide an incredible aroma. Oven roast for 25 minutes.  

They come out of the oven crispy and flavorful. 

The Burger

Add the ground beef to a large bowl.  Add the onion, garlic, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper. Using your best kitchen tools, your hands, mix everything together thoroughly. You do not want the fat to stick much to your hands; if it does, you are overworking the meat.  Be gentle. 😉

Score the meat to separate equal sections for the patties.  Form each patty and set aside. 

Add 3 tablespoons vegetable oil to a large skillet over medium-high heat. When the oil ripples, add a batch of burgers to the skillet. Flip in about four minutes and caramelize the other side.  Reduce the heat to medium. Add two slices of Fontina cheese per burger.  Create a foil tent and place it over the skillet. This helps the cheese melt uniformly. 

The Eggs

I have a little single egg fryer and love to use the silly looking thing.  It makes for perfect eggs every time!  My Aunt Mona gave it to me and I truly love the thing! It is non-stick coated already but I add a tiny drizzle of evoo over medium heat.  For this burger, I used two or three eggs per burger because the eggs I had purchased were real small.  I almost thought they were quail eggs, they were brown and tiny.  I sprinkled a little smoked paprika atop the eggs.  Delish, provides a little smokey heat. 

In a small skillet, I crisped up my leftover short rib shredded meat.  I had used it for sandwiches and tacos and froze the little bit I had left; it topped four burgers. 

I put the burgers together with Chipotle mayo, mustard whisked with a little Italian dressing (also leftover), added green chiles to the top bun, topped the burger first with short rib meat, then an egg, then the bun.  Bottom bun had the chipotle mayo condiment.  I served with a few bacon wrapped potatoes and garnished with fresh thyme and rosemary. 

I love how the Fontina oozed all around the burger, like a snug blanket. The gentle tang of the Fontina was a subtle delight amongst the Italian flavors, the smokey flavor and crispy of the egg and the Latin, heated flavors and aromas of the short rib meat. The potatoes had a savory, salty crispy bite, and the potato itself was almost creamy and took on the rosemary, garlic flavors.  I sure struck gold with this dish!

As I said, the potatoes could be served with any dish, any potato. 

As always, Thank You for your visit, your time and consideration. I appreciate your visit to my humble site. 

Now, please, Go Cook For Someone You Love!

~Martin

In-House Cook