When the incredibly cool people over at Weber asked if I would like to work with them for a couple of months on their #bestinclass campaign, showcasing their amazing products, it took all of 2 seconds to say “Yes, yip, of course!” I mean, I can’t think of anything cooler than getting to play with an awesome kettle braai and thinking of fun ways to use it. When the 57cm Mastertouch with GBS (Gourmet BBQ System) braai was first delivered, I’m not sure if C or I were more excited but I’m pretty sure his excitement levels hit the roof. You see, all men love a good braai. I’m pretty sure it’s engrained in them (tip: if your man doesn’t already have a #Weber, they make for pretty fantastic gifts). He started assembling it immediately and asked me every.single.day when we can use it. Then finally, the day arrived and he could light the first fire in our brand new, very pretty (and manly, of course) braai. The cool thing about this braai is that the Gourmet BBQ System grate allows you to add a number of accessories such as the pizza stone, wok and griddle to increase the number of dishes you can cook.
I wanted to start things nice and easy and settled on two incredibly easy but drop-dead-delicious recipes. They are the crowd-pleasing, finger-licking kind. Firstly, the burgers are the ultimate with their bourbon basting sauce and those sweet, caramelized onions and the corn. Oh, the corn. Surely there are few things as delicious in life as corn on the cob, grilled over coals. *drool*
The corn is my cheat’s version of authentic Mexican street corn because in South Africa, it’s a little hard to find Mexican crema and queso fresco but lucky for us, there are many alternatives. For the creamy dressing/sauce usually found on street corn, I mixed mayo, sour cream, cayenne pepper and lime juice and instead of queso fresco, I used salty Feta cheese. The cheese was the perfect salty partner for the sweet, smoky corn. This makes for an amazing meal and is such perfect social food. Place bowls filled with the burger and corn toppings on the table with cold beers and you have a meal to remember.
Ingredients
- 4 ears of corn blanched
for the cream sauce
- 2 tablespoons sour cream
- 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
- juice of 1 lime
- 1/2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
- salt to taste
to serve
- 50 g Feta cheese crumbled
- cayenne pepper for dusting
Instructions
- Brush the blanched corn with olive oil then grill over hot coals until the corn is charred and golden brown.
- To make the sauce, combine all the ingredients in a bowl. Place in a small Ziploc bag and set aside.
- To serve, snip the corner of the bag open and drizzle over the corn. Top with the feta cheese and sprinkle with cayenne pepper.
- Serve immediately.
Ingredients
for the patties
- 1 onion finely chopped
- 2 garlic cloves finely chopped
- 500 g beef mince
- 1/2 cup breadcrumbs
- 1 egg beaten
- 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
- small handful fresh parsley finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1-2 teaspoons salt depending on taste
- pepper to taste
for the bourbon basting sauce
- 3/4 cup tomato sauce
- 1/4 cup peach chutney
- 1/2 cup Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/4 cup Bourbon
- salt & pepper to taste
for the caramelised onions
- 3 red onions thinly sliced
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- pinch of salt
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon Balsamic vinegar
for the burgers
- 4 sesame buns
- lettuce
- sliced tomatoes
- sliced cheese
Instructions
- To make the burgers, fry the onion and garlic in a splash of oil until soft and translucent. Remove from the heat and allow to cool.
- Combine the mince, onions, breadcrumbs, egg, herbs, salt and pepper and mix well.
- Form 4 patties and place on a plate/tray. Cover with clingfilm and place in the fridge to rest.
- To make the caramelized onions, fry the onions in the olive oil over medium heat until they start to soften and turn golden (approximately 15 minutes). Add the sugar and Balsamic and cook for another 10 minutes, stirring regularly to prevent the onions from burning. Remove from the heat and set aside.
- To make the basting sauce, combine all the ingredients in a small saucepan and allow to come to a boil. Turn down the heat and allow to simmer gently for 5 minutes then remove from the heat and allow to cool.
- To cook the burgers, prepare the coals in the Weber. The fire needs to be medium hot to create a crust on the outside of the burgers without burning the basting sauce.
- Cook the burgers for 2 minutes per side then start basting with the Bourbon sauce. Cook to your preference. Toast the sesame buns on the braai while the burgers are cooking.
- To assemble the burgers, top the buns with the lettuce, tomato, burger patty, cheese and a generous spoonful of caramelised onions.
- Serve immediately.
Absolutely loved the burgers, cooked outdoors on our bbq end of December in the cold in the UK but definitely worth it. Awesome recepie.
Thank you so much! These burgers were the best I’ve ever had or made. I made them as sliders and added bacon. I couldn’t find peach chutney so added 1/2 cup peach preserves 1/4 cup chopped onion, 2 cloves garlic chopped, 1 tablespoon mollasses, 1 tablespoon brown sugar and 1 tablespoon chopped ginger. Everyone absolutely loved them.
That’s great to hear! I love your home-made peach chutney. Yum!!
These look Sooo yummy! Can you give me a substition for the peach chutney?
You could just omit it from the recipe. I would just add 1 tablespoon of brown sugar and if you want the fruity flavour, you could use 2 tablespoons peach juice or 1 canned peach, finely chopped. It won’t have exactly the same effect but the flavour should be pretty similar.
these burgers look amazing!! and i totally have to make that mexican street corn too. i love the photos so much!
Thanks Thalia! 🙂
Alida, you are killing me with this burger…now I just have to do burgers tonight…that sauce !!! and the corn, yum 🙂
Let me know what you thought of them!