The weekend calls for a burger, but not just any burger. Grilled slider served on a potato roll, with pickled bourbon peppers, an Italian style sweet sloppy Joe sauce, topped with crisp sriracha slaw with farm-fresh veggies and a side of garlic kettle chips.
George's SLOPPY GIUSEPPE a winning combination
Grilling a winning burger from the bun up takes time and the freshest farm-picked ingredients. For my SLOPPY GIUSEPPE, the peppers were farm picked and pickled the same day, two months ahead of adding to my burger. I used a colorful mix of vine-ripen sweet and hot peppers, and the vinegary brine was topped off with bourbon for added zip. The Sloppy Sauce is a homemade sweetened Italian tomato sauce, and the slaw—is a mixture of crunch tossed at the last moment in a creamy sriracha dressing. With no compromise to the meat tossed on the grill, my signature special meat blend, and the only bun of distinction worthy for such honest “sloppy goodness’ is a soft potato roll.
SLOPPY GIUSEPPE BURGER
Makes 8 quarter-pound burgers.
chefgeorgehirsch.com | George Hirsch Lifestyle
*Weight before cooking
1 3/4 pounds ground beef, short rib blend, 80/20 lean/fat ratio
3/4 pound sweet Italian sausage, removed from casing
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
Accompaniments: Potato Rolls, a mix of sweet & hot vinegar peppers, sloppy sauce, sriracha slaw,
In a 2-quart mixing bowl, combine beef and sausage meat and mix with a fork, taking care not to overwork the meat. Divide into 8 or 10 equal portions and form into 3/4 inch thick patties. Use raw meat from two of the above-formed burgers for sloppy sauce. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour.
Sloppy Sauce
George Hirsch Lifestyle | chefgeorgehirsch.com
Makes about 2 Quarts or enough topping for 16 SLOPPY GIUSEPPE burgers.
2 Tablespoons Olive oil
1/4 cup chopped onions, sweet red peppers
8 cloves fresh garlic, chopped fine
1 - 15 ounces can each of Tomato Sauce & Tomato Puree
1 1/2 cups ketchup
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon hot pepper flakes
1 pint of IPA
1 teaspoon each dried basil and oregano
2 bay leaves
2 cups water
Preheat a saucepot to medium temperature. Add olive oil and two burger patties, browning lightly; add onions, peppers, and garlic. Cook for two additional minutes; do not brown vegetables. Add all remaining ingredients using water to rinse out any additional tomato sauce left in cans. Simmer for 45 minutes. Keep warm until topping burgers.
For Slaw & Dressing as seen on George Hirsch Lifestyle
Vegetables: 1 small head shredded white cabbage, 1/2 head shredded red cabbage, 2 grated carrots, 1/4 of a sweet, thinly sliced onion, 2 cloves finely chopped garlic, and 3 chopped green onions. Mix 2 cups mayonnaise, 1/4 cup white vinegar, 1/2 cup sweet chili sauce, 1/4 cup sriracha, 1/2 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley, pepper, and sea salt to taste. Add dressing to slaw thirty minutes before serving.
Preheat the grill to medium-high. Place the burgers on a hot grill and cook for about 3-4 minutes per side, turning once.
Serve on lightly toasted Martin’s Potato Rolls, first peppers, burger, sloppy sauce, and slaw. Serve extra Sloppy Sauce on the side with plenty of napkins.
Note: If you don’t see ground short-rib beef in your butcher shop, by all means, ask for it. Whenever you’re mixing any ground meat product, it’s a good practice to have the meat and bowl well chilled. Not only will a chilled bowl cut down on bacterial growth, but it will also help bind the meat. If possible, use a metal bowl for mixing the ingredients and place it in the freezer beforehand. If your kitchen is warm, place the bowl over a bowl of ice when incorporating the meat with the spices.
