Prime Rib Burger

April 16 - Semolina Gnocchi with Creamy Leeks
April 17 - Indian Take-out
April 18 - Salmon with Beans & Pesto in a foil pouch
April 19 - Prime Rib Burgers with caramelized onions and horseradish mayo & broccoli slaw

Here in TO, at least on many of the channels the Boy and I watch, there have been a bevy of commercials for A&W's new Grandma Burger, which is a prime rib burger.  I was curious about the idea of a burger made with prime rib meat, so curious that I considered hitting up an A&W to try one myself.  Then I remembered that I had a prime rib roast in the freezer that I had bought a few months ago on sale and I have a fancy meat grinder attachment for my Kitchen Aid mixer, which meant I could make my very own prime rib burger!

Many people might see it as sacrilege that I would take such a rich and tender cut of beef and grind it up.  Well those people aren't doing noREEATS where I can't make the same burger more than once all year long.  Also I got a great deal on the roast so I didn't feel bad grinding it up, if I had bought a super high quality, grass-fed, locally raised prime rib you best believe I'd roast it.   With my mind set on prime rib burgers, I pulled that puppy out of the chest freezer let it defrost and got ready to put my fabulous Kitchen Aid meat grinder attachment to use.

Prime Rib Burgers
makes 6 burgers

2 lbs of prime rib (without the bone) - cut into 1 1/2" cubes and placed in the freezer for 30 mins)
2 small or 1 large clove of garlic
salt & black pepper
Horseradish cream - recipe below
caramelized onions - recipe below
Hamburger Buns - I made my own Soft Whole Wheat Buns from HBin5

1.  Using a meat grinder on it's coarsest setting, pass the cold meat and garlic cloves through the grinder. Add a healthy grinding of fresh cracked pepper to the ground meat.  Loosely form into six 1/3 lb patties. Place on a cookie sheet, cover with plastic and put in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.
2.  Heat a grill on medium to low heat, until the temperature gauge reads 450F.  Sprinkle the patties with salt and place on the heated grill.  Cook for 7 minutes per side, or until the internal temperature is 140F, for medium.
3.   Toast the buns on the grill as the burger rest.  Assemble burgers by placing the patty on the bottom bun, topping with caramelized onions and spreading some horseradish cream on the top bun.

Horseradish Cream
makes about 3/4 cup

1/2 cup sour cream
3 Tbsps mayo
2 Tbsps horseradish
salt & pepper

Mix the ingredients together in a small bowl. Adjust seasoning with salt & pepper.  Cover and let sit in the fridge for at least 30 minutes to let the flavors marry.

Caramelized Onions
makes enough for 6 burgers

4 small onions - thinly sliced
1 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsps olive oil
healthy pinch of dried thyme
salt & black pepper

Heat butter and oil a large saute pan over medium low heat.  Add in the sliced onions, and the dried thyme and cook slowly for 20 minutes until nicely caramelized. Taste & adjust seasoning with salt & pepper.

This was a huge hit with the Boy and I have to say I loved it too.  It was an odd rainy snowy night so the Boy gallantly grilled the burgers for us.  They were cooked a little more than I normally like, but honestly there was enough fat in the prime rib that they were beyond juicy, tender and oh so flavorful.  I wouldn't recommend splurging on prime rib for burgers everyday, but it is definitely worth it once a year, which is nice since it's all we get this year!