Garlic-Parmesan Crunch Burgers #SaucyMama #WFC #Giveaway

I am happy to announce that I've been chosen to participate in Saucy Mama's 2017 recipe contest! This is a big deal, folks. You may remember that I participated with my Saucy Orange Habanero Burger, a couple of years ago. Life gets in the way, so I skipped last year, but I couldn't pass it up this time...I'd really love a chance to win a Golden Ticket into the World Food Championships. How fun would that be?! Not only that, but the chosen participants received a box of Saucy Mama condiments to experiment with. A good deal any way you look at it!

I chose well, don't you think? Keep reading to see how you can win a box of 3 Saucy Mama condiments for yourself!

My mission, once I received the goods, was to create something delicious with bacon or burgers. It had to be easy to make, delicious, and inventive. Let's take a look at what I came up with....

A burger needs a good bun....

Part of the "crunch" comes from the easy topping I put on the buns. Sure, you can make your own buns...it's not hard...but it's even easier to add a little "everything bagel" seasoning and some Parmesan cheese to a few store bought buns....

And speaking of crunch, who doesn't love some good honey-mustard pretzels? Since I was all out of pretzels, I subbed chow mein noodles baked with a bit of honey and some of Saucy Mama's Smokey Garlic Mustard....a handful on top of the burger is so good! 

Droolworthy.

Garlic-Parmesan Crunch Burgers

Ingredients:

1 egg yolk

1 tablespoon Saucy Mama Smokey Garlic Mustard

¼ cup finely grated Parmesan cheese

½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 ½ lbs. 80/20 ground chuck

½ cup Saucy Mama Parmesan Garlic Marinade

4 (1 oz.) slices sharp cheddar cheese

4 Kaiser rolls with Everything Bagel/Parmesan topping /split and toasted*

½ cup Garlic-Parmesan Aioli*

2 cups baby arugula

1 cup Honey and Garlic-Mustard Chow Mein noodles*

Sliced tomatoes and/or pickle slices

Whisk together the egg yolk, garlic mustard, Parmesan cheese, and black pepper. Add the egg mixture to the ground chuck and mix by hand until just combined. Form the meat into 4 patties, slightly larger than the rolls to allow for shrinkage.

Heat a skillet (preferably cast iron) over medium-high heat until very hot. Reduce heat to medium. Fry the burger patties for about 5 minutes before flipping. Brush the flipped burgers generously with the Parmesan Garlic Marinade. Flip the burgers again after about 5 minutes, brush with more marinade and top each one with a slice of cheddar cheese. Continue to cook until cheese has melted. Remove from heat and tent with foil to keep warm.

For each burger, spread the bottom half of a toasted Kaiser roll with 1-2 tablespoons Garlic-Parmesan Aioli (recipe follows). Top with a handful of arugula, the burger patty, sliced tomatoes and/or pickle slices, and about ¼ cup Honey and Garlic- Mustard Chow Mein noodles (recipe follows). Place the top half of the bun over the noodles and serve immediately.

*Topping for Kaiser rolls:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a small saucepan, bring ½ cup water to boil. Stir 2 teaspoons cornstarch into ¼ cup warm water. Stir the cornstarch mixture into the boiling water and cook until the mixture coats the back of a spoon. Remove from heat and cool to room temperature.

Lightly brush the top of each Kaiser roll with the cornstarch mixture. Sprinkle each roll with about a teaspoon of everything bagel seasoning, and about a teaspoon of shredded Parmesan cheese. Bake the rolls for 4 minutes. To make your own seasoning, combine 1 T toasted sesame seeds, 1 T poppy seeds, 1 T minced dried onion, 1 T minced dried garlic, and ½ teaspoon coarse salt. Store in covered container.

*Garlic-Parmesan Aioli

½ cup mayonnaise

¼ cup finely grated Parmesan cheese

1 tablespoon Saucy Mama Smokey Garlic Mustard

½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Combine all ingredients and chill until needed.

*Honey and Garlic Mustard Chow Mein Noodles

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. In a large bowl, combine 2 tablespoons melted butter, 1 tablespoon Saucy Mama Smokey Garlic Mustard, and 2 teaspoons honey. Fold in 1 (5 oz.) can chow mein noodles (about 2 ½ cups). Spread the noodles on a parchment lined sheet pan and bake for 15-20 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes. Remove from oven and cool. Noodles will crisp when cooled. Store in an airtight container.

My husband preferred his without the noodles...his loss...

How can you win a package of three tasty Saucy Mama condiments? Simply enter your information into the Rafflecopter! Brownie points for letting me know you are Saucy!*

*Open to US residents only.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Saucy Orange Habanero Burgers

What a ride this Saucy Mama trip has been! Just a little over 2 weeks ago, a package of sauces, marinades, and one very tasty mustard arrived at my door. It was up to me to come up with a recipe worthy of competing in the 2015 Saucy Mama Contest. This contest will be someone's ticket, a Golden Ticket, to the 2015 World Food Championships taking place in Kissimmee, Florida. Can you imagine what a fun and scary ride that will be?!

Those of you who know me know that I have a thing for a touch of orange in my food. From breads, to pies, to sweet rolls, there isn't much I haven't sprinkled with some orange zest. It's no wonder that the bottle of sauce that stood out from rest for me was Saucy Mama's Orange Habanero Wing Sauce. It just sounded like it was going to be awesome. Boy howdy, with its slightly sweet, slightly hot, and slightly orange deliciousness -- it is awesome! I just couldn't resist building an entire meal with this stuff....

As you can see, I made some good, saucy choices....

The criteria for creating the perfect Saucy Mama recipe are that the recipe must be easy to replicate, family friendly, great for parties, and, above all, delicious. It came to me that the one food that encompasses all of these things might just be the hamburger. Think about it.....hamburgers come in all shapes and sizes, some fancy, some sloppy, and all delicious. Yup. I was going to make a hamburger.

My first creation: Orange Habanero Candied Bacon

My final recipe turned out to be a compilation of three easy, and very flavorful parts...a sweet, candied bacon, a spicy, orange-y ketchup, and fresh, crispy onion strings, all piled on top of a basic, juicy burger. May I present Saucy Orange Habanero Burgers!

The Orange Habanero Ketchup is the bomb! I've even used it as pizza sauce!

Saucy Orange Habanero Burgers

Orange Habanero Candied Bacon

1/3 cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon freshly grated orange peel

1/3 cup Saucy Mama Orange Habanero Wing Sauce

12 slices thick-cut bacon

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper or foil. Spray a cooling rack with cooking spray and place in sheet pan.

Mix the brown sugar with the orange peel and place in a shallow bowl. Brush the both sides of each side of bacon with the wing sauce. Place the bacon in the bowl with the brown sugar and toss to coat. Make sure the bacon is evenly coated. Place the bacon in a single layer on top of the rack. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until the bacon is slightly dark. Watch carefully after 20 minutes to make sure it doesn't burn. Carefully remove the bacon from the rack and allow it to cool on a sheet of parchment. The bacon will crisp as it cools.

Orange Habanero Ketchup

1 (15 oz) can crushed tomatoes

1/2 cup diced yellow onion

2 cloves garlic, crushed

1/3 cup Saucy Mama Orange Habanero Wing Sauce

2 teaspoons freshly grated orange peel

Combine all of the ingredients in a small, heavy saucepan. Heat over medium-high heat until the mixture just comes to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove the cover and simmer for an additional 10 minutes. Cool to room temperature.

Orange Habanero Onion Strings

1 large, sweet onion

1/2 cup buttermilk

1/2 cup Saucy Mama Orange Habanero Wing Sauce

1 cup all purpose flour

2 teaspoons freshly grated orange peel

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

2 cups canola oil for frying

Use a mandolin or very sharp knife to slice the onion into very thin rings. Place the onion rings in a medium bowl. Stir together the buttermilk and the wing sauce. Pour over the onions, covering completely. Allow to stand at room temperature for at least 30 minutes. In the meantime, whisk together the flour, orange peel, salt, and cayenne pepper. Place the oil in a heavy saucepan. Heat to 375 degrees F. Using tongs, scoop up a portion of the onion rings. Dredge them in the flour mixture, shaking off the extra flour. Place the onions in the hot oil. Use the tongs to push the onions around, breaking up any clumps. Fry for a minute or two, or until golden. Remove to a paper lined plate to drain and repeat, in batches, with the remaining onions. Cover to keep warm.

Hamburgers

1 1/2 pounds ground chuck, 80/20 blend

Freshly ground pepper and Kosher salt

1 1/2 tablespoons canola oil

4 slices provolone cheese

4 good quality hamburger buns, split (click here if you want to make your own)

2 tablespoons butter, softened

assorted lettuce leaves

Carefully form the ground chuck into 4 patties, making an indentation on the top of each burger. Season each patty with pepper and salt. Heat the oil in a heavy skillet or grill pan until it begins to shimmer. Add the burger patties and cook for about 4 minutes. Flip the burger and cook for an additional 3 minutes. Top each burger patty with a slice of the cheese, cover and continue to fry until the cheese is melted. Spread the butter over the cut side of each bun. Grill the buns until they are golden brown.

To assemble the burgers, place lettuce leaves on the cut side of each bottom bun. Top with a burger patty. Spread a tablespoon or two of the ketchup on top of each burger. Add bacon slices and a handful of onion strings, then top with the remaining bun halves, toasted side down.

Wish me luck...my competitors are a talented bunch!

Want to win your very own 3-pack of Saucy Mama condiments? Simply visit my last post, Orange Habanero Candied Bacon, and enter via the RaffleCopter widget. Have fun and keep it Saucy!

Orange Habanero Candied Bacon

I am so excited to share that I am one of 25 bloggers chosen to compete in Saucy Mama's 2015 Recipe Contest! This means that not only do I have a chance to win a Golden Ticket to the 2015 World Food Championships, but I get to play with 6 different Saucy Mama condiments and I get to give away a 3 pack of sauces to one of my readers!

For those not in the know, Saucy Mama is a division of Barhyte Specialty Foods located in Pendleton, Oregon. They are the makers of fabulous mustards, marinades, and wing sauces. I've participated in a couple of Saucy Mama's contests in the past and I've enjoyed their products immensely. The stakes are especially high this year, as this contest is a qualifying event for The World Food Championships being held in Kissimmee, Florida!

My husband and I immediately tore into the Poblano Ranch Dressing and the Hatch Chili Mustard ... we couldn't wait for the official picture to be taken....