Irish Burger

Hi Everyone and Happy Friday!!!

Today I have for you a dish for those who want to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, but don’t care for corned beef.  I did make corned beef and cabbage last year and it was good, but it’s not something that I would crave or die to have.  Plus with just my Husband and I, it’s too much food for the both of us.  So I thought how can I get a Reuben sandwich without the corned beef?   Hmmmm, I have been craving a burger lately, and burgers are something that we just love in our house.  Why not make a beef burger the same way you would make a Reuben?

Good choice on my part!  This sandwich has it all, seasoned ground beef, cheese and of course Sauerkraut!  Oh and I can’t get the rye bread!!  I was quite pleased with my latest creation.  When I was taking my food porn pictures of these sandwiches, I told my Husband to start eating so it doesn’t get cold.  He said no, I’ll wait.  I thought, ahhh that is so sweet, then the truth came out.  We sat down to dinner and I said aren’t you having a sandwich?  He said I was waiting for you to take a bite first.  He was afraid!  Hey it has everything we like, so why wouldn’t it taste good?  I took a bite and thought Mmmm, good!  I did add some ketchup to my burger, then it was perfect!!!  Then my Husband took his bite and said not to bad!  I asked would you eat it again?  With food in his mouth he said, uh huh!! I guess it means he likes it!!

I have to admit this burger is really good, different then what I normally have, but I liked it!  I have one burger left and that is going to be lunch tomorrow.  To make this Irish Burger, it was a little tricky to come up with an idea on how I can make a burger fit onto rye bread, after all rye bread is not a traditional burger bread shape.  So I decided to bake my burger, since my Husband likes them best that way, plus they don’t dry out and I don’t have to stand in front of the grill.  So I made the beef mixture and decided to make one big burger patty!!  Crazy I know!  My intention was so I could cut it into the shape of the rye bread.  It worked!!  I flattened my patty and made it about 1/4″ thin and shaped it into a rectangle.   Here is a picture of what I am talking about.

I cooked the burgers for 20 minutes and they were cooked perfect!  The burgers were moist, which surprised me for being so thin and they were easy to cut.  You just have to skim the fat off the top of the burger, which is pretty common in baked burgers of any size.  Then I placed my bread on a baking sheet and topped it with my burger, then cheese and sauerkraut, then the top piece of bread.  gave it a few squirts of butter spray and broiled it until the top of the bread was browned and then flipped it so the other side could brown.  Here is a picture of the burgers before I put the toppings on it.  I want you to see the shape.  Not pretty pictures!

From start to finish the burgers were done in about 30 minutes.  These make a wonderful sandwich and if you’re having a party, you could make these into sliders.   I think any burger and Reuben fan will love these.  I honestly can’t believe my idea worked!  I can’t believe that my Husband and Jenny ate one!!  So I have to say these were a hit!!  I’m still laughing to myself that my Husband was waiting for me, so I could take a bite first!  I’m just sitting here shaking my head!  Hey sometimes my ideas do work!!

As for the cheese, I had in mind to use some Kerrygold Irish cheese that I had, but I took a bite of it and didn’t care for it, so I used my old standby, Kraft Singles for my Husband and Pepper Jack for me.  One thing about these burgers, I think any cheese you like would go great with it.  As for the sauerkraut, I didn’t find it to be to over whelming.  Actually, I was expecting a sour taste, but it didn’t have that at all!  I haven’t had sauerkraut since I was a kid, so I couldn’t recall the taste, I just remember that I liked it.  My Mom used to make sauerkraut and spare ribs in the crockpot and I loved that dish.  I wish she was here to make it for me.  Maybe she can send me some from North Carolina?  Do you think it would travel well?

Baked Irish Burgers

Nutrition Information

• Serves: 4 sandwiches

• Serving size: 1 sandwich

Prep time:  10 mins

Cook time:  25 mins

Total time:  35 mins

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A beef burger topped with sauerkraut and cheese served on rye bread. A different take on the classic Ruben Sandwich.

Ingredients

• 1lbs. lean ground beef (96%)
• 2 Tbsp. ketchup (reduced sugar)
• 2 tsp. worcesterchire sauce
• 1 egg or ¼ cup substitute
• ¼ tsp pepper
• 1 dash salt
• ¼ tsp. garlic powder
• Toppings:
• 8 slices rye bread
• 4 oz Cheddar Cheese or Pepper Jack Cheese
• 8 tbsp. sauerkraut
• butter spray

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350F
2. Line a baking sheet with aluminium foil and spray with cooking spray; set aside.
3. In a bowl, mix all of your ingredients together (except for the toppings) until well combined. I used my hands.
4. Place the beef on prepared baking sheet and flatten it out to about ¼" in height, and shape it like a rectangle. When you make your burgers you want them to fit on your rye bread.
5. Place in oven for 20 minutes and cook until no longer pink.
6. Take the burger out of the oven and turn your oven broiler on.
7. Skim off the fat on the burgers and cut burgers into 4 equal pieces and place on a slice of rye bread. Top with cheese and sauerkraut and top with other slice of bread. Spray Bread with butter spray. Place on a baking sheet and put in the broiler and bake for 2 minutes, then flip your sandwich and cook for another 2 minutes until bread is crisp and cheese is melted. Be sure to watch the bread, it can't burn quickly in a blink of an eye!

Notes

Calories per sandwich: 345, Fat: 10, Cholesterol: 70, Sodium: 989, Potassium: 78.8, Carbs: 29.4, Fiber: 3, Sugar: 5.7. Protein: 29.5

Calories are based on Kraft Singles Cheese

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This was fun!  One thing I really love to do is create in the kitchen!   I can’t wait to see what other crazy ideas I come up with next!  But hey, at least this was a tasty idea that pleased everyone in my family!

Have a fun and safe weekend!

Toodles,

Jennifer

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