Recipe of the Week: Bobby Flay's Crunch Burger

Ali, Emi's good friend bought her Bobby Flay's Burgers, Fries, and Shakes for Christmas. We've been waiting a long time for BBQ weather so that we could finally pull out the book to try out some of Bobby's recipes.

This past weekend with the sun out and the weather in the mid 70's we decided it was the perfect weather to finally have some people over to BBQ. The book is filled with tons of fun burger and milkshake recipes that I'm sure we will test out this summer, but we wanted to start out with Bobby's signature burger the Crunch Burger.

Directions (recipe makes 4 burgers):

• 1 1/2 pounds ground chuck (80% lean) - fat is flavor so look for at least 20% fat
• First heat up the BBQ - I prefer charcoal and make sure it is nice and hot before cooking, briquettes should be glowing orange and starting to turn ashy.
  
• Make the horseradish mustard mayonnaise in advance.
• Whip together 1/4 C mayo, 2 T dijon mustard, 1-2 t of horseradish (depends on how spicy you want it to be), salt and pepper. Let it sit covered in the fridge for 30 minutes to allow the flavors to combine.
  
• Divide the meat into four equal portions and loosely form into 3/4 inch patties
• Make a deep depression in the center of each patty with your thumb. This will keep your patties from turning into hockey pucks and the depressions will disappear as the patties cook.
• Season with Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper on both sides
• Brush on 1 1/2 T of Canola oil over both sides of all of the patties
• Throw on the BBQ and cook for 4 minutes on one side, then flip and cook for 3 minutes on the other.
• Add on 2 slices of American cheese and cover the BBQ and allow to cook for another minute or two, until the cheese is melted. This will result in the burgers being medium-rare, cook an extra minute for medium. Remember to not push down on the burgers with your spatula this will squeeze out the juices and may also cause your BBQ to flame up.
• Toast each side of a potato bun on the BBQ
• Place the cooked patty on the bottom of the bun, top with lettuce, tomato, red onion (we didn't do onions), a dollop of the horseradish mustard mayonnaise and a handful of potato chips.

This is a great burger, it's deliciously simple. I love the smoky flavor that only a charcoal BBQ can give a hamburger and American cheese is the only cheese to enjoy on a cheeseburger. The horseradish mustard mayonnaise is what makes this burger special. It's not overpowering, but both sweet and a little spicy and adds a great flavor to the burger. However, what brings this burger to another level is the potato chips, hence the name the "Crunch Burger".

Make sure to try out this burger at your next BBQ because it's really easy to make, yet you'll impress with the added horseradish mustard mayo and the creative use of potato chips.

- Kyle