Real Food for Real Life

Saturday, September 11, 2010

From a pretzel to a burger...

Brezelburger mit Sauerkraut, Speck und Senf
Okay, that would be a pretzel burger with sauerkraut, bacon and mustard (Ben is the German wiz in the house).  Last weekend we knew we wanted burgers and whilst shopping at Jungle Jim's (International Market) we set off seeking some nice buns (for burgers, of course).  What drew our attention were some very handsome pretzel rolls...and what do pretzels need but mustard and cheese (sauce)?  So off we went, now seeking mustard and cheese.  Well, one thing led to another, and in the search for a "good" mustard, we ended up with a German mustard, which lead to sauerkraut (Bavarian style), which lead to bacon, which lead to the creation of our "Pretzel Burger" (isn't it wonderful how our minds wander?).  We picked up some German potato salad at the deli and had that alongside our burgers with some additional sauerkraut.  While I could not finish mine (okay Ben, no more 1/2 lb. burgers), I can definitely say it was one of the best burgers I have ever eaten.

Since we are kinda nerdy, and like to match our beverage to our food, we also went seeking some German beer (Reisling just wouldn't cut it for a burger of this magnitude).  What we found was a Lithuaian triple bock (close enough, right?) by the name of Before and After, and coming in at a whopping 12% alcohol, this is a very apt name indeed.  This beer did not taste as strongly of alcohol as I had feared, and being a bit on the sweet (and dark) side, I quite liked this one, more so than Ben, the beer aficionado of the family.  Funny, I don't like sweet wine, but I like sweet beer (oh, well).

The recipe that follows isn't really a recipe so much as what we put on our burgers; which toppings you decide to use and in what quantities is entirely up to you, we just hope to provide a little tasty inspiration.

German Pretzel Burger

Honking 1/2 lb. patties ready for the grill
burger patties grilled to your liking (we used 80/20 chuck cooked to medium)
pretzel rolls, split and toasted
crisp, cooked bacon (we used thick cut peppered bacon)
extra sharp cheddar cheese slices
good quality mustard (please, something better than the cheap yellow stuff)
sauerkraut, squeezed dry and warmed through

Assemble your burgers, using as much. or as little, of the listed ingredients.  Ben put the bacon slices under the cheese on the grill and melted everything to a nice ooey gooey goodness.
The burger up above was Ben's, this is mine, not piled quite so high.

2 comments:

  1. Now THAT'S one heck of a burger! Sounds like a perfect shopping and eating experience. (How many of those beers did you have?)

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  2. It was, and they won't be 1/2 pound again, not even for Ben, and not even if he cries :) We had one Bock that we shared, although I got most of i, followed by one Honey Moon. That about does it for me for beer drinking.

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