Nani Burger Recipes

NIMAN RANCH BURGERS

Steps:

• Build a charcoal fire or heat a gas grill.
• Place the ground beef in a large bowl and add the mustard, olive oil, salt, and pepper. Mix gently with a fork to combine, taking care not to compress the ingredients. Shape the meat into 6 (3 1/2-inch) patties of equal size and thickness.
• When the grill is medium-hot, brush the grill grate with oil to keep the burgers from sticking. Place the burgers on the grill and cook for 4 minutes. Using a big spatula, turn the burgers and cook for another 3 to 4 minutes, until medium-rare or more, or cook longer if you prefer hamburgers more well done.
• Meanwhile, break apart the English muffins and toast the 6 halves cut side down on the grill. Spread each half with mayonnaise and top with a burger and then with a heaping tablespoon of caramelized onions. Serve hot.
• Heat the olive oil and butter in a large shallow pot, add the onions and thyme, and toss with the oil. Place the lid on top and cook over medium-low heat for about 10 minutes to sweat the onions. Remove the lid and continue to cook over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, for 25 to 30 minutes, until the onions are caramelized and golden brown. If the onions are cooking too fast, lower the heat. Add the vinegar, salt, and pepper and cook for 2 more minutes, scraping the brown bits from the pan. Season to taste (they should be very highly seasoned).

NAAN BREAD

Steps:

• Put warm water in a small bowl, add sugar and yeast and stir until dissolved. Set aside for 5-10 minutes or until it foams.
• Blend in the warm milk, yogurt and melted margarine. In a large bowl, mix flour, salt, baking powder and poppy seeds. Pour in the yeast/milk mixture all at once and work it into the flour, using your hands. Continue mixing, adding flour or water as needed, until the mixture leaves the sides of the bowl.
• Knead for 6 to 8 minutes or until smooth and elastic. Place in a lightly oiled bowl and turn to coat. Cover with a damp cloth and let stand in a warm place to rise for about 4 hours or until doubled in volume.
• Preheat oven to 550 degrees F (285 degrees C) or your oven's highest setting and set a rack in the lower third of the oven. Place a large pizza pan or iron griddle on the rack and preheat. Also preheat the broiler.
• Punch the dough down and knead briefly. Divide into six pieces and shape them into balls. Place them on an oiled plate and cover with lightly oiled plastic wrap. Let balls rest for 10 to 15 minutes. Roll out and stretch each ball until it is about 10 inches long and 5 inches wide. Remove the pizza pan from the oven, brush with oil and place one of pieces of bread on it.
• Bake at 550 degrees F (285 degrees C) for about 4 to 5 minutes until bread is puffed and has brown spots, then transfer to a wire rack, returning pizza pan to oven to keep hot. Place bread under broiler until 'charcoal' dots appear on the surface. Wrap finished bread in a towel while baking the remaining loaves. (If your pizza pan is big enough, try baking two loaves at the time.)

" TRINI" BURGERS

Steps:

• In a 5-quart stainless steel bowl, gently but thoroughly combine the ground beef with the Worcestershire sauce, thyme, cumin, and cayenne pepper.
• Gently form the ground beef mixture into eight 4-ounce, 3/4-inch-thick patties.
• Use a metal spoon to make a small indentation in the center of 4 of the beef patties.
• Combine the onions and cheddar.
• Divide this mixture into 4 equal portions and place a portion in each indentation.
• Top with another patty and gently form into a burger, making sure to seal all open edges.
• Season the burgers with salt and white pepper.
• Cover the burgers with plastic wrap and refrigerate until needed.
• Grill the burgers over a medium wood or charcoal fire.
• Cook to the desired doneness: about 5-6 minutes on each side for rare, 6-7 minutes on each side for medium, and 9-10 minutes on each side for well-done.
• (This burger may also be cooked on a well-seasoned flat griddle or in a large nonstick saute pan over medium-high heat. Cook for about the same amount of time as listed for grilling.) Remove the burgers from the grill.
• Toast the buns, cut side down, on the grill or griddle or in a nonstick saute pan until golden brown, about 1 minute.
• Spread 1/2 tablespoons.
• mayonnaise onto each burger bun half.
• Place 1 of the lettuce leaves on the bottom half of each bun, then top each with a burger, 2 of the tomato slices, 2 of the papaya slices, and the top half of the bun.
• Serve immediately accompanied by"Trini Tropical Fruit Salad".

NANI BURGER

Steps:

• Cook bacon until crisp, or as desired.
• Drain and set aside.
• IN A LARGE MIXING BOWL: Combine the meat mixture until thoroughly blended.
• ON WAX PAPER: Divide the meat into approximately 1/2 to 1 LB balls.
• Take each ball and flatten the meat into an even, 1/4" thick circle (be certain it's not too thin; otherwise, all your ingredients will leak out while cooking).
• Leaving about an 1/8" gap on the top, bottom and "one" side of the flattened burger round, overlap each cheese half from top to bottom, starting at the center of the circle, working your way to one edge (you only want to put the layers on one half because you'll need to fold the other half over to make the burger).
• Layer mushrooms and bacon over the cheese.
• Spoon 2T of BBQ sauce over the cheese, mushrooms and bacon.
• SHAPING THE BURGER: Carefully fold the burger round in half, using the empty side of the meat to cover the cheese/bacon/mushroom/BBQ.
• Begin folding and pinching the edges to close the burger.
• Once the edges are closed, continue to form the burger to the shape of the French roll, closing up any holes you may find.
• Use any excess meat from the edges to patch up any holes you may find.
• (At this point, the burger should be about the same height and width as the roll.) COOKING THE BURGER: You can either grill or pan fry the burger.
• GRILL: Place the burgers over medium coals.
• Cook on a covered grill for approximately 30 minutes, turning the burger every 5-7 minutes to melt the cheese evenly.
• PAN FRY: Place the burgers in a skillet on medium-low.
• Cover and cook for approximately 20 minutes on each side, or until the juices run clear.
• Serve on the French roll with honey mustard and any other desired condiments (avocado slices are great!).
• *The cheese may be varied, as well as the stuffing in its entirety.
• I've varied this recipe by using only ground beef, adding grilled red and yellow bellpeppers, stuffing with chili and using ground turkey.