Pitaburgers Recipes

PITA BURGERS

Steps:

• In a small bowl, combine the onion, garlic and seasonings; crumble beef over mixture and mix well. Shape into six patties.
• Grill or broil for 5-7 minutes on each side or until a meat thermometer reads 160° and juices run clear.
• Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine the lettuce, cucumber, yogurt and sesame seeds. Top each burger with lettuce mixture; serve on pita breads.

PITA BURGERS

Steps:

• In a small bowl, combine the onion, garlic and seasonings; crumble beef over mixture and mix well. Shape into six patties. , Grill, covered, over medium heat or broil 4 in. from the heat for 5-7 minutes on each side or until a thermometer reads 160° and juices run clear. , Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine the lettuce, cucumber, yogurt and sesame seeds. Top each burger with lettuce mixture; serve with pita breads.

PITA BREAD

Steps:

• In the bowl of a heavy-duty electric mixer fitted with a dough hook, combine the yeast, sugar, and warm water; stir to blend. Let the yeast stand until foamy, about 5 to 10 minutes.
• Stir in the salt. Add the flour, a little at a time, mixing at the lowest speed until all the flour has been incorporated and the dough gathers into a ball; this should take about 4 minutes.
• Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead until it's smooth and elastic. Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled bowl, turn it over to coat, and cover with plastic wrap. Allow to rise until double in size, about 1 1/2 hours.
• Place a large pizza stone on the lower oven rack, preheat the oven (and stone) to 500 degrees F.
• Punch the dough down, divide it into 8 pieces, and gather each piece into a ball; keeping all of them lightly floured and covered while you work. Allow the balls of dough to rest, covered, for 15 minutes so they will be easier to roll out.
• Using a rolling pin, roll each dough ball into a circle that is about 8-inches in diameter and 1/4-inch thick. Make sure the circle is totally smooth, with no creases or seams in the dough, which can prevent the pitas from puffing up properly. Cover the disks as you roll them out, but do not stack them up. Put 2 pita rounds at a time on the hot pizza stone and bake for 3 to 4 minutes, or until the bread puffs up like a balloon and is pale golden. Watch closely; they bake fast. Remove the bread from the oven and place on a rack to cool for 5 minutes; they will naturally deflate, leaving a pocket in the center. Wrap the pitas in a large kitchen towel to keep them soft.

GREEK PITA BURGERS WITH SPINACH, FETA AND TZATZIKI SAUCE

Steps:

• Place shredded cucumber in clean dish towel; squeeze to remove any excess liquid. In small bowl, mix cucumber and remaining sauce ingredients. Cover; refrigerate until serving time.
• Heat gas or charcoal grill. In large bowl, mix all burger ingredients except buns, tomatoes and lettuce. Shape into 8 patties, 1/4 inch thick. Place patties on grill over medium heat. Cover grill; cook 5 to 8 minutes, turning once, until meat thermometer inserted in center of patties reads 160°F.
• Spoon 2 tablespoons sauce on bottom half of each bun. Top with burger, tomato and lettuce. Cover with top halves of buns.

CHEF JOHN'S PITA BREAD

Steps:

• Place yeast into the work bowl of a stand mixer and add 1 cup warm water and 1 cup flour. Whisk together and let stand 15 to 20 minutes for mixture to rise and make a loose sponge. Mixture will bubble and foam.
• Pour 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil and salt into sponge; add 1 3/4 cup flour. Mix at low speed, using a dough hook attachment, until dough is soft, supple, and slightly sticky. If dough sticks to the sides of the bowl, add up to 1/4 cup more flour, a little at a time.
• Knead dough with machine on low speed until slightly springy and still soft, 5 to 6 minutes. Turn dough out onto a floured work surface and form into a ball.
• Wipe inside of bowl with 1/4 teaspoon olive oil. Turn dough around in bowl to cover with a thin film of oil; cover bowl with foil and let sit until dough has doubled in size, about 2 hours.
• Remove dough from bowl and place onto a floured work surface. Lightly pat into a flat shape about 1 inch thick. Use a knife to cut dough into 8 pieces.
• Form each piece into a small round ball with a smooth top, pulling dough from the sides and tucking the ends underneath the bottom.
• Cover dough balls with lightly oiled plastic wrap and let rest for 30 minutes.
• Sprinkle a small amount of flour on a work surface and top of a dough ball; gently pat dough ball flat with your fingers, forming a flat, round bread about 1/4 inch thick. Let dough round rest for 5 minutes. Repeat with remaining dough balls.
• Brush a cast-iron skillet with remaining 3/4 teaspoon olive oil and place over medium-high heat. Lay pita bread into hot skillet and cook until bread begins to puff up and bottom has brown spots and blisters, about 3 minutes. Flip, cook 2 more minutes, and flip back onto original side to cook for about 30 more seconds. Pita bread will begin to puff up and fill with hot air. Stack cooked breads on a plate; when cool enough to handle, break breads in half and open the pocket inside for stuffing.

JUICIEST HAMBURGERS EVER

Steps:

• Preheat grill for high heat.
• In a large bowl, mix the ground beef, egg, bread crumbs, evaporated milk, Worcestershire sauce, cayenne pepper, and garlic using your hands. Form the mixture into 8 hamburger patties.
• Lightly oil the grill grate. Grill patties 5 minutes per side, or until well done.

LAMB BURGERS IN PITA WITH YOGURT SAUCE

Steps:

• Mix first 5 ingredients together in medium bowl. Season yogurt sauce to taste with salt and pepper.
• Mix lamb and next 5 ingredients in large bowl until well blended. Season generously with salt and pepper. Shape mixture into four 3/4-inch-thick patties.
• Preheat broiler. Place lamb patties on broiler rack and broil until cooked through, about 4 minutes per side.
• Open pita bread rounds; line bottoms with trimmed tops, if desired. Place lettuce, burger, then large spoonful of yogurt sauce in each round. Serve, passing sauce separately.

HAMBURGER PATTIES

Steps:

• Sometimes I vary the seasonings- using a steak seasoning or Cajun seasoning instead of salt and pepper.
• Mix ingredients with your hands using a light touch.
• Don't be tempted to overmix.
• If you do, it becomes too dense.
• When charcoal grilling, add 1/2 cup water to the beef mixture to keep it from drying out.
• For pan frying, don't use a nonstick pan- it won't brown as well, and heat some oil in the pan before adding burgers to keep the burgers from sticking and to help sear and form a nice brown, crispy exterior.
• Either method will take about 10- 12 minutes of cooking time, depending on thickness of patty, temperature of heat source and your preference (we like ours medium cooked).
• Note: when pan-frying don't be tempted to press down and squeeze all the juice out, just turn them more often (turn only once on the grill).

HOMEMADE PITA BREAD

Steps:

• Make sponge: Put 1 cup lukewarm water in a large mixing bowl. Add yeast and sugar. Stir to dissolve. Add the whole-wheat flour and 1/4 cup all-purpose flour and whisk together. Put bowl in a warm (not hot) place, uncovered, until mixture is frothy and bubbling, about 15 minutes.
• Add salt, olive oil and nearly all remaining all-purpose flour (reserve 1/2 cup). With a wooden spoon or a pair of chopsticks, stir until mixture forms a shaggy mass. Dust with a little reserved flour, then knead in bowl for 1 minute, incorporating any stray bits of dry dough.
• Turn dough onto work surface. Knead lightly for 2 minutes, until smooth. Cover and let rest 10 minutes, then knead again for 2 minutes. Try not to add too much reserved flour; the dough should be soft and a bit moist. (At this point, dough may refrigerated in a large zippered plastic bag for several hours or overnight. Bring dough back to room temperature, knead into a ball and proceed with recipe.)
• Clean the mixing bowl and put dough back in it. Cover bowl tightly with plastic wrap, then cover with a towel. Put bowl in a warm (not hot) place. Leave until dough has doubled in size, about 1 hour.
• Heat oven to 475 degrees. On bottom shelf of oven, place a heavy-duty baking sheet, large cast-iron pan or ceramic baking tile. Punch down dough and divide into 8 pieces of equal size. Form each piece into a little ball. Place dough balls on work surface, cover with a damp towel and leave for 10 minutes.
• Remove 1 ball (keeping others covered) and press into a flat diskc with rolling pin. Roll to a 6-inch circle, then to an 8-inch diameter, about 1/8 inch thick, dusting with flour if necessary. (The dough will shrink a bit while baking.)
• Carefully lift the dough circle and place quickly on hot baking sheet. After 2 minutes the dough should be nicely puffed. Turn over with tongs or spatula and bake 1 minute more. The pita should be pale, with only a few brown speckles. Transfer warm pita to a napkin-lined basket and cover so bread stays soft. Repeat with the rest of the dough balls.