Apple Burgers
These seasonal inspired apple burgers made with pork and beef are perfect for burger season. A fun new twist on a backyard burger for fall.
Servings: 8 apple burgers
Ingredients
Caramelized Onions
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 large yellow onions peeled
Burger Patties
- 1 Red Gala Apples core and skin removed, skin intact, shredded
- 1.5 pounds 80/20 ground beef
- 1/2 pound ground pork
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon fresh sage finely chopped
Toppings
- 8 slices extra sharp cheddar cheese
- 2 Starr Ranch Gala Apples core and stem removed, thinly sliced
- fresh leafy green lettuce
- aioli or mayo as needed
Instructions
Homemade Burger Buns
- Make burger buns according to recipe a couple hours before ready to make burgers. You can also make the buns the a day ahead and store in an air tight container at room temperature.
Caramelized Onions
- Heat 2 tablespoons of unsalted butter in a large saucepan or skillet over medium heat until melted and sizzling. A large saucepan will help keep onion slices from flipping out onto stove as you stir. This also gives the onion slices plenty of room to cook without being stacked on top of each other.
- Cook the onions while gently stirring, until they are soft and starting to turn translucent, about 1–2 minutes.
- Reduce the heat to medium-low and continue to cook onions, stirring every few minutes. Stirring gently prevents them from sticking to the bottom of pan and burning on edges.
- Allow onions to cook until golden blonde in color, around 15–20 minutes. If onions are getting too brown for your liking, just reduce heat. Or continue to cook and stir an additional 10-15 minutes on low, for darker more caramelized onions.
- Remove from heat and set aside for topping burgers later. You can place them in an air tight container and refrigerate for up to 1 week.
Burger Patties
- Combine beef, pork, brown sugar, mustard, salt, pepper and grated apple in a large bowl. Gently mix together with hands.
- Weigh and divide meat into 8 balls. Form into patties slightly larger than buns.
- Prepare grill or large skillet to medium heat. Cook until desired doneness. about 4 minutes on each side for medium.
- Place cheese on burger slices to melt while still warm.
Make Burger
- Slice homemade burger bun in half. Place leafy green lettuce on bottom bun to prevent getting soggy from meat patty.
- Place thin gala apple slices onto lettuce.
- Set cheese covered burger patty onto apple slices. Top with caramelized onions.
- Spread aioli or favorite sauce on underside of top bun. Place top bun on burger and enjoy!