Skip to main content

#burgermonth: Bulgogi-Spiced Burger with El Diablo Mango Mustard Kimchi + Give-Away


Kita, of Girl Carnivore and Pass the Sushi, asked if any of her bloggin' pals would be interested in participating in #burgermonth. 

Ummm...yeah.

"A 31 Day Celebration of the Burger." Yes

"Start Salivating." Okay

So, #burgermonth is happening. For the entire month of July, thirty bloggers are presenting a burger of their choice on a specific day. Today's my day! But I'll be featuring and sharing the other creations on my facebook page and through my twitter feed. Ramp up those workout routines because you are going to want to try these yummies.

You can follow my pinterest board, #BurgerMonth 2014, for all of the burger creations. Here's what we've had so far this month...


Our hostess with the mostess - Kita of Girl Carnivore - wrangled up some great sponsors and great prizes. Many, many thanks to El Diablo Hot & Spicy MustardFireWire Grilling SkewersHamilton BeachKitchenIQThe Spice House, and Wisconsin Cheese for sponsoring this event. 
  

BULGOGI-SPICED BURGER WITH EL DIABLO MANGO MUSTARD KIMCHI

So, for today - July 8th - inspired by the burgers at Ground Up in Half Moon Bay (click to read my piece about them), I decided to create my own version of the Korean-flavored burger. And since El Diablo Hot & Spicy Mustard, one of the event sponsors, sent me samples, I'm adding in two of their fiery flavors as well: mango and jalapeño. You'll see the El Diablo Hot & Spicy Mango Mustard in the kimchi and the El Diablo Jalapeño Mustard in the burger.

Read all the way through the recipe before making your grocery list, please. I've split up the ingredients for the kimchi, the burger, and the condiments. Also note: homemade kimchi needs to ferment for 3 days minimum, so give yourself a head start. I changed my usual homemade kimchi recipe to mirror the Asian-inspired flavors in the burger.


The KIMCHI

Ingredients [printable recipe for El Diable Mango Mustard Kimchi]
  • 1/4 C salt
  • enough warm water to submerge all the cabbage
  • 2 small heads of savoy cabbage, cored and leafed
  • 2 T minced garlic
  • 1/3 C El Diablo Hot & Spicy Mango Mustard
  • 1/2 C vinegar
  • 3 T ginger syrup
  
Procedure
In a large mixing bowl place salt and cabbage pieces cut to 2" square or so. 



Add in enough warm water to dissolve the salt. Submerge the cabbage into the salt water and weigh it down with a plate, so it stays submerged. Let cabbage soak and soften in the brine for 2 hours.



A few minutes before the cabbage finishes soaking, combine the minced garlic, mustard, vinegar, and ginger syrup in a large bowl. Stir well to combine. Once the cabbage has finished soaking, drain, rinse it and squeeze it gently to remove excess liquid.

Use your hands (or tongs instead if you have any open cuts as the vinegar can sting) to thoroughly incorporate the mustard mixture with the cabbage.



Pack the kimchi into a clean jar - or a few jars. Screw the lid on tightly and keep in a cool, dry place, out of direct sunlight (my pantry worked well for this) for 3-4 days. After 3 days, open the jar and look for tiny bubbles. If it’s begun to bubble, it’s ready to serve or to be refrigerated. If it hasn’t yet begun to bubble, leave it for another day. The kimchi will continue to ferment in your refrigerator and should be consumed within a month.



Now on to the actual burger: a bulgogi-spiced burger. Bul is the Korean word for fire and gogi is meat, literally, it's 'fire meat.' However, it's not really spicy and borders on the sweet side. Bulgogi is one of Korea's most well-known beef dishes; it's traditionally made from thinly sliced beef, marinated in a mixture of soy sauce, sesame oil, black pepper, garlic, onions, ginger, and sugar to enhance the flavor and tenderize the meat. Since bulgogi is traditionally grilled, and served with a side of lettuce or other leafy green, I figured it was the perfect hunk of meat to put under our kimchi.

The BURGER

Ingredients for 8 1/4-lb burgers or 6 slightly larger than 1/4-lb ones
[printable recipe for Bulgogi-Spiced Burgers]
  • 1 pound ground beef (we used a 10% fat)
  • 1 pound ground pork
  • 2 T ginger syrup
  • 4 cloves black garlic (click to read my intro to that)
  • 1 t minced garlic
  • 3 T soy sauce
  • 1 T El Diablo Jalapeño Mustard
  • 1 t toasted sesame oil
  • freshly ground pepper
  • freshly ground salt

Procedure
Prepare grill or, in my case, get the Grill Master to do it. 

Combine all but the last two ingredients. Divide the mixture into 8 equal portions, shaping each into a 1/2-inch-thick patty. Place patties on a grill rack coated with cooking spray and grill on each side until your preferred level of doneness.



Remove burgers from the grill and let stand for 5 minutes.

Place buns, cut sides down, on grill rack and toast for a minute. Assemble the burgers with bun, lettuce, cheese - if desired - and top with kimchi. Enjoy!



And since we - meaning me and Jake -  love a good beer with our burgers, I poured Brouwerij Bosteels' Tripel Karmeliet. I love any spicy dish with a frothy tripel. Cheers!


I did serve some marinated, grilled veggies on my brand-new Fire Wire Flexible Grilling Skewers, courtesy of one of the #burgermonth sponsors: Fire Wire Grilling Skewers. But I figured that that deserved its own post. Click for: Skewered Veggies with the Help of Fire Wire Grilling Tools.

Comments

  1. I've always wanted to make kimchi but haven't done so yet because I'm afraid I'll be the only one in the family eating it. You've gave me the push I need though. The burger looks and sounds amazing!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I have never had a burger like this one - I am LOVING the flavor profile...yeah for #burgermonth This burger is in MY future! Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Lol, I feel like all I have done this month is work out and eat burgers! Could be the dream life. I love the idea of this kimchi - it sounds amazing!! And I love that you embraced burger month and had a bonus burger too!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Quick Pickled Red Onions and Radishes

If you've been reading my blog for even a short amount of time, you probably know how much I love to pickle things. I was just telling a friend you can pickle - with vinegar - or you can ferment - with salt - for similar delicious effect. The latter has digestive benefits and I love to do that, but when I need that pop of sour flavor quickly, I whip up quick pickles that are ready in as little as a day or two. I've Pickled Blueberries , Pickled Asparagus , Pickled Cranberries , Pickled Pumpkin , and even Pickled Chard Stems ! This I did last night for an upcoming recipe challenge that requires I include radishes. Ummmm...of course I'm pickling them! Ingredients  makes 1 quart jar radishes, trimmed and sliced organic red onions, peeled and thinly sliced (I used a mandolin slicer) 3/4 C vinegar (I used white distilled vinegar) 3/4 C water 3 T organic granulated sugar 1 T salt (I used some grey sea salt) 6 to 8 grinds of black pepper Proce

Aloo Tiki {Pakistan}

To start off our Pakistani culinary adventure, I started us off with aloo tiki - potato cutlets. I'm always game for tasty street food. I found a couple of different recipes and incorporated those together for this version. Ingredients 6-8 small red potatoes, scrubbed 1 T cumin seeds 1 T fresh chopped parsley 1/2 t ground coriander 1 t minced garlic Procedure Boil the potatoes until they are tender. Drain and let cool. Mash the potatoes. Traditionally they are mashed without their skins. I left the skins on. In a small pan, toast the cumin seeds on high heat until the begin to give off an aroma and begin to darken. Remove from heat and transfer to a plate to keep them from cooking any more. Blend all of the spices into the mashed potatoes, then shape into small patties. If you wet your hands, the potato mixture won't stick to them. Heat a splash of oil in a large, flat-bottom pan. Dip each patty into beaten egg and carefully place in the oil. P

Hot Chocolate Agasajo-Style {Spice It Up!}

photo by D For my Spice It Up! kiddos this week, I was looking for an exotic drink to serve while we learned about saffron. I found a recipe from food historian Maricel Presilla that mimicked traditional Spanish hot chocolate from the 17th century where it was served at lavish receptions called agasajos . When I teach, I don't always get to shoot photos. Thankfully, D grabbed my camera and snapped a few. Ingredients serves 14-16 1 gallon organic whole milk 3 T dried rosebuds - or 2 t rosewater 2 t saffron threads, lightly crushed 3 T ground cinnamon 3 whole tepin chiles, crushed 2 vanilla beans, split lengthwise 1 C organic granulated sugar 1 lb. bittersweet chocolate Procedure In a large soup pot that can hold a gallon plus, combine milk, dried rosebuds (or rosewater, if you are using that), saffron threads, ground cinnamon, chiles, vanilla beans, and sugar and warm over medium heat till it steams. Whisk to dissolve sugar, then lower heat an