#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...

July 1st: Philly Burger by GirlCarnivore

July 2nd: Bacon Blue Cheese Burger by My Catholic Kitchen

July 3rd: Pizza Burger by Kiss My Smoke

July 4th: Inside-Out Upside-Down Grilled Lamb Burger by Guys in Aprons

July 5th: Shrimp Po Boy Burgers by Pass the Sushi

July 6th: Triple Garlic Swiss-Stuffed Burger on a Pretzel Bun by Taking on Magazines

July 7th: Spicy Mustard and Sweet Potato Turkey Burgers by The Spiffy Cookie

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 Mustard, FireWire Grilling Skewers, Hamilton Beach, KitchenIQ, The Spice House, and Wisconsin Cheese for sponsoring this event. 

  

Click for link to the give-away.

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.