Spanish burger with pickled shallots

Votes: 1

Time: 2 hours 45 minutes
Complexity: average
Quantity: 4 hamburgers

This massive burger hardly qualifies as fast food—each component is carefully prepared, resulting in a small delicacy that takes its place within the sandwich. Toasted sesame seed buns, split in half, are slathered with aioli made with mayonnaise, roasted peppers, and smoked paprika, topped with a juicy beef patty topped with melting fontina cheese. Next comes marinated shallots with saffron, infusing the burger with a refreshing flavor with tart, spicy notes. The shallots are followed by a crisp slice of grilled prosciutto and a generous handful of fresh, zesty arugula. All the components add their own unique flavor to the burger and complement each other perfectly.

The recipes use measuring containers with the following volumes:
1 glass (st.) - 250 ml.
3/4 cup (st.) - 180 ml.
2/3 cup (st.) - 160 ml.
1/2 cup (st.) - 125 ml.
1/3 cup (st.) - 80 ml.
1/4 cup (st.) - 60 ml.
1 tablespoon (tbsp) - 15 ml.
1 teaspoon (tsp) - 5 ml.
1/5 teaspoon (tsp) - 1 ml.

Ingredients for the recipe:

Burgers

0.6 kg of beef shoulder blade,
cut into 5 cm pieces (or take 0.7 kg of ground beef with 20% fat and exclude lard)
110 g pork fat (omit if using ground beef)
1 tbsp. l. rapeseed oil
4 slices fontina cheese
4 soft sesame seed buns, lightly toasted
Arugula, for serving

Hot oil

110 g unsalted butter
1 tbsp. l. harissa (chili paste)
2 cloves garlic, crushed

Pickled Shallots with Saffron

3/4 cup sherry vinegar
1 tbsp. sugar
A pinch of saffron
2 large shallots, thinly sliced

Aioli

1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 tsp. harissa (chili paste)
1/4 tsp smoked paprika
2 canned piquillo peppers (or 1 roasted red pepper), drained
1 anchovy fillet
Juice of half a lemon

Crispy prosciutto ham

4 thin slices prosciutto ham
0.5 cups of rapeseed oil

Ingredient Substitution Suggestions

We recommend

Cooking the dish according to the recipe:

Prepare hot oilMelt the butter in a small saucepan over low heat. Add the harissa and garlic and sauté for 1 minute. Remove from heat, cover, and let sit for 1 hour to allow the flavors to meld.
Make pickled shallots with saffronIn a small saucepan, combine the vinegar, sugar, 1 teaspoon of salt, and saffron and bring to a boil over medium heat. Remove from heat and let cool for 10 minutes. Place the shallots in a small bowl, pour the marinade over them, cover, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes and up to 24 hours.

Prepare the aioliIn a blender, combine the mayonnaise, harissa, smoked paprika, piquillo pepper, anchovies, and lemon juice until smooth; season with salt and pepper to taste. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes to allow the flavors to meld.
Make Crispy ProsciuttoHeat canola oil in a small skillet over medium heat until shimmering. Add prosciutto slices one at a time and cook until crispy. Transfer to a plate lined with paper towels to drain.
Prepare the cutletsGrind the meat and lard through a large meat grinder into a large bowl (or place the ground beef in a large bowl). Season with salt and black pepper. Form the ground beef into 4 equal patties.
Heat a cast-iron skillet over high heat until smoking. Add canola oil, add the patties, and cook until golden brown on the bottom, about 4 minutes. Flip and begin brushing with hot butter.
Cook until the patties are browned on the other side and cooked through to medium-rare, about 4 more minutes. Place a slice of cheese on top of each patty, add a splash of water to the pan, quickly cover with a lid, and cook until the cheese is completely melted, about 1 minute.
Spread a little aioli on the top and bottom halves of the bun. Place a patty on each bottom half; top with some pickled shallots, then a slice of prosciutto and some arugula. Top with the top half of the bun and serve.