I really love grilled beef that has been soaked in red wine. However, it’s kinda hard to do with a burger. To get over that little hump, I reduced a hearty zinfandel wine with finely chopped shallots until there was next to nothing left of the wine. All that red wine deliciousness gets stored into the shallots and the mixed in with the ground beef. The shallots pull double-duty — in addition to holding all that wonderful zinfandel flavor, they also provide a little extra moisture to the burgers. Win-win!
Zin-tastic Red Wine Shallot Burgers
Author: Jeff Parker
Recipe type: Direct heat
Serves: 6
TIP: As always, I recommend around 18% fat in the ground beef mixture. If you are not grinding your own meat, do what I did with these burgers. Buy a pound each or 80% lean ground chuck (more fat = more flavor) and 85% lean ground top sirloin.
Ingredients
- ½ cup Zinfandel or other red wine
- ⅓ cup finely chopped shallots
- 2 pounds ground beef
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 2 tablespoon finely chopped fresh parsley
- 1 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary
- 1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme leaves
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- Sliced white cheddar cheese
- -
- Potato buns, for serving
- Lettuce, tomatoes, and assorted condiments, for serving
- Method:
Instructions
- Combine the wine and shallots in a small saucepan. Over high heat, reduce the wine down to until there is only about 1 tablespoon remaining. Remove from heat and cool.
- In a medium mixing bowl, thoroughly mix the red wine shallots, ground beef, Worcestershire sauce, and herbs. Divide the mixture into six equal portions and shape into patties slightly larger than the buns. Season both sides of the patties with salt and pepper. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to cook.
- Prepare your grill for direct cooking over high heat. Brush and oil the grate before you begin cooking. Place the burgers on the preheated grill and cook for 3 to 5 minutes per side. During the final minute, top each burger with a slice of cheese and close the cover until the cheese is just melted. Remove burgers from grill and place the buns cut side down on the grill for 1 minute or so until toasted. Assemble burgers to your liking and serve.
- Note: when using store-bought beef, always cook burgers to an internal temperature of 165ºF.
Here’s a great video for burger grilling tips:
Cheers and Happy Grilling!
~Jeff
Sounds great! I am going to try with 50/50 beef/ lamb. Being that lamb has a lower fat content, does anyone have a suggestion of what cut of beef would go best with this combo?
Try mixing it with ground chuck – it usually is somewhere between 15% and 20%.
What a great idea! I’m going to have to try it this summer.
Thanks, Stephen! The red wine shallots not only give the burger that red wine flavor, but also add that “onion soup packet-ness” of flavor without having to add the processed food. Hope to see you guys soon. Cheers – Jeff
Love the idea of red wine reduction and shallots added to the grind mixture … good one Chef Jeff !!
Thanks, Doug! It really is tasty and I know you can put together a great mince. What’s your preferred combination of meats in your grind?
Blade FOR SURE as well as Brisket and short rib but … for the REAL Pièce de résistance I ALWAYS add PORK FAT. If you haven’t tried this Chef, your OMG moment is at hand !! Stay hungry friend.
BTW … I made your “Mom’s” potato salad Last night for my family’s “Canada Day” gathering at the farm and it was a HUGE hit !!! THX for sharing !!!
That’s a great mic, Doug. I bet that bit of pork fat really makes those burgers sing! What proportions or percentages would you recommend?
I usually ‘eye-ball’ the pork fat depending on how lean my beef mixture is … if I had to guess, I’d say 10 to 15 percent of the total. It melts and makes a wonderful patty, meatball, loaf whatever !! Stay hungry Chef Jeff !!
I’m going to let my mom know that you made her potato salad and tell her she’s now an international sensation! She’ll love it! Cheers
Cheers to your Mom from Canada !!!
Loved this! I made 2 small tweaks…. I used your amount for only 1 pound of beef, AND I tripled the wine to 3/4 cup. Worked pefectly, and I didn’t need any condiments on my burger. Thank you!
Perfect tweaks! So glad you liked it!