Use these gourmet smoked burgers as a template for any flavor combination you desire!
Below are a few of our favorite recipes for toppings, and directions on how to smoke an amazing burger.
Smoking Hamburgers:
Thaw frozen burger in the fridge for 1- 2 days. Working with the thawed burger, a scale, and if you have one a burger press (this is the one I use).
I make 6oz Burgers in my house and usually 12 at a time on a sheet tray. I just season with a good Real Salt or Himalayan Sea Salt and pepper.
Fill the tray of an electric smoker with desired wood chips. I have used apple, Pecan, Hickory, Mesquite, Alder, Cherry…. They are all good but do give differences in flavor so play around.
Then put water in the water tray and turn the smoker on high to preheat to around 200.
Put the burgers in and that is it. You just want to monitor for temperature and that wood chips don't run out.
For a med-well to a well-done burger the guideline is 155 for the internal temp. This will take you 45 min to 1 hour of cook time. For those of you who prefer a less done burger remember to handle your raw meat carefully and have a super good clean source for your meat! We use St. John’s Organic Farm and their locally grown, harvested and butchered beef.
Once the burgers are to temp, remove them and the fun of topping them begins!
Note: If you are making cheeseburgers of any kind, you can add the cheese right in the smoker while the burgers are reaching their last 2-5 degrees of internal temperature. You only want the cheese in there for about 5 minutes so it doesn’t run everywhere.
Gourmet Topping Recipes
Cherry-Smoked Burgers with Brandied Cherry Chutney, Dubliner Cheese, Green Leaf Lettuce and a Brioche Bun
Brandied Cherry Chutney (makes 1 qt):
4 cups pitted Bing cherries
1/2 cups brandy
1/4-1/2 cup raw honey
2 tsp almond extract
Dash salt
1-2 tbsp cornstarch or arrowroot slurry (equal parts starch and water, mixed)
Place cherries, brandy, honey, salt, and extract in a saucepan and bring to boil.
Cook till cherries are soft (but not falling apart) for about 5 min.
While boiling and stirring constantly add slurry and cook till thick.
Remove from heat and store in a quart jar with a lid.
Use cold room temp or hot!
Hickory-smoked Grass-Fed Burger with Strawberry Relish, Green leaf lettuce and a brioche bun (this would also be awesome with fresh Mozzarella cheese)
Strawberry Relish (makes 1 qt):
3-4 cups whole stemmed strawberries
1/2 cup fresh basil leaves
3 tbs raw honey
¼-1/2 cup red wine vinegar
Salt and pepper to taste
In a food processor combine all ingredients and pulse til small chunks but not a paste or sauce. Think pickle relish! Adjust vinegar and seasoning to make it as tart as you want it. The idea is to replace pickles with this relish.
Store in a quart jar in the fridge. The relish with continue to ferment due to the vinegar—this is a good thing! Fermentation helps develop a tasty flavor.
Apple-Smoked Greek-style Burger with Tzatziki sauce, Chevre, Cucumbers, and Arugula on a Brioche Bun
Tzatziki Sauce (makes 1 qt):
1 qt plain, whole milk yogurt
Zest and juice of one lemon
1 clove fresh garlic or 1 tsp garlic powder
½ seeded, unpeeled English cucumber minced or diced
⅛-¼ cup mint leaves
Salt and pepper to taste
Place lemon juice, zest, garlic, salt and pepper, and mint leaves along with yogurt in a food processor and process till smooth.
Add cucumber after the rest is processed to add some texture. Adjust seasonings to taste.
Store in a 1 quart jar in fridge for up to 10 days.
For assembly:
This Burger with thin slices of cucumber over the fresh goat cheese on top of the burger. Put the Tzatziki sauce on both sides of the bun and Arugula in between!
Pecan smoked burger with Apricot Salsa, Smoked Gouda cheese, Red Leaf lettuce on a Brioche Bun
Apricot Salsa (makes 1 qt):
4 cups pitted, halved fresh apricots
Juice of 1 lime
⅛-¼ cup cilantro leaves and stems
½ red onion, peeled and roughly chopped
1 jalapeno, stem off
½ English cucumber
1 tbs raw honey
Salt and Pepper to taste
Combine all ingredients except apricots and cucumber in food processor and blend to almost a paste.
Add in cucumber and ½ the apricots and pulse till small chunks, but not to a paste.
Pour mixture into a bowl.
Pulse remaining apricots to the desired chunk size and add to the rest of the salsa.
Adjust all seasonings to taste!
Store in a quart jar. The salsa should last 2-3 weeks in the fridge.
(Note: this salsa is also great on fish tacos, chicken and tortilla chips!)
For assembly:
Add the sliced gouda to the burgers the last 5 min of cook time. Then assemble with the salsa on both sides of the bun and lettuce on top of the burger!
Mesquite-Smoked Bacon Blue cheese burgers with Lettuce and Gourmet mustard on a brioche bun
For these burgers, I place strips of raw bacon on top of the burgers or alternatively wrap the burger patties in bacon before smoking them.
The bacon will cook with the burgers and then the last 5 minutes of cook time I top the burgers with several ounces of my favorite blue cheese to get all melty.
For assembly, they just require a bun, some great lettuce, amazing mustard and (optional) smoked or grilled onions! Yummy!
Alder Smoked burgers with Chestnut Mushrooms in red wine sauce with Roquefort Cheese, Onion Aioli, Red leaf lettuce, and a Brioche Bun
Mushrooms in Red wine sauce (makes 1 qt):
4 cups chestnut or criminology mushrooms, cleaned and diced
2 tbs avocado oil
Salt and pepper to taste
1 cup red wine like Cabernet or Merlot
3 tbs butter
Heat oil in a large saute pan on high heat till smoking.
Add in mushrooms and season with salt and pepper.
Saute until mushrooms are soft and then deglaze with the red wine.
Simmer until the liquid is reduced by half. Turn the heat to low and add the butter.
Serve right away or keep warm.
(Note: this sauce is also excellent over steak!)
Onion Aioli (the cheater’s way)
1 cup mayonnaise
1 sweet onion or red onion, sliced
Salt and pepper
Dash white vinegar
First, saute or grill onion till caramelized and very soft.
Place the onion in the food processor with salt, pepper, and vinegar and process until it is a paste.
Add in mayonaise and blend until smooth
Have a taste and adjust seasonings according to taste.
Store in the fridge for 1-2 weeks
For assembly:
Top the smoking burgers in the last 5 mins of cook time with a couple of ounces of your favorite Roquefort cheese.
Start with the mayo on each side of the bun, then the burger with the cheese, then top with a good scoop of your mushrooms. Top with your lettuce and shabang! One yummy messy amazing burger!