Guanciale Beef Burgers
We’ve become pretty attached to our food grinding attachment for our Kitchen Aid Stand Mixer. We probably use it the most for making pork sausage, but ground beef and lamb merguez are close seconds. Skip the pre-ground beef at the store and start grinding it fresh. You can get some really amazing burgers with a just a few quality ingredients.
Yield: about 8 burger patties
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Ingredients
For the patties:
2 lbs. beef top round, cut into about 1-inch pieces*
1/2 lb. smoked guanciale (pork jowl), cut into 1/2 inch pieces**
For the burgers:
8 slices of cheese (dealer’s choice; we like an easy melting cheese like havarti, chihuahua, or fontina)
8 burger buns (if you want to make your own, this recipe from King Arthur Flour is our go-to)
Butter lettuce or arugula (optional)
Thinly sliced shallot or red onion (optional)
Kosher salt
Fresh ground black pepper
Sunflower or canola oil
Instructions
Form the Patties
Place the cut beef into a bowl and place in the freezer. Meanwhile, add the cut guanciale to a skillet over medium heat. Saute the guanciale for about 5-10 minutes, depending on the size of your cut. You want to cook the guanciale to be slightly crispy on the edges, render some fat, and make sure the pork is cooked enough so that you don’t need to worry about cooking the burgers to well-done (to avoid any raw or undercooked pork hanging around inside the burger patties).
Transfer the entire contents of your skillet, drippings and all, to a medium bowl and place in the freezer to cool down for about 15 minutes.
In the meantime, set up your meat grinder with a medium-size die. After the beef and guanciale are nicely chilled, add the cooked guanciale and all drippings (likely in a semi-solid state now) to the bowl with the beef. Toss to evenly distribute the guanciale through the beef. Transfer the mixture through the grinder and into another large bowl. Once everything has been ground, dampen your hands with a bit of cold water and gently mix the ground beef mixture to make sure that the guanciale is evenly distributed.
Divide the mixture into 8 even portions and form into patties. This is not the time to “Hulk out.” You just want to lightly form the mixture into a ball and then press down to form a patty. The patty will be about 3/4” thick. Place the burger patties onto a plate or small baking sheet, cover with plastic wrap or foil, and place into the fridge for at least 20-30 minutes to cool down while you preheat the grill or a cast iron skillet. This cooling time will help the burgers stay together when they hit the grill.
Raw, ground beef and guanciale burger patties.
Cook the burgers
On the Grill:
Prepare your grill for high heat (at least a 400°F grate temp). You’ll want the grates to be very hot before putting the burgers on in order to help reduce the likelihood that the patties will stick to the grates.
Lightly oil the grate with sunflower oil or canola oil. Season the outside of the burger patties with salt and pepper.
Place the burgers on the grill over direct heat. We recommend covering the grill with the lid between flipping the burgers. Grill for 3 minutes on a first side. Flip and grill for another 3 minutes on the second side. Flip back to the first side for another minute. Finally, flip over to the second side again and top with cheese. Cover the grill again with the lid and cook for a final minute or two until the cheese is melted. Your total grill time will be about 8-10 minutes, depending on your preferred doneness and grill temperature.
If you like a toasted burger bun, place the sliced buns onto the cooler edges of the grill for the final minute or two of the burger cook time.
On a Cast Iron Skillet:
Heat up the skillet over medium-high heat until very hot. Meanwhile, season the outside of the burger patties with salt and pepper. Drizzle a small amount of sunflower oil into the skillet. As soon as it begins to appear wavy and smoke, add the patties to the skillet (you may need to work in batches, so as not to crowd the pan).
Cook for 3 minutes on a first side. Flip and cook for another 3 minutes on the second side. Flip back to the first side for another minute. Finally, flip over to the second side again and top with cheese. Turn the heat down to medium-low and cover the skillet with a lid. Cook for a final minute or two until the cheese is melted. Your total cook time will be about 8 minutes, depending on your preferred doneness and grill temperature.
If you like a toasted burger bun, pop the buns into the toaster for a minute or two, or place them sliced side up under the broiler for a minute (keep an eye on them so they don’t burn!).
Assemble the Burgers:
Assemble the burger with a bit of mayo on the bottom half of the bun, then the burger patty, a bit of thinly sliced shallot or red onion, butter lettuce, and the top half of the bun.
Notes
*You can use another cut of beef, such as sirloin, rump, or chuck, if you prefer. If you choose a fattier cut though, you may want to reduce the amount of guanciale slightly.
**Guanciale can be found in most well-stocked grocery stores, usually near the bacon. It will either be sold in a slab or in thick-cut slices. If you can’t find it, opt for a very thick cut bacon instead.
