As we’ve understood, we, and many others, are always on the hunt for the ultimate burger. With this coffee burger, we’re getting close.
Adding a generous spoonful of coffee powder to the ground beef creates a deep, fantastic flavour that pairs exceptionally well with a thick burger. Give it a try, and we can talk about it later.
For 500 grams of meat, one hefty tablespoon of coffee powder should suffice. You can choose the type of coffee you prefer. We’re not coffee drinkers, but we always have coffee for guests – nothing fancy, just regular coffee.
However, we’ve been experimenting more with coffee and cocoa powder and are constantly amazed at how well these flavours complement barbecue.
We leave nothing to chance and place a block of aged cheese in the middle of the burger. This will melt, creating an inside-out cheeseburger. These burgers end up quite thick – although it’s unnecessary, we prefer it that way when we smoke them.
In American BBQ, pepper and salt are the ultimate flavour enhancers. We roll these burgers on the sides through a mix of 50/50 coarsely ground black pepper and sea salt. Don’t worry about the burger becoming overly salty – most of the salt will fall off once it imparts its flavour, and black pepper develops an almost sweet and spicy taste when smoked.
The burgers spend an hour in the fridge to firm up and then go onto our Kamado Joe.
We insert a thermometer into one of the thick burgers and smoke them with a piece of cherry wood until they reach a core temperature of 70°C (158F). This can take about an hour.
You’ll see these beautiful, reddish-brown burgers when you open the lid.
We used fatty ground beef, ensuring a juicy burger after smoking. If you use regular ground beef, you can place a frozen cube of butter next to the cheese to help with juiciness.
This is our smoked coffee burger, served on a cheese and onion bun with arugula, tomato, and red onion. No sauce is needed – this burger stands on its own.
Will you give this coffee burger a try? Let us know in the comments below. Or even better, take a photo and post it on Instagram. Tag @bbqhelden so we can see what you’ve created.
Ingredients
- 500 grams of ground beef
- 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 hefty tablespoon ground coffee
- 1 tsp garlic granules
- 100 grams of aged cheese
- 50/50 mixture of black pepper and sea salt
- 2 beautiful buns
- arugula
- tomato
- red onion
Instructions
- Mix the ground beef with Worcestershire sauce, coffee powder, and garlic granules.
- Shape the mixture into 4 patties, flattening them slightly larger than the buns you’ve acquired.
- Place a cube of cheese on two patties, then top them with the other patties, sealing the edges.
- Spread the black pepper and salt on a plate and roll the burger sides through it. Let them chill in the fridge for an hour.
- Prepare a barbecue with an indirect temperature of 150°C (302F) and a chunk of smoking wood.
- Place the burgers on the grill, insert a thermometer, and smoke them until they reach a core temperature of 70°C (158F).
- Assemble the buns with arugula, burger, tomato, and red onion.