Cajun Beef Burger

Servings: 4

Ingredients:

• Oil Spray
• Swiss Cheese slices - 4
• Tomato - 2, sliced
• Onion - 1 sml, sliced
• Green capsicum - 1 sml, sliced
• Lettuce - as required
  
• Honey Smoked BBQ sauce
• Ketchup
  
• Sriracha Hot sauce (optional)
• 
  
• For the patties:
  
• Ground Beef - 1 lb (450 kg), 95% lean meat
• Cajun Seasoning - 2 tbsp
• Salt - to taste
• Onion - 1 med, finely minced
• Jalapeno - 1, seeded and finely minced
• Parsley - 1/2 cup, chopped
• Breadcrumbs - 1/2 cup
• 
  
• Cajun Seasoning: (yields about 1 cup of spices)
  
• Onion powder - 4 tbsp
  
• Garlic powder - 3 tbsp
  
• Chili powder - 1.5 tbsp
  
• Paprika powder - 1 tbsp
  
• Cayenne pepper - 1 tbsp
  
• Black pepper - 1 tbsp
  
• White pepper - 1 tbsp
  

Methods:

• 1. In a bowl mix in all the ingredients for the Cajun seasoning. Use the amount required and store the rest in a sealed container, in a dark cool place (spice cupboard) for future use. If you do not want to make your own seasoning use any store bought kind.
  
• 2. In a large bowl, mix in the ingredients (except the onions, jalapeno and parsley) for the the beef patties. Don't be afraid to get your hands dirty. Mix it well and thoroughly with your hands. Cover with a plastic wrap and chill for 1/2 hour for the flavours to develop.
• 3. After the 1/2 hour, mix in the chopped onions, jalapeno and parsley to the ground beef. Divide into 4 equal portions and form into 1 cm thick flat disks. The patties will look quite big, but once you cook them they will puff up and shrink a bit.
  
• 4. Heat your stove-top griddle (if you do not have a griddle use a non-stick pan), spray a bit of olive oil and add the chopped onions and capsicums with a pinch of salt. Saute on high heat till they are caramelized. Remove and set aside.
• 5. Wipe off any oil residue from the griddle with a paper towel. Heat it up till smoking hot.
  
• 6. Add some oil spray to the griddle and add the beef patties. You need the oil spray for lubrication since the meat is 95% lean. Do not poke or move the patties. Let it get a good sear for 2-3 min. Flip and do the same on the other side. Cook till your preference of rarity. I like mine well done.
• 7. Meanwhile, prepare the buns. Toast the buns on both side until warmed up. Arrange a slice of lettuce, then 2 slices of tomato on the heel (bottom half) of the bun. Top it with ketchup, BBQ sauce and Sriracha sauce. Do all these when the beef patties are about to come off the griddle, otherwise your buns will get cold.
  
• 
• 8. Once you are happy with the cooking (rare, med-rare, well done etc.) of the beef patties, add a slice of the Swiss cheese on top of the patty and top it with a portion of the sauteed onions & peppers.
• 9. Cook till the cheese melts. Swiss cheese melts really fast and will melt down to your griddle. Do not worry about it, as it will come off, and that toasted, crunchy bit of the cheese is really yummy.
  
• 10. Once the cheese has melted, carefully transfer the beef patties with a spatula on top of the buns. Top it with the crowns. Serve immediately.