My Cooking Attempts: David's Favorite Burger

This burger creation came about one weekend when my hubby and I were too lazy to leave the house, yet were craving a delicious burger. My husband wanted "a crunch" to his burger and he didn't want to use a traditional burger bun (which was good because we didn't have any at home). After staring at our fridge and cupboard contents for a while the idea for what is now David's favorite burger was born. We decided to use soft pillowy french bread with a crunchy, fried hash brown, along with a spicy dressing, and a turkey patty. It is OMG delicious! Try and it and tell me what you think.

Recipe
Hash Brown
2 medium red potatoes (or sub with favorite potato)
2-3 tbsp freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper
Vegetable oil

Burger patty
1 16oz package ground turkey
2 tbsp A1 steak sauce
Salt and pepper
Vegetable oil

Spicy Dressing
3 tbsp mayonnaise
2 1/2 tsp Sriracha chili
Seasoning salt to taste

Burger Add-Ons
Loaf of store bought French bread
4 slices of sharp cheddar cheese
1 Roma tomato (or any variety you prefer)
1 head of lettuce, leaves seperated and washed
Caramelized onions (recipe to follow in another post)
pickles for side

Start with your hash browns. I used red potatoes, however, you can use Russet as well. Wash your potatoes. Grate. Rinse off and then soak them in cold water. I usually soak them for at least 2 hours, however, up to 8 hours is good. Change out the water every few hours.
Whenever you are frying potatoes it's a good idea to soak them in order to remove the starch. This will allow them to fry up crispier.

I will begin working on the other burger ingredients 1.5 hours into soaking the potatoes.
Meanwhile the potatoes finish soaking prepare your spicy dressing. Mix all three ingredients (mayo, Sriracha, and seasoning salt) in a small bowl. Set aside. Slice your cheese and tomatoes. Rinse your lettuce and allow to dry. Gather your caramelized (recipe coming soon) or freshly sliced onions and pickles.

Now prepare your turkey patties. Add the ground turkey into a large bowl. Add your A1 sauce, a little salt and pepper. Mix, but don't over mix! Form patties. I usually end up with four, but your number will depend on how large you make your patties.

At this point I usually start the second part of my hash brown process. (1st- Grating and soaking. 2nd- Drying. Third- Mixing and cooking.)

Now, soaking the potatoes is one thing, a great thing, but it is pointless unless you SQUEEZE out all the water. I've seen people use a ricer (without pushing the potatoes through) to thoroughly remove all the water. However, I just use paper towels to ring out all the water. You will need to repeat this process a few times before all the water is removed. I then place the grated potatoes on a dry paper towel, top with another paper towel, and pat dry some more.

I know it's a lot of effort, but it's worth it!
Place the dry grated potatoes in a bowl, season with a little salt and pepper, add grated Parm. Mix. Fry them in hot, shallow pan with about 3-4 tbsp of oil.

I tend to make individual hash browns, while David likes to make one giant hash brown and then slice it up. Do whatever you prefer. Obviously cooking time will vary, based on the size of you hash brown. When one side is crispy, flip and brown the other side. Remove from hot pan and place on a plate lined with a paper towel.

Using the same pan, add a little oil to your pan (if necessary), just to avoid sticking. Add meat.

Cook about 6 minutes on one side. Flip. Add cheese and cook another 6 minutes on the other side. When cooked through, remove from pan and allow to rest for a few minutes.

Meanwhile, slice and toast your French bread. Slather with sauce. Add toppings and hash brown. Top off with your turkey patty. It's a monster burger!

Doesn't that make you hungry? Nom, nom, nom!