Caciocavallo Burger
You know I love a good cheeseburger. You know I am also big into making street food (I wrote a whole cookbook about it, actually) and mashing up different cuisines from around the world to bring you something completely new and different. That’s why I took a delicious street food from Southern Italy and turned it into an epic cheeseburger. On the streets of Italy, Caciocavallo cheese is melted over fire and then spread on bread. The Alchemy’s new rotisserie prototype not only lets you make delicious whole chicken or porchetta, but also has the ability to hang food over the live-fire centre pit to give food a quick char, so I decided to use it to melt my Caciocavallo cheese. The cheese is then cut or scraped onto a thick burger patty on a toasted kaiser bun with smoky charred pepper sauce and lettuce. It is such a tasty burger. If you want to find out how to make my Caciocavallo Burger, keep reading or jump to the full recipe.
Build your fire and set smoker to 350F. Put up the rotisserie frame. Cut the red pepper in half, remove the seeds and drizzle with olive oil. Place in the smoker for about 15 minutes or until tender.
Tie string or wire around the top of the ball of Caciocavallo cheese.
Tie the string to a hook and then place over the fire, attaching the hook to the rotisserie frame.
Form the ground beef into a large burger patty, about 1 inch thick. Season with salt and pepper on both sides.
Add to the plancha and cook, about five minutes per side or until cooked through.
Cut your bun in half and place on the plancha to toast while the burger cooks.
Remove the pepper from the smoker and finely chop. Place in a bowl with the chopped parsley, chili oil and mayo. Mix.
Once cooked, add the burger to the toasted bun. The Caciocavallo cheese should be nicely melted and starting to drip. Take the hook off the rotisserie and hold over the burger, using a knife or kitchen scissors, cut the melted cheese onto the burger.
On the top bun, place the charred red pepper sauce and the lettuce.
Close the bun and cut in half if you want to see that delicious midsection or you can serve it whole.
And now for the full recipe...
Caciocavallo burger
Makes 1 burger
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 25 minutes
Ingredients:
1 ball Caciocavallo cheese
10 oz ground beef
1 red pepper
2 tbsp chili oil
2 tbsp mayo
5 leaves Italian parsley
1 large kaiser bun
2 lettuce leaves
Salt
Pepper
1 tbsp canola oil
How to Make the Caciocavallo Burger
Build your fire and set smoker to 350F. Put up the rotisserie frame.
Cut the red pepper in half, remove the seeds and drizzle with olive oil. Place in the smoker for about 15 minutes or until tender.
Tie string or wire around the top of the ball of Caciocavallo cheese. Tie the string to a hook and then place over the fire, attaching the hook to the rotisserie frame.
Form the ground beef into a large burger patty, about 1 inch thick. Season with salt and pepper on both sides. Add to the plancha and cook, about five minutes per side or until cooked through.
Cut your bun in half and place on the plancha to toast while the burger cooks.
Remove the pepper from the smoker and finely chop. Place in a bowl with the chopped parsley, chili oil and mayo. Mix.
Once cooked, add the burger to the toasted bun. The Caciocavallo cheese should be nicely melted and starting to drip. Take the hook off the rotisserie and hold over the burger, using a knife or kitchen scissors, cut the melted cheese onto the burger.
On the top bun, place the charred red pepper sauce and the lettuce. Close the bun and cut in half or serve whole.
