French Burgers

Oh these are an old favorite and the perfect weeknight meal.  It's also a delicious Friday night meal with a bottle of your favorite wine.  I first found this recipe back in the day in author Edna Staebler's book "Food that Really Schmecks!  I actually had some correspondence from Edna too when I wrote her to ask about one of her recipes.  This French Burger is a popular recipe, as it's also in Julia Child's cookbook "Mastering the Art of French Cooking."

Your Ingredients

1 1/2-2 lb. ground chuck, 3/4 cup finely chopped onions, 2 tbsp. butter, 1 1/2 tsp. salt, 1/2 tsp. pepper, 1 tsp. thyme, 1 tsp. powdered garlic powder. 2 eggs, 1/2 cup flour spread out on a plate, 1 tbsp. butter, 1 tbsp. olive oil for the pan, 1/2 cup beef broth, 1/2 red wine.

Mix Up Baby

Saute the onions slowly in a pan with the 2 tbsp. butter.  In the meantime, mix up the hamburger, spices, and eggs.  Add the onions when they are nice and soft - including the butter left in the pan. Now make the hamburger into patties the size that you like.  Take each patty and dust both sides in the flour you have on a plate and cook in the pan adding a little more butter or oil if you like.  Cook each side for about 2-3 minutes on medium heat.  Once done, take out of the pan and set aside.  Repeat until all of the hamburgers are cooked.  Once they are, scrape the bits in the pan and add both the beef broth and the red wine.  Allow to reduce.  It thickens with the flour from the burgers - but if you want it a little thicker, take a little broth out of the pan and add to a tbsp. or two of flour in a bowl and mix making a paste.  Add the paste to the pan and whisk until sauce thickens.  Pour over the hamburger patties!  So delicious!

Extra Veggies to Add

Top burgers with succulent sauteed onions, fennel and mushrooms if you like.  You can also serve on a nice piece of garlic bread or simply enjoy with a plate of veggies.

  Enjoy!