Double - Pretzel Bavarian Burgers

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Nutritional Info
  • Servings Per Recipe: 8
  • Amount Per Serving
  • Calories: 856.4
  • Total Fat: 37.8 g
  • Cholesterol: 182.8 mg
  • Sodium: 292.5 mg
  • Total Carbs: 85.9 g
  • Dietary Fiber: 9.1 g
  • Protein: 41.6 g

View full nutritional breakdown of Double - Pretzel Bavarian Burgers calories by ingredient


Introduction

If you love German food, especially hot mustard, bacon, onion and pretzels, you will adore these burgers! It's a labour of love to make both the buns and burgers from scratch, but it is truly worth it: the crushed pretzels are a unique twist on the standard breadcrmbs and the blend of meats is divine! If you love German food, especially hot mustard, bacon, onion and pretzels, you will adore these burgers! It's a labour of love to make both the buns and burgers from scratch, but it is truly worth it: the crushed pretzels are a unique twist on the standard breadcrmbs and the blend of meats is divine!
Number of Servings: 8

Ingredients

    -Rolls-
    4 cups whole wheat bread flour
    2 cups all-purpose flour
    1 tsp cream of tartar
    1 tbsp instant yeast
    1 1/2 cups (12 oz) lager beer, flat
    1 egg plus 1 egg yolk (save white for glazing)
    1 tbsp brown sugar
    2 tsp salt
    1/4 cup olive or canola oil
    4 quarts (16 cups) water
    1/2 cup (yes, 1/2 cup) baking soda, for boiling
    coarse salt
    granulated onion

    -Burgers-
    1 1/2 lbs lean (not extra-lean) ground beef
    1 lb lean ground pork
    1 slice (about 1 oz) thick-cut bacon, cooked and crumbled
    1 tsp caraway seed
    1/2 tsp cumin
    pinch ground cloves
    2 sprigs fresh thyme, stemmed
    freshly ground black pepper, to taste
    2 tbsp grainy hot mustard (ideally German-style)
    1 egg
    1/2 tbsp salted butter
    1 Vidalia onion, diced
    2 cloves garlic, minced
    4 oz (about 32) honey-wheat pretzels (like Rold Gold's Braided Twists), crushed into a fine crumb

Directions

-Rolls-
In a large bowl, whisk together flours, cream of tartar and yeast.
Add beer, egg and egg yolk, brown sugar, salt and canola oil and stir well just to incorporate. Set aside for 10 minutes.
Begin to beat / knead the dough until it is smooth and supple, about 15 minutes (a stand mixer makes this easier).
Cover dough and let rest 20 minutes.
Deflate the dough and portion into eight 6-oz pieces, smoothing into balls. Place balls on a lined cookie sheet, cover and allow to rest 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 350F.
In a large pot, bring the water to a boil and slowly add the baking soda.
Reduce heat to a simmer.
Three or four at a time, boil rolls for 1 minute, turning them to make sure they are evenly cooking.
Drain rolls well and replace on the sheet.
Brush rolls with the reserved egg white (beat with a little water if needed) and sprinkle with salt and granulated onion.
Bake for 30-35 minutes, remove to a wire rack to cool.

-Burgers-
In a frying pan, melt butter over medium heat.
Add onion and cook slowly until the onion just begins to caramelize, then add garlic and cook until fragrant (about 1 minute). Remove from heat and allow to cool 10 minutes.
In a large bowl, combine beef, pork, bacon, caraway, cumin, cloves, thyme, pepper, mustard and egg, mixing well.
Stir in the onion and garlic mixture to evenly distribute, then mix in the pretzel crumbs.
Shape into 8 patties and evenly space them on a foil-lined sheet tray.
Chill burgers for 2 hours.
Preheat broiler to HI and place the rack in the upper third of the oven.
Broil patties for 3 - 4 minutes per side, until desired level of doneness is reached.
If desired, place split pretzel rolls under the broiler for 30 seconds - 1 minute to toast before serving.
Serve with shredded cabbage and hot mustard.

Number of Servings: 8

Recipe submitted by SparkPeople user JO_JO_BA.