Decadent autumn burger with pumpkin and cumin cheese
Autumn—and of course winter—is really the season for those delicious warm flavors like cinnamon, clove, pumpkin, mushrooms and truffle. I [Siebe Grijpma, @bbqmoods] created a super tasty Autumn Burger with caramelized pumpkin, sage butter, truffle tapenade, cumin cheese and crispy sage with wild mushrooms. A culinary must for autumn and winter.
Preparing the BBQ
Prepare the BBQ with a direct and an indirect zone. Set the temperature to around 200 degrees.
Preparing the pumpkin
Cut 2 nice slices from the butternut squash and peel them. Place them in a bowl and marinate with maple syrup, cinnamon, balsamic vinegar and a pinch of salt. Let it rest at room temperature for half an hour.
Preparing the mushrooms
Cut the mushrooms into nice large pieces and place them in a bowl.
Preparing sage butter
Melt the butter in a skillet (or frying pan) over medium heat. Add the sage leaves and fry them crispy in the butter. Make sure the butter does not get too hot, it should not burn. Once the sage leaves are nice and crispy, carefully place them on kitchen paper. Now dip the cut sides of your burger buns into the remaining sage butter. We will toast these buns on the BBQ later and the sage butter adds an extra layer of flavor. The leaves will be used as a topping on the burger.
Preparing the autumn burger
Once your BBQ is up to temperature, start with the marinated pumpkin slices. Place them for about 12 minutes in the indirect zone on the BBQ. Turn them occasionally so they cook evenly. Once the pumpkin starts to soften, briefly grill it over direct heat. When the pumpkin has nice grill marks, place the slices back in the indirect zone to continue cooking and to make room for grilling the burgers.
Now toast the burger buns that were coated with sage butter on the cut sides. Bread browns quickly on the BBQ, so keep moving the buns and don’t let them burn. We want a golden brown color. Once the burger buns are nicely toasted, place them in the indirect zone to keep warm.
Place the burgers in the direct zone right above the coals. I prefer beef burgers cooked medium rare to medium, so don’t leave them on too long! Turn them a quarter turn after about a minute and repeat on both sides to create nice grill marks. Once the burgers have good grill marks, move them to the indirect zone and add plenty of cumin cheese (at least 2 slices per burger). Close the BBQ to melt the cheese and let the burgers cook through to medium rare.
Meanwhile, heat the skillet for the mushrooms (this can also be done on an induction plate or gas stove). Add a generous amount of butter to the skillet and cook the mushrooms over medium heat. Season with thyme, pepper and salt.
Assembling the autumn burger
Once the cheese has melted and your burgers have a core temperature of around 49°C, it’s time to build the burger. Layer it as follows:
1. Bottom half of the bun
2. A layer of truffle tapenade
3. The Black Angus burger with melted cumin cheese
4. The caramelized pumpkin
5. A generous portion of sautéed mushrooms
6. A dollop of creamy mayonnaise
7. The crispy sage leaves
8. Top half of the bun
Serving the autumn burger
Once assembled, insert a skewer or burger pin through the burger to hold everything together. Use a nice plate or board for a bold presentation. This burger is guaranteed to be messy…
ENJOY!
