Truffle Burger

Looking to elevate burger night? Wake up your taste buds with this homemade truffle burger recipe that is bursting with umami flavor. These juicy burgers are a must-try for any burger lover.

Truffle burgers are the ultimate gourmet burger. As the name implies, a truffle burger is a refined hamburger using premium ingredients that incorporate truffle flavor as a primary component. Although the ingredients are only limited by your imagination, the most common way this is done is by using a truffle mayo as a condiment.

My juicy garlic truffle burger features a juicy half-pound burger patty topped with melty Gruyere cheese, pickled red onions, and the subtle earthy flavor of truffle burger sauce painted on a toasted brioche bun. If you are craving the best truffle burger recipe, this is it.

Ingredients & Substitutions

• Gourmet hamburger buns - You want high-quality buns from your grocery store's bakery department. Brioche buns are my preferred choice.
• Ground beef - 80/20 ground beef has the ideal amount of fat for making juicy burger patties. However, this recipe is also ideally suited for using Wagyu beef burgers as well.
• Gruyere cheese - Swiss cheese is a good substitute.
• Boston lettuce - I strongly considered using arugula in this recipe instead. Any high-quality lettuce will work well.
• Salt and black pepper - I use table salt but feel free to upgrade to truffle salt instead.

Quick Pickled Onion

• Red onion - You can use a yellow onion, but I prefer the stronger flavor of red onions in this recipe. Alternatively, instead of using pickled onions feel free to try caramelized onions instead.
• Apple cider vinegar - Red wine vinegar would be a good substitute. You can even drizzle in some balsamic vinegar to change the flavor.
• Granulated sugar
• Kosher salt - Pickling salt is also great to use.

Truffle burger sauce

• Mayonnaise - Homemade mayo or storebought is fine.
• Truffle oil - Using truffle oil made from black truffles or white truffles is fine. I personally prefer the deeper flavor of black truffles.
• Garlic clove
• Fresh ground black pepper

How to make it

The first thing you need to do is get the onions pickling, which is best done in advance. We are using my quick pickled onion recipe which will take at least an hour to pickle, but the flavor is even better when left to sit overnight. Prepare the onions by combining the vinegar, water, sugar, and salt in a mixing bowl, then add your thinly sliced onions. Ensure they are fully submerged then cover and place them in the refrigerator for one hour.

Next, prepare your truffle burger sauce by mixing together the mayo, truffle oil, black pepper, and minced garlic. This is an adaptation of my truffle aioli recipe, but we eliminated the lemon juice because the tangy pickled onions will add the acidity we want.

Now we can prepare our truffle burgers by crafting our burger patties. Divide the meat into half-pound balls, then press them with a flat object (like the bottom of a plate) to form patties. The patties will shrink as they cook so I recommend making them a little wider than your buns.

Set a cast iron skillet on the stovetop over medium-high heat and set your hamburger patties in the hot skillet. Let the burgers develop a nice sear underneath, then flip and top with a slice of cheese. Continue cooking for a couple of minutes, or until the burgers reach your desired level of doneness.

As the burgers cook, lightly toast the cut sides of the buns until golden brown. You can paint the interiors with melted butter as well if you want these delicious burgers to be even more indulgent. Then assemble your burgers by placing the lettuce on the bottom buns, followed by the burger patty and cheese, a generous helping of pickled onions, and a slather of truffle mayonnaise on the interior of the top bun, which is placed on top of the burgers.

How to serve them

Serve your truffle burgers with a homemade refrigerator dill pickle, and truffle fries dusted with grated Parmesan cheese. Alternatively, you can serve them with sweet potato fries or steak fries.

This recipe was originally published here on February 15, 2023.

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