Korean Barbecue Bagel Burger

The oven in our serviced apartment has been beckoning me to use but without any baking trays I couldn’t imagine what to cook. I get my inspirations from my cookbooks however those are packed away. I recently bought the magazine, Cooking Light. I scanned its contents and found a recipe that would allow me to utilize the oven without having to buy extra trays. This recipe is based on bulgogi which is a traditional Korean barbecue where the basic technique is to marinate the meat in a mixture of soy sauce, sesame oil and green onions and then barbecue over hot coals.

Serves 4-6
½ cup chopped green onions
1 ½ tablespoons brown sugar
1 ½ tablespoons ginger, peeled and minced
3 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
1 tablespoon dark sesame oil
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 ½ lbs. ground sirloin
4-6 bagels or hamburger buns

Combine first 8 ingredients. Divide the mixture into 4 – 6 equal portions, shaping each into a ½ inch thick patty. Place patties on a rack and grill 6 minutes on each side or until cooked through. Remove patties from grill and let stand 5 minutes. Assemble patties on toasted bagels or hamburger buns topped with your favorite hamburger toppings.

The Culinary Chase’s Note: Try adding a splash of rice vinegar to the patty when assembling the burger and serve kimchi on the side (a spicy hot pickled vegetable condiment). Serve these burgers with a brown ale as it will compliment the sesame oil essence. Ground sirloin is 90% lean meat and 10% fat. Leaner ground beef tends to make dry burgers so keep this in mind when selecting your choice of meat.