INGREDIENTS
Wine/shallot sauce:
1 750-ml bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon
¼ cup minced shallots
2 teaspoons of golden brown sugar
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, room temperature
Rosemary butter:
8 tablespoons of softened butter
1 tablespoon minced fresh rosemary
Pinch of salt and pepper
Burgers:
1 ½ pounds ground beef (15% or 20% fat)
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
1 cup coarsely grated Irish Cheddar cheese
4 hamburger buns
2 cups baby arugula
Tomato slices (optional)
Vegetable oil for the grill
DIRECTIONS
In a medium saucepan, bring wine and shallots to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until reduced to ¾ cup (about 30 minutes). Remove from heat. Add 1 tablespoon butter and 2 teaspoons brown sugar; whisk until butter melts and sugar dissolves. Cool completely. Combine remaining 8 tablespoons of butter and rosemary in small bowl, set aside.**Both Wine/shallot sauce and Rosemary butter can be prepared the day before. (Bring to room temp before use). Mix the ground beef, ¼ cup of wine shallot mixture, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Form into patties.
Prepare grill.
Brush grill rack with oil.
Grill burgers 3 to 4 minutes per side making sure to brush with wine/shallot mixture while grilling. Cook burgers to desired doneness topping with cheese just before removing from the grill.
Spread the buns with Rosemary Butter and grill until toasted.
Assemble burger, tomato, arugula and bun. Serve with creamy Dijon if desired.
Please note: Because of the darkness of the wine/shallot sauce, the burgers will look less pink after grilling.
