This incredible burger is a wildly crazy, mashup-umami of flavors including sausage, chives, kale, bacon, sweet red onion, dreamy melted brie, figs, a sriracha-hoisin-mustard sauce, and the secret ingredient you won’t believe!! Just an amazing burger all around!! Check THIS out!  

 

 

 

 

If you think grilling season is over, or don’t have access to a grill, hey, no worries! This amazing burger is cooked indoors! And WOW what a burger!!

I participate in a fun online group, organized by Kita Roberts of Girl Carnivore, that is given a list of four secret ingredients for each member to create an over-the-top burger each month, and September’s ingredients were Kale, Chives, Tamarind, and Figs! 

 

But, being that I live in a small town with only two horrid grocery stores, I had to get a little creative about incorporating a couple of the ingredients. 

Firstly, NO fresh figs to be found. NONE. ZILCH-O.

And the dried ones in bags? Ha! I KNOW were jamming to last year’s Christmas “muzac” by the dust on the outside, and the crystallization going on of what used to be figs in a previous lifetime. 

NO. WAY. 

Sooooo, after almost giving up, I had a crazy thought. Why not use Fig Newtons? I mean, I’ve used everything from Ritz and saltines, to graham cracker and gingersnaps for bindings in burgers and meatloaves! So. Why not, right?

And so Fig Newtons came to the rescue and the WIN! 

 

 

 

 

Of course our two pathetic grocery stores didn’t have tamarind, either. “Shocker”.

So I simply used good old-fashioned worcestershire sauce! As good brands, such as Lea & Perrin’s, contain a nice amount of tamarind extract! 

 

 

I’m so glad that I didn’t give up, because this was one HELL of a great burger!!!

 

So. To get this started! Instead of regular ground beef, I decided that the flavors of the month might have more fun paired with sausage! 

 

 

 

 

I used a mild breakfast sausage, but you can probably use any kind that you’d like!

Since sausage has more fat incorporated, I crumbled in the Fig Newtons and used that as a binder. Then sprinkled the mixture with even more flavor…

 

 

 

 

…and ended with some fresh, snipped chives! 

 

 

 

 

I gave it thorough, but not overworked, mix to evenly combine the ingredients and seasonings…

 

 

 

 

 

…then formed them into 4 equally-sized patties. 

 

 

 

 

Then added some fresh cracked black pepper over the tops. 

 

 

 

And because these patties are softer than beef, I simply added them to a medium-hot pan to fry rather than try to grill them.

 

 

 

 

I so wish you could smell them as they hit the hot pan!!! OH. MY. GAWD….!!!

 

 

 

 

And the beautiful caramelization you get in a pan….yeah. You KNOW how much I love to grill and smoke, but there’s something to be said about pan-frying, too! 

 

 

 

 

Crispy deep golden on the outside….

 

 

 

 

….tender and juicy on the inside! Burger perfection!! 

 

 

 

 

Once your patties are done and your house smells AMAZING, remove them to a lined baking sheet and top them with thin slices of brie cheese to be broiled and melted later. 

 

 

 

 

This might look like a lot of cheese, but it really wasn’t. Just slice the brie nice and THIN for a quick melt so that you don’t burn your gorgeous burgers later.

 

 

 

 

But we need another element of fun for this masterpiece, and that’s the kale. 

I’m going to let you in on a secret that I love to do when sautéing kale. And that’s to use Italian salad dressing, my homemade preferably, instead of just plain oil.

It has built in flavor that turns kale from boring to kick butt good!!

 

 

 

 

And a little peppered and crisp-cooked bacon doesn’t hurt, either! 

 

 

 

 

And now it’s time build this baby!!!

Toast your buns, and pile them with the sautéed kale and bacon “salad”….

 

 

 

 

…then your cooked sausage burger topped with (briefly) broiled brie……

 

 

 

 

 

…..and paper-thin sliced sweet red onion. 

 

 

But wait!! It doesn’t stop there!!!!

 

 

Though this burger probably already has you drooling, there’s another element that ties this whole incredible flavor-fest together!!

 

 

 

 

And that’s the simple sauce!! 

 

 

 

I combined sweet hoisin with a little mustard for balance, and a dash or two of sriracha for a little “just cuz I can” heat in the back for one TASTY combination!! 

This sauce was so good, that I’ll definitely be using it in the future for many more recipes!!

*You might want to make a small batch of this stuff and put it in a jar in the fridge. Just saying. 

 

 

 

And wowzas!!!!! WHAT. A. BURGER!!! 

I knew it was going to be good from all the yummy smells filling the house…but sometimes…that first bite just knocks you like you hadn’t expected. Ya know? 

 

And the perfect burger to condiment to bun ratio could not have been better!!!

 

 

This was one of those specialty burgers that you just can’t get through some cruddy drive-thru. Not even at your favorite corner burger joint.

This was something truly special. A truly memorable burger experience!!

 

 

 

 

So if you want to get a little adventurous, and are tired of the same-old same-old burger blues, this Gettin’ Figgy With It Bacon, Brie & Kale Sausage Burger is just the cure for burger boredom!! 

I can’t WAIT for you try this!!! A super fun burger that’s something special to remember! So give it a try! Kale, Chives, Figs and Tamarind never tasted better!! 

 

 

 

Yield: 4 burgers

Gettin' Figgy With It Bacon Brie and Kale Sausage Burger

Print

Ingredients

For Burgers:

• 1 lb. ground breakfast sausage, mild or hot
• 8 Fig Newtons, finely crumbled by hand
• 1 Tbl. worcestershire sauce
• 4 - 6 chives to taste, finely snipped, or about 1 Tbl.
• 1/8 tsp. cayenne powder
• fresh cracked black pepper, for outsides of patties
• 2 Tbl. vegetable or canola oil for frying
• slices of brie cheese, as desired
• paper thin slices red onion, as desired
• 4 hamburger buns, buttered with Minerva Dairy Amish Butter, and toasted on the insides

For Kale:

• 2 Tbl. Minerva Dairy Amish Butter
• 3 cups coarsely torn fresh kale leaves
• 2 Tbl. my Homemade Zesty Italian Salad Dressing
• 1 clove garlic, finely minced
• 2 strips lean, thick cut crisp-cooked peppered bacon, chopped into small pieces

For Sauce:

• 1/4 cup hoisin sauce (*I only use Kikkoman)
• 1 tsp. regular yellow table mustard
• 1 tsp. sriracha

Instructions

In small bowl, mix sauce ingredients until well combined, cover, set aside.

In large bowl, crumble in sausage and Fig Newtons, drizzle with worcestershire, and evenly sprinkle with chives and cayenne. Mix with hands until evenly mixed but do not over mix. Cover and chill one hour.

Form into 4 patties, pepper tops, turn, pepper other sides.

In large frying pan, add oil and heat over medium-low heat until hot. Add patties and cook until done through and browned on both sides, turning several times. (I use a splatter screen to avoid a grease mess.) Add cheese during last minute. When done, remove to a plate and cover to keep warm. *You can also top with cheese and broil later. Either way works fine.

Leave fat and oil in frying pan and add butter. Melt and stir together. Add rest of Kale mixture Ingredients, and stir fry until kale is tender. Remove from heat.

Butter insides of buns and broil until toasted. Pile bottoms with kale, top with a sausage brie burger and red onion. Spread insides of top buns with sauce, and place on top buns. Enjoy!!