Srirachup Jucy Lucy with Japanese Pickled Daikons
Whenever I am in Minneapolis, I always get the Jucy Lucy. What is it? It's a cheese burger with cheese stuffed inside the patty. So when you bite into it, you get a burst of cheesiness inside. They named it Jucy Lucy for a reason!
So for Memorial Day Weekend, we were inspired to make our version of the Juicy Lucy and spiced it up with Srirachup! By sneaking in the Srirachup* with the cheddar cheese, it not only adds a nice sweet and savory flavor of the tomato but works magically with the cheese. Daikons are also in season, so we decided to make a simple salt pickle of Japanese Daikons for our burger for a good crunchiness. Enjoy!
*If you like it spicier, try replacing the Srirachup with the Barrel-Aged Sriracha.
Click here for the Guac Recipe.
Srirachup Jucy Lucy with Japanese Pickled Daikons
(Servings for 2, Cook time: about 10 minutes, prep time about 20 minutes)
Ingredients:
1 lb of ground beef (20/80 is fine)
1-2 oz of Cheddar Cheese
A few leafs of lettuce
4-5 bulbs of Japanese Daikon (a.k.a. Japanese Radish)
4 tbsp of Srirachup
2 hamburger buns
sea salt to season
Method:
1. Prep and pickle the daikons. Cut the leaves off the daikon. (Tip: Daikon leaves are edible. Don't throw them away. Instead use them in a stir-fry with a little bit of olive oil, sea salt, and garlic) Cut off the tail and the top of the daikon. Then slice them into thin slices, and sprinkle with salt to pickle. Let it sit for about 5 minutes, the water will drain out of the daikons, and then you can use to top on your burger.
2. Prep the Srirachup + Cheddar Cheese Sauce. Slice the cheddar cheese into small cubes (the smaller the better it will later fit inside the patty). Mix together with Srirachup.
3. Prepare the Jucy Lucy patty. Take your ground beef and season with sea salt. (Tip: the best pattys are the ones that are not over-worked. So gently handle the meat patty and try not to overwork it so it retains it juiciness) Break off a small piece of the ground beef and set aside. Create a hole in the patty, fill with the Srirachup + Cheddar Cheese Sauce and use the small piece of beef to seal the patty.
4. Cook the patty & toast the bun. Heat up your grill or use an cask iron skillet. (Tip: Cask iron skillets work very well for hamburger patties as they tend to retain more of the juice inside the patties. I sometimes also cover the skillet, so the moisture is better retained). Heat up your cask iron skillet until it's smoking. Place patty on the skillet and cook for about 6-8 minutes depending on how well done you like it. Toast the bun in the oven.
5. Compilation. Wash the lettuce, drain your pickles, place the patty on the burger, and compile everything together. Happy Memorial Weekend!