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Video: A tale of two burgers

Two burgers side by side

When it comes to cooking burgers, why innovate?

For Chef Christopher Klocke and the grill staff at Center for Community, it’s not just for the pursuit of flavor, providing variety, or even keeping costs down for students, staff and faculty at CU Boulder.

In this kitchen, a key driver behind inventing new recipes is environmental sustainability. 

Consider the blended mushroom-beef burger. It hit C4C menus in 2017, combining ground Never Ever beef with a 20 percent blend of mushrooms. Reducing the amount of beef in the burger reduces the kitchen’s carbon footprint. Reinvented for a national James Beard Foundation competition called the Blended Burger Project: Campus Edition, it was quite popular among the student body.

Likewise, the cauliflower rice burger (a developing recipe) looks to expand the vegetarian offerings on the grill menu. Cook Guillermina “Gigi” Rubio invented this burger at home for her children.

“Anyone on the staff can come up with an idea,” says Klocke, who challenges his staff to invent new recipes. “We have everything from traditional Nepali dishes to things like Beef Guisado and even a banana salsa.”

Barbecue and grilling is a tradition in Klocke’s family. Growing up in St. Louis, Missouri, he fondly recalls the family recipes that emerged from his grandfather’s barbecue grill.

Mushroom burger recipe

Ground beef or buffalo
Dried porcini mushrooms
Crimini mushrooms
Kosher salt
Black pepper, table grind
Worcestershire sauce

1 pound
2 ½ ounces
2 ½ ounces
½ tablespoon
¼ tablespoon
4 tablespoons

Directions

  1. Hydrate and drain dried porcini mushrooms.
  2. Pulse all mushrooms in food processor until consistency is similar to ground meat.
  3. In a mixing bowl, combine all ingredients and mix well.
  4. Form mixture into patties of desired size.
  5. Sear on griddle or sauté pan until desired temperature.
  6. Serve immediately.

Yields: Five 4-ounce patties

Red cabbage, shredded
Green cabbage, shredded
Carrots, shredded
Sween corn kernels
Cilantro, sliced
Lime juice
Red wine vinegar
Agave syrup
Chili powder
Kosher salt

½ cup
2 cups
½ cup
¼ cup
4 tablespoons
¼ cup
2 tablespoons
¼ cup
3 tablespoons
To taste

Directions

  1. In a mixing bowl, combine all ingredients and mix well.
  2. Chill until you're ready to plate burgers.

Yields: 3 ¼ cups

Mayonnaise
French dressing

¼ cup
1 cup

Directions

  1. Combine both ingredients together in a bowl and blend well.
  2. Chill until ready to plate burgers.

Yields: 1 ¼ cup

Blended burgers
Caramelized onion rolls or other favorite roll
Sriracha sauce
Fancy Sauce
Slaw

5 patties
5 rolls
5 tablespoons
5 tablespoons
To taste

Directions

  1. Prepare items as directed.
  2. Smear Fancy Sauce on bottom bun.
  3. Add burger.
  4. Add slaw.
  5. Smear sriracha on top bun.
  6. Plate and serve.

Yields: 5 burgers

Tip from the chef: “I would use any leftover Fancy Sauce to dip my fries in.” 

Cauliflower burger recipe

Cauliflower purée
Pickled jalapeño chips
Chives
Cornstarch
Mozzarella cheese, shredded
Butter, melted
Panko (Japanese) breadcrumbs
Kosher salt
Black pepper, table grind

4 cups
1 cup
1 tablespoon
2 tablespoons
¾ cup
½ cup (use as needed)
1 cup
To taste
1 tablespoon

Directions

  1. Make cauliflower purée by blanching 2 heads of cauliflower (cut into florets) until soft. Purée in a food processor until smooth.
  2. In a mixing bowl, combine all ingredients and mix well.
  3. Form patties into shape of a burger; if patties are not firm enough, add more panko.
  4. Add butter to a griddle or sauté pan (set to medium heat).
  5. Place patties onto cooking surface. Cook 3 minutes on each side.

Yields: 6–7 patties

Portobello mushrooms, small
Balsamic vinaigrette
Kosher salt

6–7 caps per burger
3 cups
To taste

Directions

  1. Remove stem and ribs from mushrooms.
  2. In a baking dish, combine mushrooms and vinaigrette.
  3. Let marinate for 2–4 hours.
  4. Season and prepare by grilling, searing or baking (at 350 degrees) until tender.

Cauliflower burgers
Hamburger rolls
Marinated portobello mushrooms
Mayonnaise
Green leaf lettuce
Tomato, sliced
Red onion, sliced

6–7 patties
6–7 rolls
6–7 caps per burger
6–7 tablespoons
6–7 leaves
6–12 or 7–14 slices
6–7 rings

Directions

  1. Prepare items as directed.
  2. Smear mayonnaise on bottom bun.
  3. Layer lettuce, tomato, onion, mushrooms, cauliflower patty and top bun.
  4. Take a ride to flavor town!

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