Good things are coming. Good things. For instance… Coffee, beef and beer and BBQ. In your recent CSA share we included a special roast from our friends at Santa Lucia Coffee located locally in Centralia, Washington. We ground up a little bit of that and included it in both the burger recipe and the BBQ sauce today. Along with a little beer of course. I’m sure you’ve all noticed a trend with me and yes, I love cooking with an variety of alcohol. Now lets get started.

The Burger

1lb Quality Pasture Raised Ground Beef (We used our local Heritage Meat)
1/2 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Black Pepper
1 minced Garlic Clove
4 tsp Ground Santa Lucia Coffee
1/2 cup Crumbled Blue Cheese (We used Rogue Creamery‘s Smokey Blue)
4 Pretzel Buns – split and toasted
Lettuce, Tomato, Onions and any other fixxin’s you prefer

The Sauce

3/4 cup Chopped White Onion
1 Tbsp Olive Oil
1/4 cup Molasses
6oz Tomato Paste
1 Tbsp Sea Salt
2 tsp Ancho Chili Powder
2 1/2 cups Porter or Stout beer
1/4 cup Apple Cider Vinegar
2oz Brewed Santa Lucia Coffee

1. If you’re using a charcoal grill, get those things going so your grill is hot by the time you’re burgers are ready to slap on there.
2. Starting off with the BBQ sauce – In a medium sized pan, caramelize your onions in the olive oil on medium/low heat.
3. Once your onions are a nice golden brown and caramelized, add the salt and ancho chili powder and stir for about 30 seconds to toast up the spices.
4. Add your molasses and continue to stir for another 30 seconds.
5. De-glaze the pan with the Beer and add the apple cider vinegar. Continue cooking on low for about 10 minutes. Feel free to add a little more beer if it’s looking too thick.
6. Pour the sauce into a blender along with the brewed coffee and puree until smooth. Your sauce is now ready.
7. Onto the delicious burgers – In a medium sized bowl, gently mix your ground beef, salt, pepper and garlic. Divide the meat into 4 sections and press each into a patty.
8. On each side of the hamburger patty, sprinkle and press 1/2 tsp of ground coffee on each side.
9. On a preheated grill (or cast iron pan if you prefer) brush the grates with a little olive oil and grill the patties. For the love of all things holy, don’t press them with the spatula. Please. If you need a refresher course on how to grill a burger visit this link.
10. Once your burgers are cooked to your liking (medium rare – hint hint) start building your burger on your toasted buns. Add your sauce, fixins and crumbled blue cheese. That concludes our recipe for the day, enjoy!

Recipe by: Mirinda @ Boistfort Valley Farm