Every backyard has a house burger, and this is ours in honour of CANADA DAY!!. A well-charred beef patty, melted halloumi, quick-caramelized onions, and a thick layer of Smoked Muhammara standing in for both the sauce and the secret ingredient — sweet roasted peppers, toasted walnuts, and just enough balsamic to cut through the richness of the cheese. We grill the halloumi alongside the patties so everything comes together at once, and we don't bother with ketchup here. The muhammara already brings the sweetness, the smoke, and the depth that a burger sauce is supposed to deliver.
Fume-eh started because Chris and I couldn't find smoked olives anywhere on a store shelf after falling for them at a San Francisco brew pub, so we built our own cold-smoking process to make them ourselves.
We've put that same process to work on red peppers and walnuts for the Smoked Muhammara, which is exactly the kind of bold, smoky condiment a burger like this one is built around.
SERVES 4 | ACTIVE TIME 20 min | TOTAL TIME 35 min | GRILL
Ingredients
— 1.5 lb (680g) ground beef, 80/20 blend
— Sea salt and cracked black pepper, to taste
— 1 block halloumi, sliced into 1/2-inch slabs
— 1 large yellow onion, thinly sliced
— 1 tbsp butter
— 1 tsp brown sugar
— 3/4 cup (about 190ml) Fume-eh Smoked Muhammara
— 4 brioche buns, split
— 2 cups arugula
— 1 large tomato, sliced
— Olive oil, for the grill and buns
Method
1. In a skillet over medium heat, melt the butter and add the sliced onion with the brown sugar and a pinch of salt. Cook low and slow, stirring occasionally, for 15–20 minutes until deeply caramelized. Set aside.
2. Divide the ground beef into four equal portions and shape into patties slightly wider than your buns, since they'll shrink on the grill. Season both sides generously with salt and pepper.
3. Preheat the grill to medium-high. Grill the patties for 4–5 minutes per side for medium, or to your preferred doneness.
4. In the final few minutes, lightly brush the halloumi slices with olive oil and grill alongside the patties for 1–2 minutes per side, just until golden and lightly charred. Brush the cut sides of the buns with olive oil and toast on the grill for 30–60 seconds.
5. Spread a generous layer of Smoked Muhammara on both the top and bottom bun.
6. Build each burger: bottom bun, arugula, beef patty, grilled halloumi, caramelized onion, a slice of tomato, and the top bun.
7. Serve immediately, with extra muhammara on the side for dipping the fries.
ABOUT THE PRODUCT
Our Smoked Muhammara is cold-smoked roasted red peppers blended with toasted walnuts and balsamic vinegar — sweet, smoky, and substantial enough to replace a burger sauce entirely.
Glass jar. Small-batch. Made in British Columbia.