A Burger Salad You’ll Be Eating All Summer

A great bun can make a burger, but more often than not it’s just a filler, doing little more than serving as a vehicle to get the burger to your mouth without the use of a fork… and taking up valuable stomach space.   When out for dinner, I’ll sometimes ask that they hold the bun and serve my burger on a bed of mixed greens.  You do see this offered on the menu from time to time, but I’m surprised the burger salad isn’t more popular.  I can tell you right now, it’s already been mentally bookmarked for our future restaurant and brewery (which will probably open sometime after our future children go to college, so don’t hold your breath).

This was one of those meals that while eating it, I was thinking about how I wanted to eat it again the next day (or everyday).  It left me feeling immensely satisfied but not overly full.  You can personalize the toppings pretty much how you would a burger, and use any type of ground meat you like.  I could see this being delicious with caramelized onions, grilled mushrooms, crumbled blue cheese or tater tots.  I particularly loved the smokiness of the dressing, which I achieved with some smoked maple syrup I bought when I was up in New Hampshire.  This could also be accomplished with a couple drops of liquid smoke or the smoked olive oil you can find in many specialty stores.  This burger salad will definitely be a staple of the summer barbecue season!

Paleo Burger Salad with All the Fixin’s

Inspired by Lexi’s Clean Kitchen

Ingredients:

• 1 lb ground bison (or lean ground beef)
  • 1/2 tsp garlic powder
  • 1/2 tsp paprika
  • 1/2 tsp onion powder
  • 1/2 tsp dry mustard
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp oregano
  • 2 tsp worchestire sauce
• 1 ripe avocado
• 6 cups mixed greens
• 2 poblano peppers, roasted in olive oil and coarsely ground salt
• 1 large sweet potato, sliced and roasted in olive oil, chili powder and coarsely ground salt
• 4 soft eggs
• 2 vine ripe tomatoes (I forgot to put these in!)
• 2 slices thick cut, high quality bacon
• Salad Dressing
  • 2 tbsp olive oil (smoked, if you have it)
  • 2 tbsp spicy mustard
  • 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
  • 1 tbsp maple syrup (smoked if you have it)

Instructions:

1. Mix seasoning ingredients (I am assuming you have deduced that those are the ingredients listed below the burger, but in case you hadn’t) into the ground meat; form into four patties and set aside.
2. Cook bacon until crispy.  Remove from pan.  Cut each piece in half and set aside.
3. Cook the burger patties in the bacon grease.  Oooh baby.
4. Meanwhile, mix the dressing ingredients and toss the mixed greens in dressing.
5. To assemble, split greens among four bowls.  Top each salad with one soft egg, 1/2 slice bacon, and 1/4 of the avocado, tomato, peppers, sweet potato fries… you get the point!  Top each with a patty.
6. Devour, while talking about how you want to eat this again tomorrow.

Serves 4

Johanna