Italiano Burgers Get Boost from Three P’s
Add these No Recipe Required (NRR) gourmet Italiano Burgers to your repertoire and amaze and delight your family and friends! Pepperoni, Provolone and Peppers melt together for an Italian feast~
I had a serious dilemma on my hands while trying to decide what to call this burger. I dithered on about the possibilities of Pizza Purgers, Pepperoni Burgers, Pepper-Pepperoni Burgers, and even Pepperoni-Pepper-Pizza Burgers. But nothing sounded quite right. My favorite Italian restaurant growing up had a topping they made for their steaks: onions, peppers, mushrooms and a bit of sauce made for one delightful meal. They called them, intriguingly, Steak Italiano. And so…
Italiano Burgers were crowned.
We did drop the mushrooms. (From the recipe. Not on the floor.) I adore them, but the rest of the crowd around here won’t come within ten feet of anything cooked with ‘shrooms. If you’re a fan too, add them back in, by all means. (God bless you, you lucky thing!)
We are HUGE fans of pepperoni (check out our Pepperoni Balls, Pepperoni Pizza Chicken, Pepperoni Cheese Bites and Pizza Nachos for some of our favs. I had a hankering to make Pep Balls and the only pepperoni they had at the store was in a three pound bag. Did you hear that? A three pound bag. So we are living large in pepperoni land currently. This recipe will probably hit the menu again soon. And then again!
Burger Prep
I’m not a fan of adding a bunch of ingredients into a burger. If you mix in the seasonings and all the other things that make this a Pepper-Pepperoni-Provolone-Pizza Burger, you’d basically have little meatloaves. And they’d be delish, I’m sure, but the whole burger aspect would be missing. Instead, I form patties from regular 80/20 ground beef, and sprinkle with kosher salt and ground black pepper. If I’m feeling super adventurous, I’ll dust on a bit of dried Italian seasoning or basil. And that’s it.
I’ve said it before: I am awful at evenly separating out meat into portions. So I use my electronic kitchen scale (affiliate links follow – see disclaimer page for details). These burgers are 5 ounces each – which is my go to for weeknight burgers. I form them then push my thumbs into the middle to make it a little concave. That way, when it cooks it won’t puff up into a little ball.
Cooking Time!
If we’re not grilling these, I bake them at 450 degrees F. It makes much less of a mess than sauteing on the stove, and baking seems to make the patties more tender than broiling. My favorite (mess free way) to cook these is definitely on the grill.
Hopefully, Bert has the grill ready to put the patties on – but regardless of how we’re making them, while they cook, I make the topping:
Saute a small chopped onion and half a finely chopped red bell pepper (or so) in a drizzle of olive oil in a cast iron skillet. Add a whole, smashed, peeled garlic clove for flavor if you have one handy. Sprinkle lightly with kosher salt while cooking.
Saute until soft, about 5 minutes. Then add a handful (or two) of coarsely chopped pepperoni.
Continue cooking for a minute or so, until the pepperoni becomes pliable. Add some marinara sauce – I used about a cup of store bought sauce I had in the fridge.
Once the burgers are cooked through (they should be at 160 degrees F on an instant read thermometer) spoon the topping on top. Add a slice of provolone cheese on top.
Heat for a minute or so to melt the cheese. Either pop the Italiano Burgers back in the oven or close the lid of the grill to get the cheese ooey and gooey.
Bun them (or not, if you’re going keto) and you are ready to go.
