Pan-Grilled Korean-Style Burgers with Sesame-Brined Cucumber

If you love Korean flavors like I do, turn your

next grilled burger into something special with the bold, sweet, and spicy

tastes of this delicious part of Asian cuisine.

Here, I mixed ground sirloin with the

Korean hot red pepper paste called gochujang,

along with aromatic ginger, garlic, and sesame seeds. (For more about gochujang, see Baked Chicken Wings with Spicy Korean Barbecue Sauce.) Brown sugar adds a little sweetness to the burgers to balance the savor and spiciness of the other ingredients.

Gochujang

Instead of pickles, make a quick sesame-flavored brine to park some

cucumber slices in for about an hour. They’re the perfect topping for a

fantastic Korean-style burger.

• 1/2 cup rice vinegar
• 3 tsp sugar
• 2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp sesame paste
• 1/2 tsp sesame seeds
• 1/2 tsp dried red chile flakes
• 2-1/2-inch piece of seedless cucumber, cut into 1/8-inch-thick slices
• For the
• Burgers
• 2/3 lb ground sirloin
• 2 tbsp gochujang (or other hot red pepper
• paste)
• 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
• 1/2-inch piece of ginger, peeled and finely chopped
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 2 tsp brown sugar
• 1 tsp sesame seeds
• peanut oil, for brushing
• 2 kaiser (or other crusty) rolls
• tomato and onion slices, and spicy mustard for serving (optional)
• Preparation
• Combine the first 6 ingredients (through chile flakes) in a medium bowl,
• stirring well to dissolve the sugar, salt, and paste. Add the cucumber slices and

submerge as much as possible. Let stand at room temperature 1 hour. Drain

before serving.

Cucumber Slices and Brine Cucumber in BrineBrined Cucumber

For the

Burgers

Combine the first 7 ingredients (through sesame seeds) in a bowl. Form

the mixture into 2 patties, making a slight indent with your thumb in the middle

of each. (This helps keep the patties from puffing up too much as they cook.)

Beef Mixture Patties Ready to Grill Heat a grill pan over medium-high heat and brush with peanut oil.

Grill the burgers until just cooked through and juicy

inside, 4-5 minutes per side. Remove to a plate or board and let rest 3

minutes.

Patties Beginning to Grill Grilled Burgers

Serve

the burgers on the toasted rolls with (drained) brined cucumber slices on top, along with other accompaniments, if desired.