Croissant Croque Madame Burger

 It's officially grilling season and of course, my favorite thing to grill is a burger. I grill all year long. Even in the midst of the harshest Michigan winter, you'll find me outside with a path cleared to one of my grills. I keep one out all winter long. But, it's always better to grill in the summer. There is just something about the warm weather, cold beer and amazing sunsets that makes grilling even better.

Here is my Croque Madame Burger on a croissant. My daughter just returned from Europe where she was studying abroad. She was in London, Barcelona and Paris and absolutely loved all the fresh croissants that she had. So, that was the inspiration for this burger. I wanted to create a burger that would remind her of her time in Paris, yet put my American grilling twist to it. It has a maple dijon bechamel sauce over a burger mixed with sausage, grilled asparagus and topped with an egg. It's delicious, I hope you enjoy it!

CROISSANT CROQUE MADAME BURGER

INGREDIENTS:

MAPLE DIJON BECHAMEL-

2 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons flour

½ cup milk

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon pepper

1/4 cup Dijon mustard, divided

3 teaspoons maple syrup

1 cup Gruyere cheese, grated and divided

PATTIES-

1 pound ground chuck (80/20) - I grind my own meat with a blend of chuck, short rib and brisket but you can buy ground chuck if you don't have a meat grinder

½ pound hot Italian sausage (casings removed)

2 tablespoons soy sauce

4 slices ham

4 slices Swiss cheese

8 asparagus spears, 4-5 inches long seasoned with olive oil, Meyer lemon juice, salt and pepper

4 eggs

4 croissants, split

Kosher salt and black pepper

PREPARATION:

Pre-heat grill to medium high heat. Add the grill mat and fireproof skillet to pre-heat.

Add the butter and flour to the skillet and cook for 2-3 minutes. Whisk in milk, salt, pepper, ½ of the Dijon and maple syrup. Continue to whisk until it thickens, 4-5 minutes then add ½ of the Gruyere cheese and let melt. Remove from heat and set aside.

Add the chuck and sausage to a bowl, then add soy sauce and gently mix together. Form into 4 round patties, making sure to not overwork the meat. Generously season both sides with salt and pepper, then depress the centers for even cooking.

Add the patties to the grill and cook for 5 minutes each side or until thoroughly cooked. (I normally like my burgers med rare, but since these have pork in them they need to be thoroughly cooked). During last few minutes of grilling, add a dollop of béchamel to patty followed by a ham slice and a cheese slice and then another dollop of béchamel and equal amounts of the remaining Gruyere. Cover grill and let melt. Remove from heat and tent the patties with aluminum foil and let rest.

Add the asparagus to the grill and cook for 4-5 minutes. At the same time, crack each egg onto the heated grill mat keeping them a few inches apart. Cook for 4-5 minutes.   (If you don’t have a grill mat, use a skillet or a muffin tin.) Remove asparagus and eggs from heat.

To assemble, add the remaining Dijon to the cut side of the croissants. Add the patty to the croissant bottom followed by two asparagus spears. Add the egg then the croissant top. Bon Appetit!