Mariner's Cookbook

Mushroom-Swiss Burger with Aioli Sauce

Oct 23, 2024


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In March of 2019 I posted the story of our discovery of the Low Country Boil, and our ill-fated attempt to have a "spontaneous" weekend in Savannah, Georgia. In retelling the tale of my irritation with what we found in that fair city, I neglected to mention the one really positive thing we took from there: to wit, Mushroom and Swiss Cheese Hamburgers.

We arrived hungry, but getting into a restaurant in that town, at that time, was just as difficult as finding a hotel room; so we settled for the nearest Burger King drive-through window. As it happened, the chain burger store was conducting a marketing test for this new way of dressing the burger. On impluse, we decided to try them out, and we decided that we liked them... a lot!

I'm not sure how the test marketing came out, overall, and I don't patronize Burger King much, but I haven't seen this item on their menu since the one time in Savannah. Given that we like to have these sandwiches on a recurring basis, I felt that it behooved me to develop a workable recipe.

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Aioli Sauce (Garlic Mayonnaise)

Truthfully, you need to have the aioli sauce ready for dressing the burgers when they come off the grill, griddle, or fry pan; and the sauce needs time to "meld" after you mix it up, so it makes sense to prepare it well ahead of time. There are many recipes for aioli sauce, on the worldwide web and elsewhere. This one is relatively simple, and works well for us.

Suggested Equipment:

  • 1 cup container, with lid, suitable for mixing and storing the sauce (I like to use the 1-cup size Pyrex or Anchor Hocking glass food storage bowls with plastic lid)

  • wire whisk or other implement for mixing sauce components (Frankly, most wire whisks are too bulky to work well in a 1-cup bowl, and they entrap too much of the sauce. I have found that a large dinner fork works very well.).

  • common kitchen measures and tools

Ingredients:

  1. As far as I can tell, there is no good reason for mayonnaise to contain added sugar. When I need or choose to use a commercial mayonnaise, it will be Duke's brand, as long as it is sugar free.

  2. Optional.
Item Amount
Mayonnaise Sugar free1 ½ cup
Garlic Dry, granulated ½ tsp
Juice Lemon 1½ tsp
Olive oil 1 Tbs
Salt Common, granulated ¼ tsp
Black pepper Dry, ground ⅛ tsp
Coriander2 Dry ground ¼ tsp
Sauce2 Hot pepper - dash

Directions:

  1. Measure mayonnaise into the mixing/storage bowl

  2. Measure the remaining ingredients into the bowl

  3. Stir thoroughly, until all ingredients are evenly dispersed throughout the mixture.

  4. Refrigerate the mixture for at least 2 hours before using.

The Burger

This recipe will not teach you how to cook a hamburger. We start with a cooked hamburger patty, whether grilled, griddled, or pan-fried; whatever your favorite cooking method happens to be. The hamburger patty should be 85-90% lean, as too little fat will rob the end product of all flavor. However you decide to cook your burger patty, USDA health guidelines indicate that you should cook it to an internal temperature of 160℉.

Suggested Equipment:

  • Fry pan (for mushrooms)

  • Common kitchen implements and measures

Ingredients:

  1. Per person

  2. Per hamburger patty

  3. Approximate

  4. This amount will serve for up to 4 hamburger sandwiches
Item Amount
Hamburger patty 85% lean or better, cooked 1 or 2 ea1
Bun Hamburger, onion roll, or kaiser roll 1 ea2
Cheese Swiss or Jarlsberg, sliced 1 slice2
Sauce Aioli 2 Tbs2,3
Mushroom 4 oz can 1 ea4
Oil Any oil suitable for frying 2 Tbs
Sauce Worcestershire 1 tsp

Directions:

The directions assume that your hamburger patties are already cooked, and remain hot. The credit for the actual order of assembly goes to My Honey. She felt that assembled this way, the cheese would partially melt and "glue" the sandwich together. It works.

  1. Open the hamburger buns and optionally, toast them. Leave the open buns resting, cut face up on your plate.

  2. Measure the oil and Worcestershire sauce into the fry pan, and bring up to cooking temperature.

  3. Drain the mushrooms and add them to the fry pan. Sauté gently.

  4. When the mushrooms are ready, spread aioli sauce over the cut faces of each hamburger bun.

  5. Add sautéed mushrooms to the cut face of the top of the bun, then layer a slice of the cheese on top of that.

  6. If you haven't already cooked the burger patty, do so now, using your choice of cooking method.

  7. Add the hot hamburger patty on top of the cheese, and cover with the bottom of the bun.

Give it a few minutes for the heat to work its magic, then turn the sandwich over and proceed to feast!

This recipe has worked very well for us many times since we had that first mushroom-swiss burger in Savannah.

Beef, Sauces, Sandwiches