What’s your favorite food? My husband’s is pizza. He could (and would) eat it daily. I love a good pizza too, but my absolute favorite food is a hamburger. That’s something I could eat every day. Whether it’s a big ole burger from the Hardee’s drive-thru or a Wagyu burger at a nice restaurant, I’m always down for a good burger. I’ve even been known to crave a McDonald’s cheeseburger when I’m sick. I’m feeling particularly adventurous today, so I’m going to go to the trouble of making my very own Tuscano Burger. The Italian flair is more original than the pizza burger my favorite diner serves, and it’s loaded with all kinds of yummy things. Will it taste as good as it looks? Let’s find out!
Enjoy all the flavors of Italy in this epic Tuscano Burger – packed with fresh shallots, crisp pancetta, arugula, pesto aioli, and drizzled with balsamic vinegar!
The Ingredients
So there’s a little more needed for a Tuscano Burger than the typical burger, but shopping wasn’t too bad. I had panko, powdered milk, garlic, salt, pepper, mayonnaise, and pesto. I was running low on the last two, so I picked up fresh bottles to be on the safe side.
The type of ground beef isn’t specified, so I went with my favorite for burgers, 80% lean/20% fat ground chuck. More fat means more flavor and reduces the chances of the burgers drying out. I also ran by the deli counter to get some sliced pancetta. Then it was over to the bakery for some brioche hamburger buns.
Lastly, the recipe calls for a drizzle of balsamic vinegar to finish the burgers. I had balsamic vinegar and balsamic glaze on hand. I went with the glaze because the thick texture really sticks to whatever you put it on while regular balsamic is thin like water and drains away.
The Process
It’s important to preheat your grill, and I did that first thing. Then I got started on prepping the hamburger buns. The recipe is divided into two sections, one for the burgers and one for the toppings.
That seemed like a good idea, but there was one small mistake. I didn’t pay close enough attention, and I mixed pesto into the hamburger meat. It’s listed in that section of the instructions, but it’s actually a topping. That’s why my patties look a little greenish brown.
The grill wasn’t ready yet, so I started prepping the toppings. I fried four slices of pancetta while I sliced the shallot, tomato, and cheese and mixed up the faux aioli.
Once the grill had preheated, I cooked the hamburger patties for four minutes on one side and five minutes more after flipping. I wanted them to be well done. I added the fresh mozzarella in the final 90 seconds, and it melted nicely without overflowing. (Yay, no extra grill cleaning!) BTW, the repice lists it as brie in the instructions. It was slightly confusing.
Then it was back inside to assemble these lovely Tuscano Burgers. The recipe gives the order of the toppings. I did it even though it’s not how I usually prefer to assemble my burgers. I find that putting the condiments on an untasted bottom bun makes it fall apart while eating, but it sure looked nice in the photos.
I also found that adding two slices of fried pancetta was tastier than one. I tried it both ways, of course, and couldn’t really taste it with one slice. Other than those small points, I wouldn’t change a thing!
Here’s how my time was spent on the entire process:
- 8 minutes to prep the burger patties
- 12 minutes to prep the toppings
- 9 minutes to cook the burgers
- 2 minutes to assemble
- 31 minutes total
