The birthday burger continues! We celebrate Mr. J’s birthday with a burger and this year, my inspiration came from somebody who told me about the show Bob’s Burgers – which doesn’t seem like my jam, but this flavor combo sounded delightful! “A Good Manchego is Hard to Find” has manchego cheese, a sweet jam spread, arugula, and caramelized shallots. We loved it!

Manchego cheese is from Spain and made of goat’s milk. It is a bit nutty, crumbly, and hard – it resembles Parmesan but is softer and not quite as salty. It goes really well with fruit/sweet on a cheese board so it was ideal on this burger with a jam spread and sharp peppery arugula.

Manchego Burger

Ingredients (for 3 burgers)

~3/4 pound ground meat, formed into patties
3 brioche rolls
2-3 shallots
~4 oz Manchego cheese
3 tablespoons quince spread
2 cups arugula

Directions:

Bring the patties to room temperature while the grill heats up.
Slice the shallots and gently caramelize them in ~1 tablespoon of olive oil and ~1 tablespoon of butter over low heat, stirring regularly.
Grill the burgers until cooked to your preferred internal done-ness.
Slice the cheese and melt it onto the burgers for their last minute of cooking.
Add arugula onto the bottom of each bun, top with the burger, and shallots. Then spread the jam onto the top bun.

Enjoy!

The cheese is just so good. I went looking for fig jam but was glad to use quince since I think I’d eat the rest more regularly than fig. Quince are like the ugly step-cousin of a pear. The little guy has a love/hate relationship to the onion family and skipped the shallots but he loooved the cheese and gobbled his slider size version with quince jam and manchego.

This might have been the first year we couldn’t quite make it happen the night-of. With 2 little ones, that dinner time is quite the time-crunch and Mr. J was just getting back into true solid foods after having his wisdom teeth taken out!

Here’s the history of the Birthday Burgers for Mr. J:

2018 it was a Garlic Lovers Burger with garlic butter, chips, garlic aoli and white cheddar.
2017 it was an Ultimate Mexican Burger with queso, guac, and beans.
2016 it was a Mac & Cheese Stuffed Burger topped with bacon, onions, and tomato.
2015 it was a Picnic Burger with slaw & potato sticks
2014 it was a German Burger with horseradish, caramelized onions, pickles and a pretzel roll
2013 it was a Vermont Burger with maple mayo, cheddar, bacon, and spinach
2012 it was a Bacon Wrapped Burger – enough said
2011 it was a Stuffed Burger stuffed with bacon & cheddar or bacon & blue cheese