Rachael Ray the Book of Burger

The Book of Burger by Rachael Ray

I made Caribbean Burgers with Mango Salsa from Rachael Ray's Book of Burger.  Ground chicken, pork, or turkey can be used for the burger, and I went with the chicken.  The recipe uses allspice, dried or ground thyme, cinnamon, nutmeg, cayenne, brown sugar, basil or cilantro, and kosher salt and pepper.  I skipped the allspice because I was afraid of it, and the recipe was sounding more like pumpkin pie than a burger.  I also used sriracha seasoning instead of cayenne, because I have a thing for sriracha.  RJ gave me personal sized sriracha bottles that I can take with me anywhere.  I always get comments on them.  But this seasoning is a spice and not a sauce that I purchased on Amazon. I also chose cilantro over basil because cilantro is like catnip to me. I love it so much I would bathe in it. I wish someone would make cilantro soap...cilantro shower gel..and cilantro body lotion....

The burger mix

If you have ever watched Rachael Ray she always talks about scoring the burger meat into four equal parts when forming the burgers. Otherwise you will have one giant burger, two medium, and then a tiny burger.  She mentions this in the book as well.  This seems so logical.  Clearly I am not logical because  I always have the misshapen burgers!  I followed her directions and this was the first time I ever made four equal size burgers in my entire life.

The mango salsa

The salsa was made with mango, red bell pepper, jalapeno chile, seedless cucumber, and lime.  I am terrible at cutting up mango.  And I think the pit smells like a pine tree.  I realize now, I am also terrible at picking ripe ones, because this was the first time I ever purchased a ripe mango.  They are much easier to cut when they are ripe, and the pit does not have that weird smell.  I actually managed to peel it and slice it around the pit and it was not pretty but it was good enough for salsa.  I seeded and chopped the jalapeno and it did not seem hot at all without the seeds.

The burgers on the grill

Everything came together quickly, and it was a fun recipe to make. I assembled the burgers on fresh Kaiser rolls from Giant with butter lettuce and Cooper Sharp cheese, with the mango salsa on top.  Yum!! These were the best burgers I have ever made, absolutely fantastic. The sriracha mixed with the sugar and the cinnamon and the cilantro gave it the perfect mix of sweet and a kick. The burger was so juicy! There will definitely be some repeats from this book, and I will no longer second guess Rachel's ingredients because she knows what she is doing.

The finished Caribbean Burger with Mango Salsa!