Open-Faced Hamburgers on “Buns” Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 pound 80% lean ground beef
• ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
• ½ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

• 4 large portobello mushroom caps (for the “buns”), stems removed
• 1 tablespoon MCT oil
• Fine sea salt and fresh ground black pepper

• Lettuce leaves
• Sliced onions and/or tomatoes

1. Preheat a grill to high. If your grill isn’t large enough to grill 4 portobello mushrooms and 4 hamburgers at once, preheat the oven to 425°F for the mushrooms.
2. Form the meat into 4 large patties about 1 inch thick. Season both sides with the salt and pepper. Set the patties aside while you prepare the “buns.”
3. Brush the smooth side of each mushroom with the oil and season both sides with salt and pepper. Place the portobello caps on the grill (or on a rimmed baking sheet if using the oven), gill side up. Grill or bake the caps for 12 minutes. Remove from the grill or oven and place on a serving platter. To coordinate the timing of the buns and burgers, throw the patties on the grill after the caps have cooked for about 4 minutes.
4. Cook the patties to the desired doneness, about 4 minutes per side for medium-rare. Optional: Place a pan with duck fat and shallots on the grill for basting the burgers.
5. Top each mushroom cap with a few lettuce leaves, followed by a burger, a slice of onion and/or tomato, and the desired condiment.