High Steaks Pizza Burger Recipe

Transform your dry aged burger into the ultimate Italian dining experience.

Brandon | @high.steaks

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Aug 23, 2024

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Burger

Recipe

Burger

Recipe

If you can’t tell by now, there are a million different ways you can use my Dry Aged Burgers.

I can’t stand half-assing a recipe, so for this Pizza Burger I really tried to go all out. Almost everything was homemade. I even made a sausage seasoning blend to make the burger taste like the best sausage patty I’ve ever had.

No, you don’t have to make your own sauce. Raos will do just fine. You can buy store-bought pesto. But I thought a 45-second video of me grocery shopping would be boring.

Of the three burger recipes I’ve posted, this one exceeded expectations the most. Though it tasted more like an Italian sandwich (a meatball parm perhaps) rather than a pizza, it was absolutely delicious and I would highly recommend trying it.

The last thing I’d say is try to find good quality pepperoni for this. I clearly burnt one of the types I used, but the other one was still great. The heat from the pepperoni actually made this a really cohesive dish and worked extremely well with the flavor of the dry aged burgers.

Here’s how to make it:

Components (bottom to top)

Bottom Bun (Toasted With Garlic Butter)
Basil
Tomato Sauce
High Steaks Dry Aged Burger Patty (with sausage seasoning)
Fresh Mozzarella Cheese
Crispy Pepperoni
Basil
Pesto
Top Bun (Toasted with garlic butter)

Tomato Sauce:

Roughly chop garlic and a white onion.
Add the garlic and onion to a pot with moderately hot olive oil and a pinch or two of salt and pepper.
Let that sweat for a couple of minutes, then add 2 cans of San Marzano tomatoes. Do not throw out the cans.
Allow the sauce to cook down. Gently break up the tomatoes and stir from time to time.
The sauce will reduce. Add water to the empty cans of tomatoes. There should still be some tomato sauce on the sides of the cans. Add that back to the pot and cook it down until your desired flavor is reached.
Add basil and a Parmesan cheese rind and cook for another 5-10 minutes.
For a less chunky sauce, puree in a food processor.
Adjust flavor with salt and pepper at the end.

Crispy Pepperoni:

Find the best quality pepperoni. If it is not pre-sliced, then slice it to about ⅛ inch.
Preheat oven to 425°F.
Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.
Lay down the pepperoni in an even layer. They can be touching but not overlapping.
Cover the pepperoni with another sheet of foil.
Place an equal size baking sheet on to the top layer of foil and press down.
Place into the preheated oven for about 30 minutes. You can check on the pepperoni to make sure it’s not burning.

Pesto:

Lightly toast your pine nuts. Be careful, they burn quickly.
Add basil, pine nuts, salt, pepper, Romano cheese, and olive oil to a food processor.
Pulse until the pesto is cohesive, creamy, and smooth.

Burgers:

Add salt, peppercorns, fennel seeds, red pepper flakes, oregano, and crushed dried garlic to a blender. Blend for a few seconds until a semi-coarse seasoning blend (half coarse, half powder) has formed… you can add a tablespoon of brown sugar if a sweeter sausage flavor is desired.
Open your pack of burgers and put them on a large plate or bowl.
Sprinkle some of the sausage seasoning onto the burgers. Enough to coat both sides of the patties.
Break up the burgers and mix them gently with the seasoning.
Using your hands, or a ring mold, re-form the meat into your desired patty size.
Press it into a preheated pan.
Wait until a crust has formed and flip it.
I recommend flipping it 3 times total (each side touches the pan twice) to get an optimal crust.
Press the patty with your finger or use a thermometer to measure the doneness of the burger. It should be about 130°F for medium rare.
On the last flip, add mozzarella cheese and remove from heat.
If the cheese is slow to melt, you can cover the pan with a lid for a minute, or use a torch to melt it further.

Buns:

Roughly chop garlic and add to a pan of butter. Cook on low for about 1-2 minutes.
Put the butter in a blender and blend for 10-20 seconds.
Brush your garlic butter onto your brioche buns.
Lightly toast your buns in a pan until nice and golden brown.
If you really want to take this to the next level, add a thin, circular layer of Parmesan cheese to the pan about the size of your bun. When it starts to melt, place your bun on top of it. Let it cook on low until the cheese has formed a “crust” on the bun(s).

Assemble: