I shared an obituary for Chef Michael Chiarello, who died in 2023…a true loss to the culinary world.
My wife Alex and I were part of a great event at his house once, where he showcased his love of “live fire” cooking.
Chef Chiarello’s “Live Fire” Cooking!
As you can see, he meant it! He cooked a stuffed rolled pork for everyone – and he used live fire to finish the dish – here’s a video I shot at the time and you really get a sense of his love of food and the joy of cooking:
The result was delicious, and I got a shot of it as it was served at our table:
To honor Chef, I made one of the signature dishes from his “Live Fire” Cookbook.
This is the exact recipe from Chef and it serves six – adjust according to how many you choose to make.
This burger has a deliciously unique topping: here are the ingredients for the “Zin-Onion Marmalade”:
2 medium red onions
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 tsp course sea salt, preferably gray salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
2 tsp finely chopped fresh thyme
2 cups Zinfandel wine
Slice off the ends of the onions and then halve them and peel. Slice into thin half moons, results in about 4 cups of onions.
Heat saucepan over medium high heat, pour in olive oil then add the onion, salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally until onions are carmelized, about ten minutes.
Add the thyme and cook for one more minute, then add the Zinfandel – always use good wine because if it’s good enough to drink it’s good enough to eat!
I used the absolutely terrific Zinfandel from Napa Valley’s Outpost winery – and they have terrific Cabernets, Granaches and more!
Cook until the sauce has been reduced by 2/3rd, about 5 minutes.
Take the pan off the heat and let cool.
Now, time to make your burgers! The “Live Fire” Cookbook has several pages filled with great burger combinations like this one…
Here are the ingredients for the “Stuffed Bleu Cheese Burger!”
3 lbs ground chuck – Chef notes that the fat ration in the meat should be 80-20% for full flavor
3/4 cup crumbled blue cheese
1 tbl coarse sea salt, preferably gray salt
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
6 sourdough rolls
Of course, any Chef who has a cookbook called “Live Fire” wants you to make tthis on a grill over over charcoals.
Chef wants you to carefully form the burgers…lightly press one into a 4-1/2 inch diameter – and make them thin!
As you see in the video, I added the blue cheese to the middle of the bottom burger…leaving a 1/2-inch margin around the side, then added the top layer and sealed it with my fingers.
Once your burger is sealed, add the salt and pepper and put them on the grill.
Close the cover and cook for five minutes, then turn them over for 4 more minutes – they will be medium rare.
Put each one on a roll and add the onion marmalade, a glass of Zin and here is the result…
It was delicious..the sharpness of the bleu cheese blends perfectly with the slightly smoky grilled meat and of course the smooth, rich flavor of the zinfandel onion marmalade – all blended perfectly.
As Chef noted in the cookbook:
“The combination of blue cheese and Zin onions makes this one of my favorite burgers. Serve with a good Zinfandel. (Duh.)”
This is a delicious combination, and it was an honor to make it and remember a great Chef and terrific person….I ended the meal with a toast to a great Chef who has sadly been taken from us much too soon.
I have shared a number of fun and different burger recipes, and this is the most controversial of them all:
The “Guber Burger!”
Yes, the addition of peanut butter was very polarizing – click here to take a look at the recipe and decide for yourself!
Sometimes the presentation of a burger is even better than the taste!
Like this for example:
Now that’s a great way to heat up your meal!
See where they make this “Fire” burger by clicking here:
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Categories: Bite Eat Swallow, Bite! Eat! Repeat!, Chef memoirs, Cookbooks, Eat This!, Food, Food Pictures, Food Porn, Recipes, Wacky Food, World's Wildest Food
Bite! Eat! Repeat! 
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I liked his show. Loved where he lived! He died way too young. Great looking burger and other food!!! You guys really get around!!!
*smile* I may not be a classic burger lover but surely like those onions and all the rest you have managed to put in the bun . . . blue cheese and red wine, oh yes 🙂 !