Black Truffle Burgers and French Fries
Black Truffle Burgers and French Fries is a trendy restaurant meal that is super easy to recreate at home. And, while I’ve had many delicious burgers and truffle fries at restaurants, I’ve had many that have not lived up to my high foodie standards. Oh, to order a burger you’ve been fantasizing about all day long, and then have it brought to you completely raw inside, or as dried up as a little brown rock. Or, when you’ve been dreaming of trufflicious French fries, but the fries you actually get taste like plain Jane fries, with barely a whisper of truffle terrrificness. I know I’m not the only one who’s suffered these burger and truffle fry tragedies, so follow my lead and make these Black Truffle Burgers and French Fries in your very own home.
The Kitchen Tools You’ll Need
- A cast iron skillet- I think cast iron skillets make the best burgers. But, if you don’t have one, any skillet will do. Or, you could grill them outside, if that’s what you prefer. Of course, if you grill outside, manning your deep fry operation will be a little more complicated.
- A Dutch oven- I think Dutch ovens do a great job of maintaining a constant temperature for your deep frying. But, any deep pot can be used.
- A Deep Fry thermometer- Don’t attempt these French fries without one. You must know what temperature your oil is out to avoid soggy fries and burning down your house.
The Ingredients You’ll Need
- Ground Chuck- I used chuck meat, but you could also use ground sirloin, but your burgers may be a little drier.
- Black Truffle Cheese- Also called moliterno al tartufo, this hard pecorino cheese, is laced with black truffles. It is absolutely delicious, and I also have a recipe posted using it for Black Truffle Macaroni and Cheese. If you can’t find it, try substituting provolone or parmesan.
- Black Truffle Oil- You’ll use this in the aioli and the fries. If you can’t find this, or want to save the money, just replace it with equal parts of the black truffle cheese.
- The Tomato- It’s July, and if you live near a farm, there are amazing tomatoes to be had. I was afraid the tomato would conflict with the truffle flavor of the burger, but instead it added a nice sweet, juicy flavor.
- The Oil- You need to use vegetable, canola, or peanut oil to fry these truffle fries. I like Crisco vegetable oil, and keep large jugs of it in my pantry.
- The Potatoes- I used Idaho russet potatoes.
How I Made the Black Truffle Burgers and French Fries
- The very first thing I did was heat the oil in my Dutch oven. Then, I peeled and sliced my potatoes, and submerged them in a bowl of water.
- I also seasoned my beef and formed it into 4 patties. And, I toasted my buns in the butter.
- When the oil was hot, I drained my potatoes, and dried them off well. Then, I fried the potatoes in 4 batches. I also started to cook the burgers in my cast iron pan. We like our burgers very well done. If you like them rarer, you should wait a bit before starting your burgers. As the potatoes fried, I sliced the vegetables, made the aioli, grated the cheese, and minced the parsley.
- Next, I heated the oil up higher, and refried the potatoes.
- As soon as the fries came out of the oil for the second time, I sprinkled them with salt, and tossed them with the seasonings.
- I served everything with my Strawberry Fields Salad, which I made and refrigerated earlier in the day.
Not only was this meal delicious, but it was really fun to make. I think burgers are so simple to make at home, that I’m truly curious why people even bother ordering them at restaurants. I know I’m super picky, but besides the fact that restaurant kitchens don’t always cook your burgers to the doneness you’ve requested, they also just make their burgers too big. Am I the only person who doesn’t want to gnaw on a half pound of beef on a tiny bun? These Black Truffle Burgers use a quarter of pound of beef each, and I wound up slicing a patty in half before placing it on my bun. And, that’s the beauty of cooking at home. You can truly have your food, just the way you want it.
For a long time, I let deep frying French fries intimidate me. I tried countless recipes for oven fries, and air fryer fries. I’ve tried lots of different brands of frozen fries. But, it really only takes about 30 minutes to make a few batches of fries in a Dutch oven. So, I hope you’ll try both these recipes, and enjoy this restaurant treat at home.
Black Truffle Burgers and French Fries
Equipment
- Dutch oven
- deep frying thermometer
- cast iron skillet
Ingredients
For the Black Truffle Burgers:
- 1 pound ground chuck meat
- ¼ tsp. kosher salt
- ¼ tsp. black pepper
- 1 tbsp. olive oil
- 1 cup black truffle pecorino cheese
- 2 tbsp. minced parsley
- 1 large tomato, sliced
- 4 slices red onion
- 1 cup baby arugula
- 4 brioche buns
- 1 tbsp. butter
For the Black Truffle Aioli:
- ½ cup mayonnaise
- 1 tbsp. black truffle oil
- ¼ tsp. black pepper
For the Black Truffle French Fries:
- 2 large potatoes
- 2 cups vegetable oil
- 1½ cups black truffle pecorino, finely grated
- 2 tbsp. minced parsley
- 2 tbsp. black truffle oil
- ¼ tsp. kosher salt
Instructions
For the Black Truffle Burgers:
- Sprinkle the ground beef with the salt and pepper, and form into 4 patties.
- Heat a cast iron skillet over high heat, and add the olive oil. When the skillet is very hot, add the burger patties. Cook on both sides to your desired doneness.
- Meanwhile, in a large skillet, melt the butter, and toast the insides of the buns.
- When the burgers are almost done top with some cheese and parsley.
- Spread some aioli on the buns, and add the burgers, arugula, onion, and tomato.
For the Black Truffle Aioli:
- In a small bowl, mix all the ingredients together.
For the Black Truffle Fries:
- Peel the potatoes, and slice them vertically into ¼ inch slices. Cut each of those slices into thin fries. Place all the fries in a large bowl of cold water.
- In a Dutch oven, heat one inch of oil to 325° using your deep fry thermometer. When the oil reaches that temperature, drain your fries from the water, and using towels, dry them off well.
- Fry one quarter of the fries, just until they start to turn golden. Drain them on a wire rack, in a small pile. Repeat with the other 3 batches of potatoes.
- Bring the oil up to 375° and refry the first batch of fries until golden brown. Repeat with the other 3 batches, draining each on the wire rack, and sprinkling each batch with salt right away.
- Mix the cheese, parsley, and truffle oil in a bowl and toss all the hot fries in there, until they are all coated with cheese.
