This Burger with Fig and Goat Cheese is such a simple and delicious way to elevate your normal backyard burger with very minimal effort. (And with a toddler running around creating chaos and destruction in his wake, this is what I’m ALL about these days).
I can’t take full credit for this genius and delicious burger recipe, however. It inspired by the West Coast burger chain Eureka!
Mastering Burger Grilling
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Internal Temperature
Dave and I prefer our burgers to be done to Medium temperature. We have found it to be challenging to always know when the burgers are fully done and would sometimes end up with super undercooked burgers, and sometimes super over-cooked burgers. Some people can tell just by feel, and more power to them… but if you’re not a magician, and you’re planning on doing any amount of grilling in your life, I would highly recommend investing in an instant read meat thermometer. This is the one we have and recommend. It essentially eliminates any guesswork in your grilling, which is great for us.
Guide to Doneness:
- Rare = 120-125 degrees Fahrenheit
- Medium Rare = 130-135 degrees Fahrenheit
- Medium = 140-145 degrees Fahrenheit
- Medium Well = 150-155 degrees Fahrenheit
- Well Done = 160 + degrees Fahrenheit
(Note that the USDA recommends all ground beef to be cooked to at least 160 degrees to prevent food borne illness. So if you do live a little on the wild side like us, just know that you do so at your own risk.)
Grill Temperature
Typically we keep our grill on Medium-High (about 450-500) for grilling burgers. Doing this lets you get a great sear on the outside of the meat without completely torching the exterior.
Technique
When assembling the patty use caution to avoid over-manipulating the meat. For example, if you press it into a tight hocky-puck, you’ll end up with a tough tasting burger (and also be more likely to get that weird bubble of juice in the middle that is kind of gross tbh).
It’s ideal to shape it until it just comes together, making the edges a bit thicker than the middle (this helps with overall finished product shape uniformity as the burger contacts on the grill), and then season it with salt and pepper if that’s your thing.
Once the patty is on the grill, avoid messing with it excessively! Set it, flip it once, and you’re good.
Typically for Medium temperature on about a 1 inch burger, we flip after 4-5 minutes, and then start checking internal temperature about 3 minutes after that. Total time is typically 8-9 minutes, but does vary.
Toppings
If you’ve never had goat cheese on a burger, I highhhhly recommend it! It will blow your mind. Unlike normal cheese, I don’t put goat cheese on the burger while it’s still on the grill, just because it really doesn’t improve with melting (it doesn’t really melt, but just gets super soft and goopy, and sometimes if it goes too long it just ends up weirdly hard). I just let the cheese sit out at room temperature until it’s spreadable, and then spread away!
The other ingredients are just a simply lemon-dressed salad of arugula and a smear of fig preserves. Mmmmm. It could not be easier or fresher tasting.
Side Ideas
Serve your burger with whatever your favorite sides. I particularly love these recipes:
- Pasta Salad with Lemon and Dill
- Mom’s Baked Beans
- Creamy Greek Pasta Salad
- Watermelon Blueberry and Feta Salad
- Arugula Salad with Grilled Red Plums
Enjoy!
Burger with Fig and Goat Cheese
Ingredients
- 1 1/3 lb 80/20 Ground Beef (I recommend organic)
- 4 Brioche Buns
- 1/4 cup Fig Preserves
- 4 oz Goat Cheese
- A few handfuls of Baby Arugula
- 1/4 Red Onion finely diced
- Juice of 1 Lemon
- 1/4 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 2 tsp Dijon Mustard
- 1/3 cup Diced Tomato (I used orange cherry tomatoes since this is what we had on hand)
- Kosher Salt and Black Pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Divide your meat into 4 equal pieces. Form your burger patties by gently pressing meat together, building the sides of the burgers slightly larger so that there appears to be a slight divot in the center. (Note – this recipe will make four 1/3 pound burgers. Adjust based on preference). Set aside to rest briefly.
- Preheat the grill to around Medium High (450-500 degrees Fahrenheit) while you prepare the arugula topping.
- In a mason jar or bowl, combine lemon juice, olive oil, red onion, dijon, salt, and pepper. Shake or whisk to combine. In a separate bowl combine arugula and tomatoes. Leave separate for now.
- When grill is ready, season burgers with salt and pepper. Place onto grill and close the grill. Let cook for about 4-ish minutes, then flip. Cook for another 2-3 minutes, then start checking internal temperature for doneness. For Medium, take off the grill when internal temperature reads 140-145 degrees Fahrenheit.
- If you like your brioche buns slightly toasted, place these on the grill also for about 1-2 minutes (watch carefully so you don't burn!)
- Toss the arugula salad just before assembling. Dress to taste (you may have some dressing leftover).
- To assemble: Place burger patties onto the bun. Top the burgers by spreading with 1 ounce of goat cheese, and mound with a generous helping of arugula salad. Smear the top bun with about a tablespoon or so of fig preserves. Put it all together and enjoy!
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