Red-Eye Burger — A Southern Saturday Sandwich for the Season That Finally Showed Up

Crawfish season is HERE. I drove past Tony's on Monday and the sign said $3.99/lb and the parking lot was full and the steam was rising from the boiling pots in the back and I almost pulled over right there, in my work truck, in my work boots, and bought fifty pounds. I didn't — I had a job to get to, a new construction rough-in in Prairieville — but the knowledge that the crawfish are back, that the season has turned, that spring is coming, was enough to carry me through the week like a sail catches wind.

Saturday was the first boil of 2017. Forty pounds. Just us — no guests, no neighbors, just the five Beaumonts and forty pounds of mud bugs and the propane burner in the driveway and the sound of the pot coming to a rolling boil that is, I am telling you, the most beautiful sound in the natural world. I know people say birdsong or ocean waves or their children's laughter. They're wrong. It's a crawfish pot at a full boil. Come to Louisiana and I'll prove it.

Rémy was my sous chef. Five years old in a few weeks, standing on his step stool, handling the seasoning — Zatarain's, extra cayenne, whole garlic, lemons, new potatoes, corn. He knows the order. He knows the timing. He watches the crawfish go in and stands on his toes to see them turn red and says, "They're done when they float, right, Papa?" and I say, "Oui, cher," and he nods like a little professor confirming a hypothesis. This boy. This bayou boy who talks to fish and wears crawfish claws and eats three bowls of everything. He is the continuation of something that started before me and will continue after me, and I am just the bridge, the spoon, the man who stands at the pot and stirs.

We ate on the driveway table. Newspaper. Beer. Crawfish piled high, steaming, red, the tails curled tight. Colette is an expert peeler — twist, pull, pinch, eat, faster than any adult I've seen. Luc eats methodically, precisely, one crawfish at a time, like an engineer disassembling a machine. Rémy eats like a raccoon: fast, messy, with occasional sounds of delight that concern the neighbors. Danielle eats slowly, drinks her wine, watches all of us with that half-smile that means she's happy and she knows it and she's saving it.

After the boil, after cleanup, after the kids were in bed, I sat on the porch with the last beer and the smell of cayenne still in the air and thought: we made it. Through the winter. Through the insomnia. Through the grey months and the short days and the anniversary of things I'd rather not mark. We made it to crawfish season. And in this family, in this state, in this culture that has survived everything the world has thrown at it — floods and hurricanes and exile and erosion and the slow disappearance of a language and a coastline and a way of life — in all of that, the crawfish still come back. Every spring. Without fail. The crawfish come back, and we boil them, and we eat them on newspaper in the driveway, and the world, for a few hours, is exactly as it should be.

The boil was Saturday. Sunday belonged to the burger. After forty pounds of crawfish and a porch beer and sleep that actually came easy for once, I wanted something that tasted like Louisiana on a plate — something with that deep, smoky, coffee-bitter edge that only red-eye gravy can give you. Rémy was back on his step stool, Danielle had her wine glass swapped for a coffee mug, and I had country ham in the skillet and the whole driveway still smelling like cayenne and woodsmoke. This Red-Eye Burger is what we made, and it is, in my opinion, the correct way to spend the Sunday after the first boil of the year.

Red-Eye Burger

Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cook Time: 20 minutes | Total Time: 30 minutes | Servings: 4

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 lbs ground beef (80/20 blend)
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon coarse black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 4 slices thick-cut country ham or smoked ham steak (about 2 oz each)
• 1/2 cup strong brewed black coffee
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 4 slices sharp cheddar cheese
• 4 brioche hamburger buns, split and toasted
• Butter lettuce and sliced tomato, for serving
• Mayonnaise or Creole mustard, for spreading

Instructions

1. Form the patties. Divide the ground beef into 4 equal portions and gently form into patties about 3/4-inch thick. Press a shallow dimple in the center of each with your thumb to prevent puffing. Season both sides generously with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Refrigerate while you prepare the gravy.
2. Cook the ham. Heat a large cast-iron skillet or heavy pan over medium-high heat. Add the ham slices and cook 2 to 3 minutes per side until lightly caramelized and the edges begin to curl. Remove to a plate and leave all drippings in the pan.
3. Make the red-eye gravy. With the skillet still over medium heat, carefully pour in the coffee and Worcestershire sauce, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Let the mixture reduce by half, about 3 to 4 minutes. Swirl in the butter until melted and the gravy is glossy. Remove from heat and keep warm.
4. Cook the burgers. Return the skillet to medium-high heat. Add the patties and cook 3 to 4 minutes per side for medium doneness. In the last minute of cooking, lay a slice of cheddar on each patty and tent loosely with foil to melt.
5. Toast the buns. While the burgers rest for 2 minutes, toast the cut sides of the brioche buns in the residual skillet heat or under the broiler until golden.
6. Assemble and serve. Spread mayonnaise or Creole mustard on both bun halves. Layer lettuce and tomato on the bottom bun, place the cheeseburger patty on top, lay a slice of ham over the patty, and spoon a generous drizzle of red-eye gravy over everything. Cap with the top bun and serve immediately.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 680 | Protein: 42g | Fat: 40g | Carbs: 34g | Fiber: 1g | Sodium: 920mg