These Turkish islak burgers are messy and delicious in all the best ways. This traditional street food consists of a loosely packed burger patty generously flavored with garlic and paprika, doused in garlicky tomato butter sauce. They’re messy and not the prettiest burgers out there, but they taste amazing. They’re also known as “wet burgers” thanks to the abundant amount of sauce they’re served with, reminiscent of a saucy meatloaf or sloppy joe. I love making these with a brioche bun since they’re extra fluffy and great for soaking it all up. If you can, make sure to use a good quality pasture raised butter - it’ll really take this recipe to the next level. Our American Wagyu beef always makes incredible burgers, and these are no exception. I’ve never been to Turkey and eaten authentic islaks, but if they’re anything like these burgers it’s easy to see how they got so famous.

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Pasture Raised American Wagyu Beef

Our beef is completely free range, raised on our beautiful ranch just outside of Las Vegas, New Mexico. The cows are a variety of American Wagyu that resulted from breeding Japanese Wagyu cows with American Angus. The result is flavorful, tender cuts of beef that look and taste amazing. These cows live essentially wild, roaming free on a wide open expanse of beautiful land in northern New Mexico. There is a stream running through the ranch, lots of trees and absolutely stunning scenery nestled in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. They are pasture raised and true to Japanese tradition, have access to high quality grain as they desire.

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Ingredients:

• 1 ½ pounds American Wagyu ground beef
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
• 2 large cloves of garlic, finely minced
• 1 ½ teaspoons sweet paprika
• 6 tablespoons grass fed butter
• ¼ cup double concentrated tomato paste
• 4 brioche buns
• 1 tablespoon bison tallow
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

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Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Mix together the ground American Wagyu beef, 1 teaspoon of paprika, all of the chopped parsley and ½ of the minced garlic. Make four patties, less firm than you would make a typical burger. Season generously on both sides with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Set aside. These can be made ahead of time and refrigerated if desired.
2. Make the tomato butter sauce. Heat the butter along with the rest of the minced garlic over medium heat in a skillet or saucepan. Cook for approximately 5 minutes or until the butter starts to turn golden brown. Stir in the tomato paste and the rest of the paprika. Continue to cook and use a whisk to make the sauce super smooth. Gradually stir in ¾ cup water or bone broth if you have it on hand. Continue to cook until the sauce thickens. Remove the skillet from the heat and set aside.
3. Melt another tablespoon of butter in a clean skillet over medium high heat. Brown the buns in batches, adding the other tablespoon of butter halfway through. Dip the insides of the toasted buns into the tomato butter sauce and place in a baking dish.
4. Cook the burger patties. Melt the bison tallow in the skillet over medium high heat. When the tallow is shimmering, add in the burger patties and cook for about 3 minutes on each side or to desired doneness.
5. Place the cooked burger patties in the skillet with the tomato sauce and coat generously. Place the patties on the bottom buns in the baking dish and finish with the top buns. Finally, brush a generous coating of sauce on top of each burger.
6. Cover the baking dish with foil and bake in the preheated oven for 4-6 minutes. Serve and enjoy immediately!

The Beck & Bulow Philosophy

At Beck & Bulow, we pride ourselves on our excellent customer service. We’re always here to help if you have any questions regarding your meat, want help making selections, or are just looking for some cooking tips. Every time you call our office, you’ll be directly connected with one of our team members right here in Santa Fe, New Mexico where we’re based.

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Every cut of meat is pressure sealed and flash frozen immediately after butchering at the peak of freshness. We work exclusively with master butchers who make every cut with care and precision. All orders are hand packed at our Santa Fe warehouse, shipped in a reusable cooler with dry ice and delivered straight to your doorstep. Check out our selections of humanely raised chicken, elk, bison, beef, lamb, wild boar, pork and seafood.