Pecan & Parmesan Encrusted Hamburger Steaks topped with Warm Marinara

Pecan & Parmesan Encrusted Hamburger Steaks topped with Warm Marinara

Over the last few weeks, I have been playing a cooking game with myself. As dinnertime approaches, I begin taking inventory of my fridge, freezer, pantry & garden. Then I ask myself “What can I make in 1.5 hours without buying any additional ingredients and without making my kiddos gag and cry?” — It’s a really fun game, you should try it some time.

Here are the ingredients I came up with:

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Every once in a while, I create a recipe winner. This was one of the winners! ((YAY)) It is almost like the TV show ‘Chopped’. I even feel pressure as I am pulling the meal together, just like the contestants on the show…Well, my pressure comes from hearing questions like “Are we eating that?”, “What’s in that?”, “Do I have to eat that?” & “What’s that stinky smell?”. I guess it’s not quite the same.

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For this meal, here is the list of mystery ingredients in my ‘chopped basket’:

  • 8 fresh, pre-made hamburger patties
  • 3/4 c Santa Fe pecans*
  • 3/4 c hand-shredded parmesan
  • 3/4 c panko
  • 2/3 a of jar of my favorite marinara
  • 1 egg

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I also cleared out some leftovers & served them as sides…

  • leftover green beans from KFC
  • 1 leftover oven-roasted sweet potato 
  • 2 c leftover ((instant)) mashed potatoes — a story for another time, trust me – it’s a good story

*I have to pause for a minute & tell you about Santa Fe pecans. Santa Fe pecans come from my mom & dad’s land located off of Santa Fe Ave. We have 7 huge trees and every few years, they produce a bounty of nuts. They are sweet, large and absolutely perfect. By far, the best nut I have ever tasted. Because of this, I have an infinite supply of pecans. It is great! I think I love using them in savory recipes even more than sweet treats.

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In order to get the infinite supply, they must be gathered, shelled & cleaned. The gathering part is my favorite of the process. One year, we all gathered on SF ((Santa Fe)) and had a pecan-picking contest to see who could accumulate the most pecans in one afternoon. After four hours of crouched waddling as I gathered while dragging my 5-gallon bucket beside me – I won! My grand total was a whopping 1,119 pecans. (Everyone else gave up several hours before and began playing – but my competitive side took over & I was obsessed, not to mention SO sore the next day!)

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Back to this meal, I used a combination of finely chopped pecans, hand-grated parm & panko as a crust for each hamburger patty. I only had one egg, so rather than dipping each patty into the egg, I used a basting brush & brushed the egg onto each patty before pressing in into the pecan coating.

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The basting brush technique worked marvelously! After coating all sides of 8 patties, I had about half of the egg left! The coating adhered perfectly too. I will be using this trick from now on.

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Halfway through baking, I flipped each burger over – the crunchy crust remained intact and was beautiful. These aroma floating out of the oven was heavenly! During the final minutes of cooking, I warmed my favorite jarred marinara & shaved 8 thin slices of parm. I removed the patties from the oven, topped each with a shaving of parm & 1-2 T of marinara and put them back in the oven until the parm is melted.

Yummy, easy & tear-free, my favorite kind of dinner. Bonus: this is a very inexpensive meal to make! This one needs to go on repeat status.

Pecan & Parmesan Encrusted Hamburger Steaks topped with Warm Marinara
Yields 8
Turn an average meal into a gourmet meal by simply encrusting a hamburger patty in a crunchy pecan parmesan coating. Impress the family without straining the budget or your time in the kitchen!
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Prep Time
10 min
Cook Time
25 min
Prep Time
10 min
Cook Time
25 min
1926 calories
18 g
479 g
127 g
171 g
61 g
608 g
4204 g
4 g
4 g
53 g
Nutrition Facts
Serving Size
608g
Yields
8
Amount Per Serving
Calories 1926
Calories from Fat 1124
% Daily Value *
Total Fat 127g
195%
Saturated Fat 61g
307%
Trans Fat 4g
Polyunsaturated Fat 6g
Monounsaturated Fat 47g
Cholesterol 479mg
160%
Sodium 4204mg
175%
Total Carbohydrates 18g
6%
Dietary Fiber 2g
7%
Sugars 4g
Protein 171g
Vitamin A
41%
Vitamin C
1%
Calcium
290%
Iron
61%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your Daily Values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.
Ingredients
  1. 8-1/3 lb pre-formed hamburger patties
Coating
  1. 3/4 c grated parmesan (I grate by hand)
  2. 3/4 c panko
  3. 3/4 c finely chopped raw pecans
  4. 1/2 t steakhouse seasoning (I love McCormick's Montreal steak seasoning)
  5. 1 egg
  6. 3/4 c marinara
  7. 8 thin slices of parmesan
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 400°. Spray 2 9"x13" baking dishes with non-stick coating. Whisk cracked egg in a small bowl. In a medium mixing bowl, combine hamburger coating.
  2. Using a basting brush, coat all sides of this first patty in egg. Firmly press both sides of the patty into the crust mixture & place into the baking dish. Repeat until all patties are coated.
  3. Baked patties in the oven for 25 minutes, flipping each patty halfway through the baking time. When2-3 minutes remains in baking time, remove patties from the oven. Top each patty with 1-2T of marinara sauce and one slice of parmesan. I didn't want the crisp pecan coating to me covered totally by the marinara - so I placed 1 T in the center of each patty. ((No soggy crust for me))
  4. Return the patties to the oven, allow the parmesan to melt.
  5. Once cheese has melted - remove patties from oven & serve.
beta
calories
1926
fat
127g
protein
171g
carbs
18g
more
Food for a Year: https://foodforayear.com/
For my friends needing a yummy gluten-free recipe…here you go! I hope you love it as much as we did.