Bring a little bit of Pittsburgh home to your kitchen with The Pittsburger – homemade burgers topped with coleslaw and French fries, inspired by Primanti Brothers in Pittsburgh.
If you’ve been reading my blog for the past year or so, there’s no secret that my heart belongs to Pittsburgh where I was born and raised. For 4 years I did live mid state, but I was yearning to get back. I didn’t realize how much I missed Pittsburgh until I started job hunting 2-3 years ago. I had to expand my search to other cities, but none of them made me excited. I did have a job interview in Philadelphia for a position I thought I wanted, but it isn’t until now that I look back and am secretly glad I wasn’t offered it. Pittsburgh is such an underestimated city. Usually when people plan a vacation, chances are Pittsburgh isn’t in the top 10. We don’t have The Liberty Bell, The Statue Of Liberty, or The Freedom Trail. We aren’t a very touristy city, but that is what makes Pittsburgh awesome. When you come here, you’re going to get the true city experience. No overhyped tourist attractions. No overpriced hotels or museum tickets. No fighting for a spot on an overcrowded beach and paying too much for a hot dog. Just pure Pittsburgh love.
When you think of places to eat in Pittsburgh, there’s a 99 percent chance you think of Primanti Brothers. It’s a sandwich shop that made Pittsburgh famous by putting coleslaw and French fries on their sandwiches rather than serving them on the side. As much as I love eating out, it gets expensive. That’s why I wanted to bring Pittsburgh to my kitchen with The Pittsburger. Now it’s not meant to be a copycat recipe; rather I used it as inspiration for two reasons. One – I didn’t want to make a sandwich with deli meat on Italian bread. Two – when you do order the Pittsburger from their restaurant, the patty is so small, you can barely taste the meat. When I order a burger, I want a fat, juicy burger that I can sink my teeth into. One that you have to squish down a little in order to take that first big bite. Plus Pittsburgh has some pretty important burger history. Did you know The Big Mac was invented in Pittsburgh, 5 minutes from where I live right now? In fact, there’s a Big Mac museum in my hometown. Ironically I’ve only been there once and don’t remember much except there’s a giant Big Mac statue. Anyway, whether you’re firing up the grill for a summer cook out or looking for a more exciting burger to eat during the week, this Pittsburger will satisfy your craving and bring a little taste of Pittsburgh to your kitchen.
Since summers are usually associated with vacations and road trips, I’m teaming up with ALDI for their Virtual Summer Road Trip in a two-part series with Pittsburgh as one of their stops. I have been shopping at ALDI for at least the past 10 years as they helped make my groceries more affordable throughout college and now as an adult. If you’re not familiar with ALDI, they are a grocery store chain that focuses on high quality products at impossibly low prices. As part of the road trip, I wanted to share some activities to do while in Pittsburgh, That was a tough one, but I narrowed it down to Kennywood, Duquense Incline, and The Cathedral of Learning. I could write a blog post on each one of those places, but for now you can click on the links and explore.
As much as I love grocery shopping, I hate making trips to multiple stores just to get everything on my list. Luckily, ALDI has everything I need for these burgers, including ground beef, hamburger buns, and cheese. Unfortunately, my particular ALDI was sold out of coleslaw, so I went with Plan B and picked up the ingredients I needed to make my own. If your ALDI has coleslaw, feel free to use that. Since I was making coleslaw, I saved myself some prep time by picking up ALDI seasoned French fries.
The key to making great hamburgers is how you handle the meat. First, buy 80 percent lean 20 percent fat as that ratio is ideal for making hamburgers. Second, do not put anything in your meat. This was tough as I always add some spices or onion, but the more you handle the meat, the tougher it’ll get. That’s why it’s recommended you sprinkle your patties with salt and pepper right before cooking. Third, when you shape your patties, put a slight indent in the center so the burgers don’t shrink. Nothing is sadder than a patty smaller than your bun.
Once your meat is cooked, time to top with French fries and coleslaw! And of course it wouldn’t be a Pittsburger without ranch dressing (we are very serious about our ranch), so I mixed it with some hot sauce for a spicy condiment.
For more information about ALDI, please visit their website and say hello on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest.
The Pittsburger (Primanti Style Burger With French Fries and Coleslaw)
If you shape the patties ahead of time, keep refrigerated until ready to cook. Do not season until right before cooking.
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef, thawed (80/20 blend)
- Stonemill Essentials Iodized Salt, to taste
- Stonemill Essentials Ground Black Pepper, to taste
- 2 teaspoons Carlini vegetable oil
- 4 L'oven Fresh Hamburger Buns
- 4 slices Happy Farms mild cheddar cheese
- Half of a 2 pound bag Season's Choice Seasoned French Fried Potatoes, baked according to package directions
- 1 cup coleslaw (homemade or ALDI Little Salad Bar Coleslaw)
- 4 slices tomato
- 1/4 cup Tuscan Garden ranch dressing
- 1 tablespoon Burman's hot sauce
Instructions
- Divide the beef into four 4-ounce portions. Shape into patties, making a slight indent in the middle. Season the top with salt and pepper.
- In a large skillet, heat 1 teaspoon oil over medium heat. When hot, add 2 buns, tops and bottoms separated and face down, until toasted. Repeat with the remaining 2 buns and 1 teaspoon oil. Remove the buns and leave the pan over medium heat.
- Add 2 patties and cook for 4 minutes. Flip, sprinkle with more salt and pepper, then top with 1 slice cheese each. Cook another 4 minutes or until they reach an internal temperature of 160F degrees. Repeat with the remaining 2 patties and cheese.
- To assemble, add one burger to one bottom half of a bun. Top with 4-5 French fries, 1/4 cup coleslaw, and 1 slice tomato. In a small bowl, mix together the ranch and hot sauce then spread some on the top bun before adding. Repeat with the remaining ingredients. Serve immediately.
Disclosure: This post is sponsored by ALDI. Thank you for supporting me and the companies I work with as sponsored posts help pay for the costs of running Chocolate Moosey, including website hosting and groceries for recipe development.
Susan says
Nice tip about the dent in the middle of burgers. Have not heard that one before. I’ve been through Pittsburg twice in our summer travels, and the place we’ve eaten both times: Penn Brewing. Fun place with good food and good beer, in a great old building.
Carla says
I’ve struggled with shrinking burgers, so the dent is a life saver! I’ve been to Penn Brewery once and am planning on going back. Have you been to Church Brew Works in Lawrenceville? It’s literally a church turned into a brewery, so the building is pretty fascinating. I def recommend eating there for both the food and the beer next time you stop by.
Susan says
Thanks for the brewery referral, Carla. My husband and I have turned into beer hounds, and seek out craft breweries wherever we go. I’m sure we’ll enjoy Church Brew Works (but don’t know when we’ll get there). We’re headed back to Texas tomorrow, and plan to check out a new (to us) brewery in Wilmington NC for our first dinner on the road…
Carla says
Oh you sound like me! When I’m traveling, I usually seek out breweries to have a nice dinner for one of the nights I’m traveling, whether it’s on the way or right where I’m staying. I don’t think I’ve been to a bad brewery yet, so that’s why I like to stick to them (plus like you, I love craft beer).
David @ CookingChat says
it’s fun learning about food traditions from other cities. this looks like a tasty burger!
Carla says
Agreed! When I visit a new-to-me city, I love learning about the food culture.
Liz says
Whoa, I’ve never heard of such a burger! But I highly approve! And with a few of your yummy shortcuts, it sounds so easy to whip up a few for dinner :)
Carla says
Yes it’s the burgers to end all burgers! Ok maybe not quite, but pretty darn close ;) I hope you do give it a try.
Stephanie says
Great tips, and WOW what a burger!! Yum!
Alida says
I’ve never been to an ALDI, but soon there will be one 5 minutes from my house. I can’t wait to check it out and make these tasty burgers!
Lori @ Foxes Love Lemons says
I actually really enjoyed my work trips to Pittsburgh at my old job. I went to a few Pirates game, and it was just a really nice place to walk and drive around. And the food never disappointed! I can feel your Pittsburgh love shining through in this recipe!
Rachel says
I haven’t been to Pittsburgh in probably 11 or 12 years, but I still dream about Primanti Bros. That burger looks AMAZING. I need to make my way back there one of these days!
Patricia @ Grab a Plate says
Your sandwich!!! Oh, how I’d love this right about now. So delicious! I’m originally from NE Ohio, but never remembered hearing that the Big Mac was invented in Pittsburgh! Lol!
Lisa @ Healthy Nibbles & Bits says
I’ve never been to Pittsburg before, but I definitely want to visit now, if only to try the burgers. This looks fantastic, Carla!
Kayle (The Cooking Actress) says
awesome burger tips! sand so genius to make it primanti style!
Julie @ Willow Bird Baking says
Oh my gosh, what?! This looks amazing.
Amy @Very Culinary says
My BIL lives near Pittsburg, but it’s too expensive for us to go visit him. Since we can’t go there, I’ll just bring the city to us with this burger! Seriously, I WANT. Looks amazing.
Lauren @ Healthy Delicious says
You Pennsylvanians will put french fries (and Ranch dressing) on anything, won’t you? i actually think of haluski first when thinking about Pittsburgh, but these burgers look pretty awesome.
Graciela Howell says
Can’t wait to try this place…gonna talk to the traveling basketball team to see if we can go there for our team meal.
Carla says
Oh nice! Hope they say yes.