The Pressed Southern Brazilian Burger is similar to a regular burger, but it's pressed like a panini or a Cuban sandwich and it has some other ingredients like fried egg, corn and peas - and it is amazing!
I'm from Southern Brazil (I live closer to Uruguay and Argentina than to Rio de Janeiro) and a very traditional hot sandwich here is called Xis (the word xis has a similar pronunciation to the English word cheese and this sandwich was given this name to sound like cheeseburger).
But I've named it Pressed Southern Brazilian Burger, so you would have an idea of what I was talking about.
🍔 How exactly is it?
As I've mentioned, you could say the Brazilian Pressed Burger is a mix of a burger and a Cuban sandwich - or a panini.
The bread it's usually done with is huge - almost 8 inches (20cm) in diameter, and as thick as a regular hamburger bun, but of course you can make a smaller version with a no sesame hamburger bun - that's how we usually do it.
The bread is cut in half, ingredients are placed inside (beef or another protein, cheese, tomato, lettuce, corn, peas, fried egg, mayo) and then the whole thing goes to a press. The bread toasts, cheese melts and contents come all together. When done, it is no higher than 2 inches!
📋 And what goes inside?
The usual fill-ins are:
- Mayonnaise
- Cheese
- Fried egg (optional but highly recommended)
- Corn
- Peas
- Tomato
- Lettuce
- Some protein (this one is made of beef strips, but you can choose chicken, a thin steak, beef patty, a turkey patty, sausage, well, any meat you would put on a burger).
But you can omit any ingredient you don't like or add other ingredients, like bacon and onions, for example - no picles, ok!?
🍳 How to make it
- With a little bit oil cook the beef. Season it with salt and pepper. Set aside.
- In a small frying pan, fry the egg.
- Cut bun in half. Spread mayonnaise on the cut side of each half.
- On one side of the bun add peas, corn, cheese, beef, fried egg, tomato and lettuce. Top with the other half of the bun.
- Heat a large grill pan or skillet over medium heat. Place sandwich in it and grill, pressing it with a large spatula or a smaller skillet.
- Cook over medium-low heat, pressing down firmly, until bread is lightly golden and cheese is melted (5-10 minutes). Serve warm, with fries if desired.
My mouth is watering by making this post and looking at the pictures 🙂 My daughter has said this is what she wants for dinner!
Variations
- Like mentioned, instead of beef you could use chicken, a hamburger patty, Italian sausage or turkey.
- Make it vegetarian by adding a vegetable hamburger ou chickpeas.
- Another vegetarian option is to use heart of palms instead of beef.
- Add bacon to it - but fry the bacon before.
- Add onions if you would like (although they are not usually a part of this sandwich).
- Serve it with homemade fries or chips.
- To drink? A cola based soda or Guaraná (a Brazilian soda made with the guaraná fruit from the Amazon rainforest, cultivated with environmentally-friendly practices).
📖 Recipe
For more Brazilian savory recipes click here.
Pressed Southern Brazilian Burger
Ingredients
- 1 large hamburger bun
- 1 tbsp mayonnaise
- 1-2 tbsp frozen or canned corn
- 1-2 tbsp frozen peas
- 3-4 oz beef, cut into strips
- 1 egg
- 3 leaves lettuce
- 3 slices tomato
Instructions
- With a little bit oil cook the beef. Season it with salt and pepper. Set aside.
- In a small frying pan, fry the egg.
- Cut bun in half. Spread mayonnaise on the cut side of each half.
- On one side of the bun add peas, corn, cheese, beef, fried egg, tomato and lettuce. Top with the other half of the bun.
- Heat a large grill pan or skillet over medium heat.
- Place sandwich in and grill it pressing with a large spatula or a smaller skillet.
- Cook over medium-low heat, pressing down firmly, until bread is lightly golden and cheese is melted, 5-10 minutes. Serve warm.
Drool City, population me. This is so simple, yet so amazing. Wish I was eating this for lunch today!
🙂