Super Bowl Recipes: Ben Roethlis-BURGER

It’s taken a full week, but I’ve finally managed to dig myself out from under the mountain of hate mail I received from posting a vegetable recipe on our BBQ site. Well, we’ve heard your complaints and now we’re firing back with a Super Bowl themed recipe that’s sure to satisfy your carnivorous tendencies.

When Ben Roethlisberger burst onto the NFL scene in his rookie season, local Pittsburgh restaurant Peppi’s Old Tyme Sandwich Shop anointed him with the highest honor a young athlete can receive…his own personal sandwich.  By pulling inspiration from Big Ben’s physical prowess and on-field abilities, the guys at Peppi’s came up with a unique blend of beef, sausage, eggs, cheese and onions to represent their young stud.  Here we are a few years later and Mr. Roethlisberger has once again led his team into the biggest game of the year.  To honor their accomplishment, we’re paying tribute to the Steel Curtain by constructing this new found Pittsburgh classic…with a few slight modifications!

Roethlisberger SandwichIt may surprise you to know that the official Roethlisberger Sandwich is not actually a burger, but rather a loose meat sandwich.  In my book that’s a cardinal sin, especially with “berger” in his name, so we’ll be pattying both the sausage and beef into 1/3 pound rounds to turn the Roethlisberger Sandwich into a true Roethlis-BURGER.  In authentic pitmaster style, I seasoned my beef patties with a thin layer of brisket rub to add in a little extra BBQ flavor.  You can do the same with the sausage patties, but I chose to let the intended spicy flavors shine through.  Toss the burgers on your favorite grill until they’re cooked to your liking.

Roethlisberger Sandwich - Grilling Patties

The next upgrade we’re bringing to the Roethlis-BURGER is the addition of a small bacon weave.  Cut three strips of bacon in half and make a tight 3×3 bacon weave.  As many people have learned from trying the Bacon Explosion recipe, bacon grease and direct heat don’t mix.  The grease drips down onto the coals causing flare ups, which ultimately results in your food catching on fire.  So go ahead and fry this on the stove top while your patties are on the grill.

Roethlisberger Sandwich - Bacon Weave

It’s a shame to throw out perfectly good bacon grease, so toss in a few freshly sliced onion rings and saute until caramelized.  Once the onions are cooked to your liking, remove them from the skillet and set aside.  While the skillet is still hot, pour in two beaten eggs.  You’ll want to cook the eggs like you’re preparing an omelet, but give it a few extra folds so that it will fit nicely on the bun.

Roethlisberger Sandwich - Onions Rings

Now that we’ve got all of the components prepared, it’s time to start assembling the Roethlis-BURGER.  We’ll be starting off with a buttered and toasted kaiser bun.  The traditional Roethlisberger Sandwich is served on a Portuguese roll, but the oblong shape isn’t very conducive to our burger patties.

Roethlisberger Sandwich - Toasted Bun

Next up, place the scrambled egg patty on top of the toasted kaiser bun.  It’s worth noting that Peppi’s included scrambled eggs in their sandwich as a tribute to Big Ben’s ability to scramble when under pressure.

Roethlisberger Sandwich - Egg Patty

Since Ben is an All-American guy, we’ll be placing a thick slice of creamy American cheese on top of the eggs.

Roethlisberger Sandwich - American Cheese

Now place a warm patty of spicy Italian sausage directly on top of the American cheese.  I’m not too sure what inspired the use of sausage, so we’ll just chalk this one up to being damn delicious.

Roethlisberger Sandwich - Sausage

Place a juicy hamburger patty on top of sausage.

Roethlisberger Sandwich - Hamburger

Now round out the meat layer with the 3×3 bacon weave.

Roethlisberger Sandwich - Bacon Weave

And top the whole thing off with the bacon fried onion rings.

Roethlisberger Sandwich - Onions

Set the other half of the butter toasted kaiser bun on top, and the Roethlis-BURGER is now complete!  Serve with a side of french fries seasoned with your favorite BBQ rub and you’ve got the perfect meal to help you cheer the Steelers on to victory this Sunday.  Unless of course you’re a Cardinals fan…in which you’ll want to check back here tomorrow.

Roethlisberger Sandwich

16 comments on “Super Bowl Recipes: Ben Roethlis-BURGER

  1. You sure need a big mouth to get it around this burger, but big mouths are what us Steeler fans are known for…

  2. @Susi – All we did was divide the raw hamburger meat into 1/3 pound sections and patty them down flat. They were then topped off with a little BBQ beef rub. The same goes for the sausage patties, sans the beef rub.

  3. My name is Jeff Trebac and I created the Peppi’s version of the Roethlisburger. I see that you have commented that it is a sin to create it as a loose meat sandwich but the reason is twofold. One, my wife made me a creation that used similar ingredients and the meat portion was mixed together, therefore the flavors of the meat blended together. Two, when producing large quantities, the cooking time is definitely decreased when dicing the meat on the grill. The final product is one where you get all the flavors in one bite. When the idea came together, I foresaw it as a novelty item. Once perfected, it truly became a fantastic burger that is not a burger, which was kind of the idea. The Roethlisburger is a very unique combination that I have never seen produced before. When in Pittsburgh, come see me at our Northside location and I will make you a killer #7. Go Steelers….

  4. @Jeff – I enjoy a loose meat sandwich as much as the next guy, but it’s hard not to go the patty route when your inspriation’s name acutally contains the word “berger”. After concocting our version in the BBQ Addicts test kitchen, it was pretty obvious that you guys do this to save time. None the less, it gave us the perfect opportunity to put our own twist on your creation and pay homage to the now Super Bowl Champion Steelers! We’ll swing by the next time we’re in the neighborhood and enjoy the original #7.

  5. Yo, be careful when eatin dis, it might attack your digestion system and leave you screamin in da bathroom. Been dere, done dat.

  6. loose meat is the way to go with this! I have had the original and this copycat… the flavor of the original takes the prize!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *