"21" Club Burger

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup butter (1 stick) at room temperature
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh basil
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh thyme
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh parsley
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 24 slices ripe red tomato
• 16 thin slices red onion
• 1 1/2 cups olive oil
• 1 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 6 pounds fresh chuck
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 16 1/2-inch-thick slices Italian country-style bread
• toasted
• 1/2 cup olive oil

Instructions

1. For the herb butter, place the butter, basil, thyme, parsley, salt and pepper in a food processor and pulse until smooth.
2. Place it on plastic wrap, and loosely fold the wrap over.
3. Roll it into a log and freeze.
4. For the salad, combine the tomatoes, onion, olive oil and lemon juice in a nonreactive bowl.
5. For the hamburgers, remove the butter from the plastic wrap and cut into 8 cylinders.
6. Divide the meat into 8 equal balls.
7. With each ball, make an indentation with your thumb, press a butter cylinder in and close the meat over the butter.
8. Shape each ball into a 1-inch-thick patty, and sprinkle with salt and pepper on both sides.
9. Grill, broil or fry the patties in a preheated cast-iron skillet for 4 minutes per side over medium-low heat for medium rare.
10. Brush the toast with the olive oil and grill under a broiler until both sides are golden.
11. Center each hamburger on 2 slices of the toast, top with the salad garnish and eat with a knife and fork.