Before Burger Night at McCall Wines became a coveted North Fork summer reservation, Russ McCall had a simpler problem.

He had too much ground beef.

“When we first had a few cows, we could sell the steaks, but we couldn’t sell the ground beef,” McCall recalled Thursday evening at his Cutchogue vineyard.

So he pulled out a Weber grill.

“I’d start on a Sunday,” he said. “I’d usually give them away.”

People liked what came off the grill. McCall began charging $5 or $10, and before long he was cooking 40 or 50 burgers at a time. That backyard experiment eventually grew into McCall’s Burger Night, held from 4 to 8 p.m. Thursdays and Fridays from May through Columbus Day — and now popular enough that reservations can be hard to come by.

Kathy Williams learned that when she first tried to visit. Williams, a retired Southold High School business education teacher who now works as a college counselor, had heard she had to try Burger Night.

“So I came here. I called, and they were like, ‘It’s sold out,’” Williams recalled. She snagged a reservation for the following Friday and came for the first time about a month ago. When friends recently suggested getting together, Williams knew where to take them.

“It was the most amazing, simple burger and fries, and it was wonderful,” she said, adding: “Best rosé ever.”

The burgers are made from McCall-raised cattle — a Wagyu-Charolais cross — and USDA organic beef. Cooked medium to medium rare, they are served with or without Vermont cheddar, along with fries, a pickle and chocolate chip cookies. Guests can pair dinner with whichever McCall wine catches their fancy. The rustic setting is part of the attraction.

“It’s a farm here in the country,” McCall said, describing the simple pleasure of sitting outside at a picnic table.

As Burger Night grew, McCall enlisted acclaimed pastry chef Claudia Fleming, who opened nearby North Fork Table & Inn in 2006, to handle the cooking from her food truck.

“I’ll sell you the meat wholesale if you’ll come and cook it,” McCall recalled telling her.

For about six or seven years, he said, Fleming did just that.

“They did a super job, and we built this business,” McCall said. “Claudia did.”

These days, the Thursday and Friday ritual continues under the watch of McCall general manager and winemaker Miguel Martin, who oversees, among other things, the considerable task of getting people seated.

‘Genius’

On Thursday night, the Sun spoke with first-time guest Sandi Fellman, a Mattituck resident who has lived on the North Fork for 26 years.

Her assessment of the burger required only one word.

“Genius.”

The Thursday-and-Friday ritual continues through Columbus Day, when the shortening days bring the outdoor dinners to an end.

“It gets dark early,” McCall said. “We don’t have enough lights to really do it beyond then.”

Burger Night will continue every Thursday and Friday through Columbus Day, when the early darkness finally forces McCall to shut down the grill for another season.

By then, he said, Martin – the general manager –  is ready for a break.

“He’s glad when it’s over,” McCall said, “but then he’s glad when it starts again.”