Bacon & Cheese Herb Burgers

So last night Heather and I tried a new tool out, the Williams & Sonoma “Stuffed” Burger Press. I’d give it a 6/10 for performance but for $18 who can complain? The point is though, that it did what it was supposed to do and that was, to produce an amazing burger filled with yummy goodness inside.

For incredibly tasting backyard sliders, try this recipe out:

• 500 grams of premium ground beef
• 1/2 cup breadcrumbs
• 1 egg
• 2 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1 tbsp fresh parsley (finely chopped)
• 1 tbsp fresh thyme (finely chopped)
• 1 tbsp fresh rosemary (finely chopped)
• 1 tbsp fresh oregano (finely chopped)
• 1 tbsp fresh chives (finely chopped)
• 1 tbsp of your favorite rub – for these bad boys I used Meathead’s Rendezvous Rub
• 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 4 rashes of back bacon (fried up nice a crispy like)
• 1/2 cup of grated Old Amsterdam cheese (from Amsterdam of course!)

In a large mixing bowl, combine all of the ingredients above, save for the bacon and cheese, that you’ll do just before you grill. Once the mince is combined with all the ingredients, let it rest in the fridge in a zip top bag for about thirty minutes.

When ready, pull out your mince and get your press ready, that is, grease it a bit with some olive oil. This ensures the patties come out nicely instead of a sticky mess (which was exactly what happened with our first attempt!) Add enough meat into each of the halves, then to each side, press the “well maker” which makes a nifty little nook for the inside goodness. Fill that with a bit of bacon and a bit of cheese and crimp the press together. Voila. Pat the patties together a bit more (this is where the press kind of fails) but if you don’t mind this step, you’ll save yourself your burgers falling apart.

I grilled the burgers for 2.5 minutes per side at 400 degrees F and then let them rest for another 2 minutes. The result? Big smiles all the way around. Also, in an attempt to lower our carb intake, we used two lettuce leaves instead of buns and it all turned out wonderfully well. Check out the photos below!

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Overall Heather Rating: 9/10

Live from Toronto on a Gas Grill

So we just returned from a two week holiday with our family in Toronto, ON. As part of the lodging deal I had to grill a few nights to make up for our stay. I promised my big brother Mark I’d write him a special blog entry customised for his Weber gas grill. Now, I’m no expert in these gas grill matters but I did give it a good go and I think if you follow these directions on your gas grill, you’ll pull off some seriously good steaks.

Step 1 always starts with selecting your meat. We chanced upon some excellent ribeye at Costco – which I’d never get the chance to do here in Singapore but in Canada, it’s an inexpensive way to feed a large family. The quality is good enough and the prep of the steaks adds to the flavour of any steak. Having said this, always go with the ribeye cut – they don’t call it the king of steaks for nothing. Cut your ribeye steaks to an inch and a half thickness.

Step 2 is a dry brine – about 1 hour before you’re ready to grill, liberally coat both sides of your steaks with Kosher salt. Not sea salt, not table salt but Kosher salt. If you use the others, you’ll over-salt the steaks and ruin them for sure! Once coated, throw the steaks back in the fridge.

Step 3 calls for setting up your gas grill. At the same time, pull out your steaks from the fridge and cover them with a paper towel. Let them get to as close to room temp as possible. Set up your grill for indirect heat. What that means is if you have four burners like my brother does, heat up the far right burner and stabilise the internal temperature at about 225 to 250 degrees F. If you have a smoker adaptor, plonk that on top of the burner and get the smoke going.

Step 4 – place your steaks on the other side of the grid away from the burner thats on. Close the lid and let the temp stabilise again at 225-250 degrees F. Leave the steaks on for 15 minutes then flip them. In total this step should take no more than 30 minutes – I went 40 and although the steaks were delicious, they came out medium instead of medium rare.

Step 5 – take your steaks off and put them on a platter and liberally coat them with clarified butter (or regular butter if you can’t be asked) – At the same time, crank up all four burners and get that grill up to maximum temperatures!

Step 6 – with the lid open place your steaks back on the scorching grid and let them caramelize! Basically you’re doing the reverse sear method that produces a wonderful crispy outside with a juicy inside. Keep flipping your steaks until you’ve reached a nice dark brown crust on both sides of the steak surface. This should take about 5 minutes.

Step 7 is very important. Get your steaks off the grid and cover them in some aluminum (aluminium) foil and let them rest for 5 to 7 minutes.  Now get your plates ready and any sides you wish to serve and you’re good to go.

Save any and all cuts that aren’t eaten that night and use them up for steak and eggs – on our last morning with my family, Mark made us a wonderful breakfast with all the left over trimmings! Delicious the next morning.

So, in all I’m used to this method on the Big Green Egg and way more comfortable that way but I must say, the challenge on a gas grill was worth the sweat – thanks again Mark, Christine and the kids for making our stay so memorable!  Hope you replicate this recipe and blow the minds of your guests during the short BBQ season that Canada has to offer!

Cheers!

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PS – sorry for the delay in getting another entry out. We’ve been so busy lately that I just haven’t had the time to write. The grilling continues the writing was in a bit of a rut!