Wednesday, May 25, 2016

Filthy Burger

It is almost Memorial Day weekend...So I had to come correct with a Burger Recipe...How bout a Filthy Burger?

This man-sized monster is three times the meatiness. You heard us: meat, meat and more meat. Gather your most carnivorous cronies and get your hands dirty!

 It's BEEF, BARBECUE PULLED PORK, and BACON  ON A BURGER!

INGREDIENTS:

  • ½ pound of bacon, cooked until crisp through, drained and crumbled
  • 2 cups fully cooked barbecue pulled pork roughly chopped with a knife
  • 1½ pounds ground chuck
  • kosher salt
For serving:
  • Toasted burger buns
  • tender lettuce (like mixed spring greens or butter lettuce)
  • slices of pepperjack or Monterey jack cheese or deli American
  • barbecue sauce
DIRECTIONS:
  1. Using clean hands, mix together the ground chuck, pulled pork, and bacon until everything is evenly distributed.
  2. For the most uniform burgers, line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Add 5 ounces of the meat mixture to a ring mold and gently press it into the edges of the mold forming a uniformly thick burger patty. Gently pull the ring mold straight up and tap down any edges that come up with it. Replace the ring mold on the parchment next to the burger and form another until all the meat mixture has been pressed into patties. Don't despair if you have a little meat that doesn't make a full burger. That can be your test patty and cook's tax. Eat that bad boy!
  3. Place the tray with the burgers in the refrigerator while you preheat the grill to MEDIUM HIGH heat. After cleaning the hot grill, gently place the burgers over direct heat and sprinkle with kosher salt. Keep a spray bottle of water handy for flare-ups. Do not move the burgers once you've placed them on the grill until the brown (cooked) area goes at least halfway up the burger and you can easily slide your spatula under them, about 4 minutes. If there are flames flaring up because of fat from the burger, give them a little spritz with water. That should help long enough to cook the burger to the point where it will turn more easily. Flip the burgers carefully and continue grilling over MEDIUM HIGH heat until there are grill marks on the underside of the burger. Transfer the burgers over to one side of the grill and shut off the burners immediately under the burgers, turning the remaining burners onto MEDIUM LOW heat. This means your burgers will finish over indirect heat. When the interior temperature of the beef is 5°F below the point you like it (RARE: 125-130°F. MEDIUM: 140-150. WELL: 160-212°F.), lay the slices of pepperjack cheese or deli American on the burgers and use a spatula to immediately transfer them to a sided tray. Let them rest, lightly tented with foil, until the cheese is melted. Serve on top of tender greens on a toasted bun with as much barbecue sauce as you fancy!
Get those grills out and get to grillin folks! Enjoy!

Friday, May 6, 2016

Chipotle Orange Chicken Legs

Hey Guys...First of the month and I'm back with yet another chicken recipe...This sweet-and-spicy Asian-inspired dish is an impressive meal, but takes less than an hour! Serve with coleslaw for an easy summer side dish...

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup fresh orange juice, divided
5 tablespoons soy sauce, divided
3 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons olive oil
6 garlic cloves, pressed
1 tablespoon orange zest
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon ground chipotle chile pepper
2 pounds chicken drumsticks (about 8 drumsticks)
2 teaspoons brown sugar
2 teaspoons cornstarch
DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat grill to 350° to 400° (medium-high) heat. Combine 1/4 cup orange juice, 3 Tbsp. soy sauce, 3 Tbsp. brown sugar, and next 5 ingredients in a shallow dish or large zip-top plastic freezer bag; add chicken. Cover or seal, and chill 10 minutes. Remove chicken from marinade, discarding marinade.

2. Grill chicken, covered with grill lid, 10 to 12 minutes on each side or until done. Remove from grill; cover with aluminum foil, and let stand 10 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, whisk together 2 tsp. brown sugar, remaining 3/4 cup orange juice, and 2 Tbsp. soy sauce in a small saucepan. Whisk together cornstarch and 2 tsp. water, and whisk into orange juice mixture. Bring mixture to a boil over medium heat, and cook, whisking constantly, 1 minute or until thickened. Brush sauce over chicken.


Enjoy with a cold beer!
 Eat and drink well my friends!