Turkey burgers are rarely good in my experience, but this take on a Bobby Flay recipe was pretty killer. Everything is done on the grill of course, and the flavors in the grilled onion relish add a solid punch to the indulgent meltiness of the emmanthaler cheese and grilled rye bread both soaked in suprisingly yummy turkey burger juices. Read on for the recipe! 

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While I had the smoker going for a chuck roast and ground beef loaf (to make smoked beef chili... more on that soon here), I thought I'd smoke up a hamburger. The results were outstanding! I simply made a beef patty (with thumbprint of course) and dusted with some salt and pepper. I smoked it at 220-250 degrees for about an hour on my smokey mountain (hickory wood chunks in there). I then brought it inside, melted some american cheese on it (low brow!) in the toaster oven, and served on a basic hamburger bun with a slice of fresh brandywine tomato. So, so, so good. Very smokey and wonderfully meaty. Here are a few shots of the process:

This is one intense burger.

I figure Bobby Flay is perhaps the best celebrity chef matchup for me (big flavors, lots of combinations, grilling fanatic, etc), so I'm working my way through one of his grilling cookbooks to see what I can learn. The burger itself is a straight up beef burger with melted jack cheese, but the intensity comes from the toppings. I made one modification to his recipe by making these "slider" sized... good choice I must say! So here's what I did (recipe is at the bottom):

We picked up some Hawthorne Valley Farms ground beef, and its some of the best burger-making beef we've had. It has a substantial fat content, and makes for a very juicy burger - even for these small-ish sliders. I made 6 sliders out of a pound of beef, brushed them with canola oil and then cracked some black pepper and rubbed in some kosher salt. Even for a small slider I kept to my trusted "thumbprint in the middle" approach:

After making the patties I got a chimney of charcoal started and then proceeded to make Flay's avocado relish, which is oddly almost exactly what i use to make guacamole - avocado, lime, jalapeno, red onion, cilantro, and salt:

Next up was a chipotle salsa made up of plum tomatoes, red onion, red wine vinegar, honey (i need to use honey more often... so, so, so good), chipotle peppers, cilantro, canola oil, and salt:
This is when I realized i should be having a margarita. So i mixed up some lime juice, cointreau, tequila, and my brother-in-law Bert's secret ingredient - a slice of jalapeno. Damn fine:
While enjoying my drink I grilled up the sliders on a cleaned and oiled grate over very hot coals for about 3 minutes per side. I then topped each burger with a healthy slice of jack cheese, and let it melt with the grill lid closed for about a minute. Total cooking time was under 8 minutes. When i pulled them off the grill this is what i had: Meanwhile, i was cooking up some par-baked whole wheat rolls from fresh direct. These things are so amazingly awesome. This winter i hope to perfect roll-making (too hot in the summer to be making and eating mass amounts of bread), but until that time I'll gladly eat up these FD rolls... totally amazing: I then placed a burger on a roll bottom, topped it with the avocado relish, the salsa, and some crushed blue-corn tortilla chips (these are called "nacho burgers" after all)... here's the layering process: The flavors in this burger are super intense. Each one on its own would be killer, but all together its really an experience. The burger meat itself is totally overshadowed by all the condiments, but I was really happy with the Hawthorne meat even though I can only say that because I took a bite of it solo! The avocado relish was nicely sharp, the salsa was incredibly smokey which i loved (turns out I used about 4x the chipotle that Flay suggested), and the blue corn chips added a nice crunch to each bite. Here are a few shots of the final burgers: 

While we were devouring these, I mentioned to Lori (my incredibly patient and previously starving wife) that I thought this meal should actually BE nachos.... i could envision a big plate of blue corn chips topped with grilled ground beef, melted jack, and the salsa and avocado relish. Not a bad idea really... and we do need a meal for family dinner night next week. What child can say no to a nacho dinner?  

Flay's recipe for the guacamole avocado relish and salsa follow, along with my approach to the burgers and a margarita for the chef: 

Avocado Relish: combine these ingredients in a bowl, mix very well:

• 2 ripe Hass avocados, peeled, pitted, and coarsely chopped
• 2 tablespoons red onion, finely chopped
• 1 jalapeno, finely chopped (save a slice for your margarita)
• Juice of 1 lime
• 2 tablespoons cilantro, finely chopped
• Kosher salt to taste

Chipotle Salsa: combine these ingredients in a bowl, mix very well:

• 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 2 teaspoons honey
• 1 tablespoon canola oil
• 2 tablespoons pureed chipotle pepers in adobo sauce (turns out Flay only said to use 2 teaspoons, but i though it was great with 2 tablespoons)
• 3 plum tomatoes, finely chopped
• 3 tablespoons red onion, finely chopped
• 2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, finely chopped 
• Kosher salt to taste

Burgers:

• 1 lb 80% "lean" ground beef
• 1 tablespoon canola oil
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt 
• 1 teaspoon fresh cracked black pepper
• 6 Slider-sized slices of jack cheese
• 1/2 cup crushed blue corn tortilla chips 
• 6 Slider-sized rolls (i recommend Fresh Direct's whole wheat rolls if you're in NYC)

Process: 

• Get a grill piping-hot-ready with cleaned and oiled grates
• Meanwhile, shape the beef into 6 equal sized patties about an inch thick
• Brush both sides of the patties with the canola oil, and rub in the black pepper and kosher salt
• Place a large indent with your thumb in the middle of each patty to accomodate the burger "puffing" up in the middle during cooking
• Place burgers on the hottest part of the grill and cook uncovered for 3 minutes
• Flip each burger, and cook for another 3 minutes, uncovered
• Top each burger with a slice of the jack cheese, cover the grill and cook for 1 minute
• Remove, and let burgers rest for 5 minutes before serving (burgers will be medium rare, bordering on medium)
• Put a burger on a roll bottom, top with a scoop of avocado relish, salsa, crushed tortilla chips, and the roll top
• Serve with a simple side salad (i used a tablespoon of the salsa plus another tablespoon of red wine vinegar for a dressing), and a big bowl of tortilla chips to scoop up the rest of the relish and salsa... you'll have a good amount of both condiments left after assembling the burgers. 

Oh, and the Margarita!: combine these ingredients in a glass with crushed ice: 

• Juice of 1 lime
• 2 shots tequila
• 1/2 shot cointreau (use a full shot if you like things sweet, or your tequila cost 10 bucks)
• 1 thin slice of jalapeno

I'm on a crazy burger kick the past month.... and last night was time for another. I was meeting Rob from Pigasso Farms at the Chatham Co-op Farmer's market to pick up a few pork shoulder's for Jack's b-day celebration next weekend, and while chatting with Rob decided to pick up a pound of his ground beef. A quick soak in water for a couple hours and we had thawed meat ready for the grill. I decided to prepare them with my standard oregano and worcestershire combo, and then remembered i had some bacon in the fridge from that mac and cheese. So, i decided to grill up the bacon in a foil "pan" on the grill:

Then I figured a burger with mushrooms and onions would be good, so i grilled up four cremini's and a small red onion for about 10 minutes over the hot fire. After I took the bacon off the foil, i was thinking it's a shame to waste that bacon grease.... so decided to toss the veggies into the grease: I let them steam (closed it up) for 5-10 more minutes, and then chopped 'em up inside and added fresh ground pepper and salt: Sooooooo flavorful. Really great stuff! While all that was going on, i was grilling the burgers. I was lazy and didn't clean or oil the grates. Mistake! Peoples, this is what happens when you don't get that grate all cleaned up: Taste wasn't harmed by my laziness, but i get an insane satisfaction from how my meals look, so this gaffe was definitely a downer. Regardless, I served these plain at the table so we could each make our own burger combo. I went with bacon, mushrooms/onion, tomato, lettuce, ketchup, and mayo. And it was terrific:

The Pigasso ground beef was great. I meant to ask what the fat content was, I'd guess its relatively lean. This was not a super juicy burger, but it was incredibly tasty. We split the third burger for lunch the next day, and even cold this burger packed some great beefy flavor. Really good stuff, and not too pricey at $5 a pound. 

 

 

Lori bought me a Bobby Flay grilling book last December, and with us finally full swing into grilling season I decided to jump right in. We wanted burgers, and Flay has about 10 in this book. I picked the first one up, Green Chili Burgers. Its just a beef burger and melted provolone, topped with the key flavor burst of a green chili sauce and a cool slice of tomato. This was a hell of a burger. Here's what i did: 

First up was to grill-roast 2 poblano peppers and a red onion:

I coated them in olive oil and fresh black pepper, then grilled those over a hot fire for about 10 minutes. I then wrapped them up in foil so they could steam a bit, removed the skin on the poblanos, cored and seeded them, and then pureed everything with 1/4 cup water, 2 garlic cloves, 2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, and 1 tablespoon of honey. 

While that was going on i grilled up some burgers, and melted provolone on top. I grilled these for a total of 9 minutes, and used 80% not-at-all-lean beef. That beef was key to these burger's success... really juicy. It didn't have the killer beef flavor of some of the better beef we've been getting, but the juiciness was outrageous. Here they are just off the grill:

I let the burgers rest for about 5 minutes. And then I simply tossed a burger on a grill-toasted brioche bun, spread about a tablespoon of the green chili sauce on top and added a couple slices of tomato: Our poblano's were very hot... much hotter than a typical one so the sauce was really kickin'. But i LOVED it. The honey is totally key. It added something... but you really couldn't tell what it was. It was amazing paired with this burger. I dipped each bite in the green chili sauce and then ketchup. Amazing.