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Category: Sandwiches & Lunch Dishes

Ultimate Steakhouse Burger

Ultimate Steakhouse Burger

Never EVER use frozen patties. Sure, bulk frozen patties have their place. Just not here.

Grind your own meat. I often use a combination of chuck and sirloin. I make sure the chuck has a nice portion of fat, nothing too lean. Fat is the secret ingredient to the magical concoction that is flavor. I’m (in that not at all sort of way) for being healthy, but a burger that is made of ground anything that is too lean is just not as juicy or flavorful as one that has a great speckling of fat mixed in.

If you are making big fat juicy burgers, don’t over pack your meat. Don’t use hard firm hands to mold your patties into dense hockey pucks, unless that is what you are going for. Use light fingers and a cupped palm for packing into a light and airy burger.

Pre-heat your grill, grill, skillet, broiler – whatever. Just pre-heat it. Do not plop cold burgers onto a cold cook surface and expect to get a beautiful work of art.

Some people may request well done. Ignore them.

Cheese is a must. It’s not really, but if you are coming to one of my barbecues, it is. I love a sharp cheddar and smooth mozzarella, but for a classic burger, I go all American.

Arrange for a toppings bar. I believe a good burger can be chewed on naked with nothing accompanying it, but a good rolls, fresh lettuce, onions, and slices of tomatoes can really take it up a notch.

For this particular burger, use 85 to 90% lean beef as you will be adding bacon fat into the mixture.

ultimate steakhouse burger

8 strips bacon
1-2 slices white sandwich bread, crusts removed and discarded, cut into 1/2 inch pieces.
1/4 C. milk
1 1/2 lb. ground beef
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
2 large garlic cloves, minced

Fry bacon in a large skillet over medium heat until crisp, about 8 minutes. Reserve 3 T. of bacon fat and place n a small bowl in refrigerator. Soak bread in milk in a bowl until saturated, about 5 minutes. Mash with a fork to a smooth paste like mixture. Break up beef into a medium bowl. Season with salt and pepper, add garlic, bread paste, and reserved bacon fat. Using your hands, gently knead meat mixture to incorporate ingredients. Divide meat into 4 equal portions and form into loose balls by passing back and forth between your hands. Then gently flatten into 3/4 inch thick patties. Open the bottom grill vents on a charcoal grill completely. Light large chimney starter filled with charcoal briquettes. When coals are hot, spread them evenly over bottom of grill. Set cooking grate in place, cover and heat frill until hot, about 5 minutes. Clean and oil cooking grate. Grill burgers, without pressing down on them, until well seared on both sides, 7 to 10 minutes. Serve, topped with bacon and other burger fixins if desired.

Chicken Salad Sliders

Chicken Salad Sliders

Chicken Salad Sliders

 

1 whole roasted chicken, meat removed

3 T. (18 g) lemon juice

1/2 cup (115 g) mayonnaise

1/4 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. black pepper

1 tsp. ground cumin

1/2 cup (60 g) finely chopped celery

(optional diced onions)

12 Hawaiian sweet rolls

 

Put the cooked chicken in a food processor and pulse a few times to roughly chop. Stir, then continue pulsing for another 15 to 30 seconds, until the chicken is finely chopped. (Note: If you turn on the food processor and let it go, your chicken will become a paste instead of finely chopped. So be sure to pulse the chicken for best results.) In a large bowl, combine the lemon juice, mayonnaise, salt, pepper, and cumin, and blend until thoroughly combined. Add the chicken to the mayo mixture, and fold with a spatula. Next, fold in the celery. Slice the rolls in half horizontally. Top each roll bottom half with a few T. of the chicken salad. Close with the top of the roll.

BLT Towers

BLT Towers

BLT Towers

 

Bread slices, cut in rounds (better if cut the same size as the tomatoes)

3 T. butter, melted

2 packages fresh Mozzarella cheese, cut in ½-inch slices

10 small tomatoes, ends cut off, sliced in ½-inch slices

1 large bunch bib lettuce, cut in rounds

6 slices maple-glazed bacon, fried crispy

 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Using a circular cookie cutter, press into bread slices and create crustless bread rounds. Brush the rounds with butter, and toast in oven for about 8 minutes or until crispy. Add Mozzarella to the bread round, then layer with tomato, lettuce, and bacon, making a tower. Repeat until all ingredients are used. Secure the towers with a toothpick if desired, and place on platter. Easy and colorful!

Healthy Chicken Salad Pinwheels

Healthy Chicken Salad Pinwheels

Healthy Chicken Salad Pinwheels

 

3 C. (420 g) coarsely cubed cooked chicken

1/2 C. (110 g) mayonnaise of choice

1 to 2 green onions, coarsely chopped

1/2 C. (60 g) pecans

1/2 C. (50 g) purple grapes

1/2 tsp. sea salt, or as needed

Black pepper, as needed

4 gluten-free tortilla wraps of choice (such as Food for Life brand brown rice tortillas or Sami’s Bakery Millet and Flax Lavash)

 

In a food processor or blender, combine the chicken, mayonnaise, green onions, pecans, grapes, sea salt, and black pepper. Pulse 5 to 7 times to combine the ingredients. You don’t want big chunks; the mixture needs to be spreadable. You can process the ingredients until they are completely smooth, or you can leave a chunkier texture for visual appeal. Spread a thin layer of the chicken salad on a tortilla wrap and, starting at one end, tightly roll the tortilla wrap all the way up. (If your tortilla wrap does not roll well without cracking, moisten it slightly and heat it up a bit in a warm skillet or in the microwave for 10 seconds to soften it.) Set the wrapped tortilla on a plate and continue this process with the rest of the chicken salad and tortilla wraps. Tightly cover the plate of chicken wraps with plastic wrap (or put the wraps in an airtight container), and transfer the plate to the refrigerator to chill and firm up for at least 30 minutes. You can do this the night before or 1 to 2 days in advance. After the wraps have chilled, use a serrated knife to cut the wraps into 1- to 2-inch (2.5- to 5-cm)-long pinwheels.

Compressed Italian Sandwich

Compressed Italian Sandwich

Compressed Italian Sandwich

 

1 Ciabatta loaf

3 T. Pesto Sauce

1/4 pound Turkey, sliced thin

1/4 pound Ham, sliced thin

1/4 pound Pepperoni, sliced thin

1/4 pound Provolone, Swiss or Havarti

1/2 C. Pepperoncini, Deli-sliced

3 Roasted red peppers, (or One 8-oz. Jar)

1 C. Fresh basil leaves

 

Slice the Ciabatta in half lengthwise. If your Ciabatta is thick, remove some of the bread from the center. Layer sliced deli meats and cheese followed by the pepperoncini and roasted peppers. Top with the basil leaves. Cover with top layer of Ciabatta. Place the entire loaf on a small cutting board and wrap with plastic wrap around the loaf and cutting board. Place two foil wrapped bricks or a cast iron pan on top of the wrapped loaf. This will weight down the sandwich and compress the ingredients together. Refrigerate at least 3 hours or overnight. Remove from the refrigerator. Cut away the plastic wrap and cut into individual sandwiches. (If the sandwich is going to be wrapped up longer than 24 hours, I add the basil right before I slice it, as it has a tendency to wilt.)