Taking Burgers to the Next Level

Have your grilled burgers lost the thrill? There are many ways to get that extra kick for burger night. Many have made Juicy Lucys (cheese stuffed inside the burger) and of course there was an Internet sensation about a year ago with beer can burgers (will blog about this in another post).

Since some of the kids and grandsons were coming to visit on a Sunday afternoon, I was looking for a simple way to improve my burgers. I had read about combining pork and beef, so I bought 2# of ground chuck (80/20) along with 2# of ground pork and mixed these together. I was careful to break up all the clumps of beef and pork, kneading it until it was thoroughly mixed. A local butcher may be able to grind these together, which might be even better.

I then shaped them into 5-6 ounce patties and seasoned on both sides with Cluck and Squeal’s Beef Specific.  Tip: Make a large dimple in the middle of the patty to allow for contraction of the meat while cooking. This will help produce a flatter patty instead of it trying to form a ball.
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I got my BGE to 400* dome temp and inverted my Grill Grates (Amazon-Grill Grates for large BGE) so the flat side was up, creating a griddle-like surface. The burgers were cooked for 4 minutes on one side, then flipped. After about 3-4 more minutes, they were 150-160* internal. I added some slices of cheddar cheese and removed them when the cheese was melted.

There was not a lot of excess fat generated from the chuck/pork combination and the griddle gave them a great ‘crust’. (I also grilled a few all-beef dogs for the kiddos).
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The burgers were juicy and very flavorful; I was surprised I could not taste the pork at all.

No carb for us – “dressed” and served with oven-roasted rutabaga fries.

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Enjoy,
Misippi Egger
(Clark Ethridge)

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Makes 6 burgers

Ingredients:
1 lb ground chuck (80/20 or better)
1 lb ground pork
Beef rub of choice
Salt and Pepper to taste

Instructions:
(1) In a large bowl, mix the beef and pork, taking time to break up any clumps and making sure it is mixed together thoroughly.
(2) Make 6 patties, pressing down in the middle to create a dimple. Season with beef rub, salt and pepper, or seasonings of choice.
(3) Grill over a 400-450* fire, flipping after about 4 minutes. After another 4 minutes, check internal temp. When they reach 150-160* add any cheese. Remove when cheese melts or about 165* internal temp.

Slow-smoked Chickens on a BGE

You know how good the smoked pulled chicken is in a BBQ joint or how tender the rotisserie chickens are at the local grocery store? I have been unsuccessful in achieving these kinds of results when roasting chickens on my BGE. I’m not saying I don’t roast great chickens, just not easily pulled or “fall apart tender”. So I bought 4 whole chickens at the grocery store and started developing a plan…….

I wanted to cook them low & slow to get a good smoked flavor in addition to making them very tender. My plan was also to place roasted chickens in the freezer for future meals. At 300-350*, most whole chickens are usually done in 45-60 minutes, but I wanted to cook these at 180* or so for a longer time.

To be able to cook all four, I used the chickens (still in their packaging) to help determine the fit on the Egg and I came up with a plan using products from the The Ceramic Grill Store. After loading the large Egg with lump and apple chunks plus apple and cherry chips, I placed a ‘spider‘ on the fire ring. On that (about 2″ below the fire ring), I placed a 13″ BGE pizza stone as my indirect piece. I then put a rectangular, foiled drip pan on a ‘slide guide’ on the bottom level of the ‘Adjustable Rig (AR)‘, with an oval grid on a slide guide just above the drip pan. The ‘rig extender‘ fit on top of the AR with the second oval grid on that.
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While the Egg was coming up to temp, I put 4 different rubs on the chickens – Rebel Rub (local), Cluck and Squeal’s All Purpose rub, Dizzy Pig’s Shaking the Tree rub, and Gunpowder (a new rub I got in a “swap” with a neighbor who reads this blog). The chickens were placed on the BGE, after it had been stabilized by my DigiQ controller at about 180*(with the stone, drip pan and grids inside).

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I ran into issues when my controller would not maintain the 180* grid temp, where it was set. I suspect this was related to the need to replace my ‘leaky’ gaskets. The grid temp crept up to 240-260* despite almost completely closing the top vents. After about 2 hours (chicken internal temp at about 140*), I turned off the DigiQ, barely cracked open the daisy wheel and left it alone for about 2 more hours. The grid temp drifted down to 210*, so I turned it back on and it stayed in the 210-225* range for the balance of the cook. When the thigh temp reached 180*, I removed all four chickens – a total cook time of 8 hours.

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The ones in the picture below were on the top rack and the skin got a little more crispy than the bottom rack (note to self – rotate the racks at least once in the future so all four get exposure to the heat coming off the dome onto the top rack).
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Bottom rack – the left one had the “Gunpowder” rub (which ‘looks’ like gunpowder).
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After resting on a cooling rack, then spending the night in the refrigerator, I cut them into halves, vacuum-sealed and froze for future meals. We did eat the first one, which happened to be the “Rebel Rub” one, and it was tender, juicy and flavorful. They all had a prominent (not overbearing) smoky aroma! Success!

This is a great way to cook several meals in one smoke session, if one has the accessories to create a multilevel cook. This can also be done with fire bricks separating the two grids or with other brands of multilevel grids.

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Enjoy,
Misippi Egger
(Clark Ethridge)

Serves 2

Ingredients:
1-4 whole chickens (4-5# each)
Olive Oil
Rub of choice

Instructions:
(1) Remove the neck and other parts from inside the chicken cavity and rinse well.
(2) Drizzle olive oil on the outside of the chicken and spread around to cover all areas to help the rub stick.
(3) Liberally cover the outside of the chicken with the rub, as well as inside the cavity.
(4) Prepare the grill for a 180-200* indirect cook with a drip pan to catch the considerable fat that will be rendered. Use large amount of fruit wood chunks and/or chips (cherry or maple will help enhance the skin coloring).
(5) Roast slowly until the internal temperature of the thigh reaches 180-200*. Remove and serve immediately or allow to cool before cutting up 

Wet-aged steaks

What is wet aging of steaks and why should one consider it?

Wet-aging is the process of keeping a steak (or a large cut like a whole tenderloin, whole rib roast, or 3-4 bone prime rib) for a specified time period in a critically temperature-controlled environment. Enzymes in the meat will tenderize it gradually over the time period. At that point the meat can be cooked or frozen for later use.

As an experiment, I had purchased 4 one-pound ribeyes from Sam’s Club on Jan. 4, 2016. I cooked one, then individually vacuum-sealed the other three. I cooked one more after 4 weeks, then one after 8 weeks and the last one tonight – a total of 14 weeks. My goal was to determine the ideal time for wet-aging a 1-1.25# ribeye to improve the tenderness, without allowing the meat to get over-tender (a mushy texture). I was concerned that 12+ weeks might be too long.

Results: We noticed a progressive increase in tenderness between all the ribeyes, and were pleasantly surprised tonight to find the 14-week steak was extremely tender, yet maintained an acceptable texture.

Note the most important food safety requirement for wet-aging meat is the ability to control the temperature in the environment (refrigerator). I use an outdoor fridge that is rarely opened. I keep a refrigerator thermometer (Kroger) on the shelf with the meat and strive for 32-34* at all times. I check every couple of days and ‘bump’ the temperature controller up or down as needed. I also keep some bottled water on the shelf to observe for any ice formation. I recommend vacuum-sealing the meat and not leaving it in the store’s sealed container than might contain bacteria. For large cuts (tenderloin, rib roast, etc) it is ok to leave it in the original thick, vacuum-sealed cryovac, as long as it has remained sealed tightly.

(In another post I will discuss dry-aging and the combination of wet and dry aging).

If one is interested in improving the tenderness of store-bought steaks, I can recommend 14 weeks as the optimum time for wet-aged ribeyes that are about 1-1.5 inches thick, following the food safety notes above.

The steak from tonight is pictured, plated with rutabaga fries and oven-roasted zucchini slices, plus a salad of cucumbers and cherry tomatoes (recipe below).

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Enjoy,
Misippi Egger
(Clark Ethridge)

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Serves 2

Ingredients:
1-1/4#  wet-aged ribeye steak
Cluck and Squeal Beef Specific rub (or favorite seasoning)

Instructions:
(1) Prepare the grill for a hot, direct cook.
(2) Season and allow the steak to come to room temperature (45-60 minutes)
(3) Grill 3-4 minutes on each side until it reaches your preferred doneness – internal temp of 125* (medium rare) or 130* (medium).
(4) Cover and rest for 5-8 minutes before serving.

Hanger Steak

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I finally carried my new MiniMax (MM) Egg to Oxford this weekend. It will replace a small egg that will come home to Madison.  For the inaugural cook on the MM, I thawed out a hanger steak we had purchased at The Farmer’s Market in Oxford. They sell beef and pork that is processed at Stan’s on highway 6 near Batesville. The pork is locally raised and the beef is aged Angus.

Hanger steak? What is that?  Actually it comes from the part of the diaphragm that is closest to the spine and tenderloin. The outer, tougher part of the diaphragm is called the skirt steak. Hanger steaks are difficult to get unless using a custom butcher, but they are one of the most tender cuts from the cow (3rd most tender, I believe) and have lots of beef flavor.

I seasoned this steak with Cluck and Squeal’s “Beef Specific” rub and let it come to room temperature on the counter for about an hour.

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I prepared the MiniMax for a direct cook at 500*.

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Since this was the inaugural cook, one can appreciate the new, white ceramics that will soon become nice and seasoned.

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The steak was flipped after about 3 minutes, then removed when the internal temperature was 130*.

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It was rested for 5 minutes, while the asparagus finished roasting in the oven, then plated with the asparagus.

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Enjoy,
Misippi Egger
(Clark Ethridge)

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Serves 2

Ingredients
Hanger steak (3/4 to 1 pound)
Cluck and Squeal Beef Specific Rub (or preferred steak rub)

Instructions
(1) Liberally apply the rub to both sides of the steak, patting it in. Let it rest on the counter for 45 minutes to an hour to come to room temperature.
(2) Prepare the Egg (grill) for a hot (450-500*) direct cook.
(3) Grill for 2-3 minutes on each side and remove when internal temperature reaches 125* (medium rare), 130* (medium), or your desired doneness. Cover with foil and rest for 5-8 minutes.
(4) Important! Slice against the grain for the most tender results.

Smoked Brisket (a tutorial)

“The Quest for the Perfect Brisket”

In the 10+ years I have been seriously cooking on my BGE, I have always been intimidated by the thought of cooking a brisket. As a KCBS-certified competition judge, I have sampled some very good brisket and also some really terrible brisket! That being said, I did my first brisket flat almost a year ago and was pleased with the results. A  couple of weeks ago, I decided to take my try at a full packer on my BGE. After watching a few Aaron Franklin’s videos (Brisket prep / 3 ways to cook brisket) and consulting with some experienced brisket-cooking friends I came up with a game plan.

Of course since most plans can be thrown a curve ball, my plan to wrap with butcher paper fell apart as I could find no store (or butcher) with actual butcher paper! Thus Plan B became a “naked” cook – no wrap at all – just hours and hours over a low temp fire.

Preparation of the Egg:
Before any low and slow cook, I first remove and save the used lump from the fire box (a plastic shoebox works great for this).
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It had been a while since I cleaned out behind my fire box, so I removed the fire ring and fire box and as one can see, a considerable about of ash and lump pieces needed to be cleaned out. The second picture is with everything cleaned out, reassembled and ready to build the fire.
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Building a fire for a long cook:
Whether it be for a Boston butt or a brisket cook, one of the important factors in maintaining a steady fire is good airflow throughout the entire cook. One can just dump in lots of lump and usually ‘get away’ with it, but I learned years ago to carefully build a fire starting with large pieces of lump and stacking with gradually smaller pieces. I also intersperse large chunks of dry wood throughout the entire ‘column’ of lump. For this cook I used a mixture of hickory and pecan chunks. I also used a dense lump (Wicked Good’s Weekend Warrior blend) with is difficult to find locally. It burns very slowly, but being difficult to light, I add the easier-lighting used Royal Oak lump on top. Pictures show the progression of building the fire.
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(Since I planned to use a pizza stone as my indirect piece, located slightly above the fire ring, I wasn’t concerned with the platesetter being too close to my lump).

Grid setup:
I used many components acquired from the Ceramic Grill Store to construct my grid setup. I started with the Adjustable Rig (AR), added a slider to the bottom level and placed an oval ceramic stone on the slider rack. I positioned 4 spacers (1/2″ copper pipe angles) on the stone, then a foil-lined rectangular drip pan. The original BGE grid sits on top of the AR.
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I lit a small fire in the center, in the used lump with the bottom vent wide open and nothing on the top of the dome. I placed the adjustable rig and all components (as above) in and allowed it all to heat up. As the temperature approached 200*, I added my BBQ Guru DigiQ II power controller, placed a pit temperature probe at the grid level and set the desired temperature to 230*.

Meat Prep:
I trimmed the brisket of a large amount of the fat (I probably was a little aggressive for my first time and will likely leave a on little more fat next time). Aaron Franklin’s recipe calls for a 50/50 mixture of Kosher salt and freshly coarse-ground black pepper as the only seasonings. It works best to put this mixture in a jar as it constantly needs stirring around to keep the salt from settling to the bottom. An even distribution on all surfaces is all that’s needed.
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The cook:
The seasoned meat rested on the counter for 45-60 minutes while I let the  BGE, all the components, and the ceramics stabilize. Getting everything uniformly heated helps keep the Egg temperature from dropping too much when a large mass of cold meat is added. In the picture, one can see meat and pit probes from both the DigiQ as well as a Maverick E-732 wireless remote, which has alarms set to alert me during the night if anything gets outside the parameters I set.
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Around midnight (6 hr into the cook), the meat was at 154*. I woke to my clock alarm at 3 am, checked the Maverick remote at the bedside – 175*. The clock alarmed again at 6am (I’m just a little worried with overnight cooks) and it was at 192*. The DigiQ kept the grid temp at a solid 230* for the entire cook! At 6 am, the brisket wasn’t tender to probing, so I continued until it registered 201*. I wasn’t completely happy with the “probe test” as it didn’t feel like it was passing through butter, but decided it was done enough, especially since it was going to be 6 hours until lunch.
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I wrapped the brisket with 2 layers of foil, placed in dish and then into a pre-heated cooler with thick towels under and over it. I left it like this until time to slice and serve (6+ hours).
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Final results:
I sliced the flat against the grain. The “judge’s” take: tenderness (draped over a knife and ‘pull test’) was excellent; the flavor was great. My only criticism was that it was a little dry, even for brisket. I got several “best brisket I’ve ever had” comments, so I think it was a winner.
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Final note: Below is a picture taken shortly after the brisket was removed from my large Egg – note how much lump remained after an over 14 hour burn!
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Enjoy,

Misippi Egger
(Clark Ethridge)
PS – Brisket #2 is already in the planning stages…….I think I will wrap with butcher paper on the next one……..

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Ingredients:
1 packer (whole) brisket (Choice or Select grade – Prime, if one can find & afford it)
1/2 cup Kosher salt
1/2 cup coarsely ground black pepper

Instructions:
(1) Prep the smoker for a long (12-18 hr) cook with wood chunks (fruit wood plus some hickory, if desired). A drip pan is needed as lots of fat is rendered. Water is not necessary in a ceramic smoker, but is a good idea in other types of smokers.
(2) Trim most of the fat from the brisket, then season liberally with the salt & pepper mixture (keep shaking the container to keep the S&P mixed well).
(3) Smoke until internal temperature reaches about 195*, then check for tenderness by probing the flat with an icepick, a toothpick or a temperature probe. Desired doneness will be when the probe passes in and out of the flat like soft butter. Continue cooking and checking until the desired tenderness is reached.
(4) Wrap in 2 layers of aluminum foil, place in a pan or dish (in case of leaks), then wrap with towels and keep in a pre-heated insulated cooler for at least an hour or up to 5-6 hours before serving.
(5) Slice immediately before serving (it drys very quickly) and drizzle each piece with any juices.

Hot-tubbed Steak

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There are multiple ways to cook an excellent steak on the grill. In today’s post I will describe one of my favorite, simple ways to produce a perfectly cooked steak using a technique called “hot-tubbing” combined with a quick, hot sear.

Hot tubbing’ is a po’ man’s version of Sous Vide, which is a recently popular home cooking method. Sous vide is French for ‘under vacuum’ and it involves placing vacuum-sealed foods (meat, chicken, fruit, vegetable, etc) in a temperature-controlled water bath for an extended period of time, then finishing the food on a grill, a griddle or a skillet. I will have more information in a subsequent post on the advantages and disadvantages of sous vide cooking.

Back to hot-tubbing….. Before I ever heard of sous vide, I saw many people on the BGE forum preheating their steaks in a water bath, then searing on the BGE. The principle being that you basically ‘cook’ the steak through and through during the water bath period, then only sear it at the end. The final result is a steak that is the same doneness from edge to edge – not one that is well done on the outside 1/4″ or so, then medium well, then medium rare in the middle. A hot-tubbed (or SV) steak is medium rare (or your choice of doneness) from the outside sear on one side to the sear on the opposite side.

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The first step is to vacuum seal the steak. Many people have vacuum seal units like Food Saver, Game Saver, etc. they use for freezing steaks bought in quantity or cut from larger (sub primal) cuts like whole ribeye, tenderloin, or sirloin. In that case the steak is already in a vacuum bag, so it only needs to be thawed in the bag before hot tubbing. With a fresh steak, one can either use their vacuum sealer to bag it, or use a zip lock-style bag. With the zip lock bag, one seals all but about a 1/2″ corner, then submerges the bag into water, forcing the air to the top and quickly closes the bag before it goes completely under the water. The water pressure will collapse the bag around the steak and create an almost perfect vacuum bag. One can season the steak before it goes in the bag, or it can be seasoned after it comes out of the water bath prior to searing. If the bag tends to float, a small saucer on top of it will hold it under water.

The following pictures are from an 8-week, wet-aged ribeye steak I recently hot tubbed and seared on my Mini Egg.

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My hot tap water is about 110*, so I usually mix it to get around 100* in my sink. The steak stays in the water bath for 45-60 minutes. In the meantime, I get the grill ready for a direct cook at 500-600*. I remove the steak from the bag (it usually measures 86-95* internal), season, then sear it for 2 minutes on each side. If it is not to my desired internal temperature, I will cook longer, flipping if one side starts to get too done. I might even close the top and bottom vents on the EGG and let it continue to cook until the desired doneness is reached. Hot-tubbed and sous vide steaks do not require a post-cook rest period and can be served immediately from the grill.

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Enjoy,
Misippi Egger
(Clark Ethridge)

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Serves 2

Ingredients:
1-1.25 pound steak (ribeye, sirloin, flat iron, etc)
Steak seasoning of choice

Instructions:
(1) If using a previously vacuum-sealed steak (thaw if frozen), place the bagged steak in a hot water bath (about 105*) for 45-60 minutes. If using a fresh steak, apply the seasonings, then either vacuum seal or evacuate the air in a zip lock bag by submerging under water, forcing out the air before sealing. Place in the water bath like above.
(2) Prepare grill for a direct, hot cook (500-600*).
(3) Remove the steak from the bag, season if needed, and then place it on a hot grill for 2 minutes per side. If not quite done to your preference, leave it on until done, flipping a time or two to prevent burning, or shut down the grill (close the top and bottom vents) until it’s done.
(4) The steak can also be seared on a griddle (grill or stove) or in a heavy skillet if desired.
(5) You can serve immediately, or cover and rest until ready to serve.