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The Great American Hamburger

Adapted from The Barbecue Bible

by Steven Raichlen

(Workman Publishing)

 

Total preparation and cooking time: 30 to 35 minutes

Makes 6 servings.

Ingredients:

1-1/2 pounds ground beef

2 to 3 tablespoons butter, melted or extra-virgin olive oil (optional)

6 Vidalia or other sweet onion slices, cut 1/2-inch thick (optional)

Coarse salt and pepper

6 hamburger buns, split

Toppings: Iceberg lettuce leaves, tomato slices, dill or sweet pickle slices, cooked bacon, ketchup, mustard and/or mayonnaise (optional).

Directions:

1. Lightly shape beef into six 1/2-inch thick patties. Brush onion slices with 1-1/2 teaspoons melted butter, if desired.

2. Place onion slices on grid over medium ash-covered coals. Grill, covered, 15 to 20 minutes (over medium heat on preheated gas grill, covered, 15 to 20 minutes) or until tender. Place patties on grid over medium, ash-covered coals. Grill, uncovered, 11 to 13 minutes (over medium heat on preheated gas grill, covered, 7 to 8 minutes), turning occasionally, until instant-read thermometer inserted horizontally into center registers 160 F. Season with salt and pepper, as desired.

3. Brush cut sides of buns with remaining butter, if desired. Place cut sides down on grid during last minute of grilling.

4. Serve burgers on buns and top with toppings, if desired. Close sandwiches.

Cook’s Tip: If using 95 percent lean ground beef, add 1/4 cup soft bread crumbs and 1 egg white to ground beef in step 1.

Courtesy of ARAcontent

 

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(ARA) - It’s that special time of year when home chefs nationwide are heating up the grill and putting their cooking skills to the test. But are they cooking burgers so they’re not only savory, but also safe to consume?

Most backyard chefs don’t know the optimal temperature for a grilled or cooked burger, according to a national consumer survey from The Beef Checkoff. In fact, nearly 90 percent of respondents were unaware that 160 F is the correct internal temperature when cooking ground beef patties.

When it comes to serving the best burger, professional grill masters like Steven Raichlen, best-selling author of 28 cookbooks including the just-published “Barbecue Bible! 10th Anniversary Edition” and host of the new “Primal Grill” on PBS, leave nothing to chance. Instead, they reach for an instant-read meat thermometer, the only reliable way to ensure ground beef reaches an internal temperature of 160 F.

“When it comes to serving a world class burger, the right preparation is just as important as the right ingredients,” says Raichlen. “Remember, the internal temperature for a safe and savory burger is 160 F. So every time you fire up the grill to make burgers, remember that your instant-read thermometer is just as important as your favorite tongs or spatula.”

To serve safe and savory burgers for you, your family and your friends, follow these simple tips:

* Always cook ground beef to 160 F. This guarantees harmful bacteria are destroyed and ensures ground beef isn’t under- or over-cooked, keeping burgers safe and savory.

* Stop eyeballing the doneness of your burgers. Rather than relying on colors or juices, get an instant-read meat thermometer which gives an accurate temperature reading much quicker than an oven-proof meat thermometer.

* Use your instant-read meat thermometer properly. Always insert the meat thermometer sideways into the thickest portion of the patty to ensure it has reached 160 F. And to make sure you get an accurate reading the next time burgers are on the grill, hand wash your thermometer instead of using the dishwasher.

For more information from The Beef Checkoff about making safe and savory burgers, visit www.safeandsavory160.com.

 

Courtesy of ARAcontent

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Artichoke season is in full bloom and they are producing some very large artichokes. I have always wanted to try different ways of preparing these beauties, and grilling just made perfect sense. Adding some sausage, turkey kielbasa to be specific, made even more sense.

Grilling artichokes is a very simple processes and eliminates boiling them to death. When artichokes are boiled they loose allot of flavor, that’s why we come up with all sorts of dips for them. We have made a mayonnaise, lemon and catsup dip since I was a kid. I thought this was the only way to do it. Boil to death , dip it in a sweet sauce that wasn’t healthy at all, then suffer through all of the gass explosions that would kept the family separated for hours.

The best artichokes have a little browning on the leaves, this is from the proper amount of freeze. They should have the leaves closed in tight, not opened. You can learn even more here:  California artichoke Advisory. Lets start with the big dog. First things first, you need to wash this artichokes! They are full of dirt and sand, hold them under the faucet for a couple of minutes to rinse them out.

Now we need to do some trimming. Cut the stem down a bit, you won’t be eating all of it, the longer it is the tougher it gets. Trim the thorns of of the leaves if you like, I don’t have the patience for this, so be careful of getting poked. You can trim the bottom flat to get the last of the stickers also.

Now take a large butchers knife and split the artichoke right down the middle. this will expose the inside pith. Go ahead and core that out, right down the the main part of the artichoke. I used an ice cream scoop.

 

You shouldn’t grill the artichoke 100% on the grill, it would be very dry if you do. I boiled mine in some salted water for about 20 minutes. This gets the artichoke soft for the final grilling. Let them cool a bit then coat them with some olive oil to prevent them from burning on the grill.

I decided to whip up a little garlic and herb baste for the grilling. Nothing fancy, I just minced up some garlic and olive oil, added some parsley, lemon pepper and salt. It wasn’t more than a toss of this and a toss of that. Very measured to be sure, then pour this on the open side of your artichoke.

Preheat your grill to 350° - 400°. If you can two stage your cooking area, then do that with the artichokes at the low side. Cook the artichokes for about 5 minutes on each side, the sausage cooks for just a bit longer to your personal taste.

That artichoke was so big that I could barely get to the sausage! No sauce was needed for dipping it was just right as it was. Slightly smokey and nutty with a hint of garlic and seasoning. I of course dipped my sausage into some mustard, to bad I only had yellow mustard on hand. A spicey brown would have been great, washed down with a chilled dark beer.

Give grilled artichokes a try, I am sure you’ll agree, these are the best.

“Get out of the kitchen! Light the fire! Start cooking outdoors”

 

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