As cliche as it sounds summer really is the barbeque season and by barbeque season I really mean the season in which anything and everything can be cooked over an open fire. Hyperbole? I think not. Wait until you try grilling bacon or using a fire to heat up donuts and cookies. Once again, the breakfast cereal restriction may apply, but maybe fire-roasted granola could be delicious? But I digress. Burgers are particularly common BBQ food, but the burger that I made on Sunday night was anything but common.
By itself the hamburger (misleadingly named as may be) is a kind of blank slate, not because meat has no flavour (untrue) but because the taste and texture of a burger are such easily malleable characteristics. Even plain ground beef - choose your favorite kind - will taste very different if cooked in a very flat patty as opposed to a thicker wheel. And will also taste different depending on how gently, how long and over what kind of heat the meat is cooked. But then comes the fun part - what to add to the meat before cooking? I tend toward some combination of the following:Breadcrumbs - to hold moisture
Egg - makes the burger stick together
Salt and Pepper
Onion - makes the whole thing taste a little sweeter
Olive Oil - carries other flavour through the meat
BBQ Sauce - delicious in the burger! (Pick your favorite)
Worcestershire Sauce - sweet and smoky
HP Sauce - sweet and tangy (some tamarind in it)
Hoisin Sauce - also sweet and smoky
Vinegar or Lemon Juice
Garlic
Thyme
Oregano
Ginger
Cinnamon - with beef is a very good thing, adds depth
Chili Pepper Flakes - spicy is good!
The combination of things I mix into the meat changes every time, and also changes depending on what I want to pile on the burger after it is cooked. This time I just added breadcrumbs, oil, salt, pepper, and onion because I had big plans for this burger. See, I made a large batch of pesto the previous week and had a lot left over, so I wanted to see whether a burger stuffed with pesto would be a good thing. In short, yes, but that isn't the whole story...
A hot grill in the offing is not to be sneezed at, nor wasted, so we cooked not only burgers, but chicken (slathered in pesto or BBQ sauce,) thick slabs of onions, red peppers, and sweet potatoes wrapped in foil - the last by far the most fabulous. My first attempt at sweet potatoes in a fire was on a camping trip: we wrapped them in foil, skewered them on swords, and then stuck them in the fire. They came out rich and sweet and delectable. And then I had roasted yam on a sandwich and the idea to put them on a burger was born!
The pestoburger was enormous - a feat of enginnering triumph containing four tablespoons of pesto. I had to build a bowl of meat, put in the pesto, and then seal with more meat. Cooking and flipping very carefully avoided any catastrophic explosions and then I melted a slice of goat gouda on top for good measure. The final tower also included slices of roasted sweet potato, grilled onion, and roasted peppers, all on a toasted whole wheat bun. Not bad for a casual, unprepared-for, spur-of-the-moment Sunday evening cookout. And boy was it delicious! There was a lot of sweetness from the roasted vegetables and the pesto cut that nicely, still tasting fresh and clean despite cooking inside the burger. And I could even taste a little of the nuttiness of the pine nuts. And the best part was that none of the flavours was overpowering - I could still taste the meat (there'd be no point to the burger otherwise) and the other items all stayed present. Admittedly, though, it was a little hard to get all of the flavours in one bite.A few final comments:
1. Trader Joe's BBQ sauce is quite tasty - we tried it on other burgers and on chicken and it has good sweetness but also a spicy bite.
2. Pesto also works really well on chicken skewers - it mellows out a lot.
3. When grilling, be sure to wear appropriate clothing - I got covered with soot and splatters of all the delicious things we cooked.
SUNDAY AFTERNOON BBQ
Feed as many as you like
ROASTED SWEET POTATOES:
Wrap sweet potatoes in foil and place on the grill (avoid the hottest parts but make sure that the potatoes get a fair amount of heat.) Turn every so often. You'll know they're done when they feel very squishy through the foil. Slice as condiment or eat like a burrito or eat with a spoon. These keep very well (and get even sweeter!) if re-wrapped in new foil and refrigerated - they're easier to slice for sandwiches when cold, too.
ROASTED ONIONS AND PEPPERS:
Cut 1/2 inch thick slices of onion and slightly wider strips of pepper and skewer. Put on grill, away from hottest parts, and turn frequently until both sides of onion are yellow-brown and glistening and edges of pepper are starting to char.
PESTO CHICKEN:
Clean, slice, and skewer chicken pieces. Rub with pesto. Grill, turning frequently to avoid the pesto burning - it's best if the pesto roasts but doesn't get the full heat of the fire. (BBQ sauce is good over hot flame, though.)
BURGERS:
Are delicious! And totally unique to the cook. So have fun!
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