So the other day I read the post by Steve (
Steve H
) about his smash burgers. Later that day while hanging out in the pool, sipping a margarita (is this a familiar theme??), and waiting for Tracy to get home, the visual of those burgers kept running through my mind. I decided that burgers were an absolute must for dinner...and I started craving one in a big way 
What was really interesting is that Steve and I had a discussion and found out that neither of us buy any ground meat products from the store. For beef, we both buy chuck roast and grind it ourselves. When I started this a couple years ago Tracy and I began making our own line of "gourmet" burgers by mixing in different chopped peppers, cheeses, and spices. I'd typically do 3 different burgers at a time in 3 pound batches of each flavor. Our favorite however is the bacon cheddar burger. For this I use 2 pounds of chuck and 1 pound of my homemade pepper crusted bacon and grind it all together then mix in 4 to 6 ounces of high temp cheddar cheese. That is what was on the menu for dinner!!
Started out by slicing some thick cut fries then tossed with EVOO and SPOG
Here are the burgers
Close up. You can really see the bacon and the cheese
Got some sliced maters and some lettuce
Fries in the air fryer getting started
Burgers on the grill
Done and in the house
Here's where things get interesting. These are a couple projects I've been working on that came from numerous threads and conversations with Steve. Got some cucumber spears in the first jar, slices in the second jar for Tracy (she likes slices on her burgers) and some red onions in the last jar. All are in the same brine
Add the maters. Sorry...Tracy bastardized my plate with the ketchup
Fries all done
Finish building the burger
Money shot. Burger perfectly cooked, juicy and really tender.
What I love about making the burgers in this manner is that the bacon and cheddar are incorporated throughout the burger, not just tossed on top as an afterthought. This really makes a huge difference. The bacon also helps keep the burger super moist. Steve...a note of interest. The red onions were the first thing I used the alum powder in and you were 100% spot on with that recommendation!! They have retained almost all of the crunch and texture but still infused with the flavor of the brine. They made a HUGE difference in the burgers and I'm starting to see a lot of uses for this. Now...to be fair and honest with everybody, we have had these burgers on numerous occasions but in truth, it was the anticipation of this one that made it the best. I've always liked burgers but for some reason, I was almost ready to eat it straight out of the freezer I wanted it so much It did not disappoint either but still not sure if it topped Steve's smash burgers. I'm still carrying that visual around with me.
About time to grind some more,
Robert
Steve H
) about his smash burgers. Later that day while hanging out in the pool, sipping a margarita (is this a familiar theme??), and waiting for Tracy to get home, the visual of those burgers kept running through my mind. I decided that burgers were an absolute must for dinner...and I started craving one in a big way What was really interesting is that Steve and I had a discussion and found out that neither of us buy any ground meat products from the store. For beef, we both buy chuck roast and grind it ourselves. When I started this a couple years ago Tracy and I began making our own line of "gourmet" burgers by mixing in different chopped peppers, cheeses, and spices. I'd typically do 3 different burgers at a time in 3 pound batches of each flavor. Our favorite however is the bacon cheddar burger. For this I use 2 pounds of chuck and 1 pound of my homemade pepper crusted bacon and grind it all together then mix in 4 to 6 ounces of high temp cheddar cheese. That is what was on the menu for dinner!!Started out by slicing some thick cut fries then tossed with EVOO and SPOG
Here are the burgers
Close up. You can really see the bacon and the cheese
Got some sliced maters and some lettuce
Fries in the air fryer getting started
Burgers on the grill
Done and in the house
Here's where things get interesting. These are a couple projects I've been working on that came from numerous threads and conversations with Steve. Got some cucumber spears in the first jar, slices in the second jar for Tracy (she likes slices on her burgers) and some red onions in the last jar. All are in the same brine
Add the maters. Sorry...Tracy bastardized my plate with the ketchup
Fries all done
Finish building the burger
Money shot. Burger perfectly cooked, juicy and really tender.
What I love about making the burgers in this manner is that the bacon and cheddar are incorporated throughout the burger, not just tossed on top as an afterthought. This really makes a huge difference. The bacon also helps keep the burger super moist. Steve...a note of interest. The red onions were the first thing I used the alum powder in and you were 100% spot on with that recommendation!! They have retained almost all of the crunch and texture but still infused with the flavor of the brine. They made a HUGE difference in the burgers and I'm starting to see a lot of uses for this. Now...to be fair and honest with everybody, we have had these burgers on numerous occasions but in truth, it was the anticipation of this one that made it the best. I've always liked burgers but for some reason, I was almost ready to eat it straight out of the freezer I wanted it so much
It did not disappoint either but still not sure if it topped Steve's smash burgers. I'm still carrying that visual around with me. About time to grind some more,
Robert
